IBT Staff Reporter

Investors are entering the fourth quarter with a slightly raised exposure to shares and holding high reserves of cash that could quickly be used to fuel a stock rally, Reuters polls showed on Thursday.

With holiday shopping season near and billions of dollars in sales tax at stake, financially strapped state and local governments are pushing to collect more tax on online purchases, but real progress will require action in Washington where political gridlock prevails.

From tuk-tuks to sled dogs and over-packed trains, people will do anything to get around. What may seem unusual to one person is completely normal to another. Have a look at the odd ways people travel across the globe.

After the Arab Spring surprised the world with the power of technology to revolutionize political dissent, governments are racing to develop strategies to respond to, and even control, the new player in the political arena -- social media.

Pending sales of existing homes fell less than expected in August despite rock-bottom mortgage rates, underscoring the difficulties policymakers face in helping the struggling housing sector.

H&R Block Inc said it would discontinue service under its EXPRESSTAX brand, as it focuses on its core tax-preparing brand and services.

T-Mobile USA has become the latest mobile provider opposing Apple's bid to stop Samsung Electronics Co <005930.KS> from selling some Galaxy products in the United States, according to a court filing.

In the age of iTunes and an-app-for-everything, Joel Tenenbaum's battle with the music industry over illegal downloading seems as relevant as an eight-track cassette.

Record-high long-term unemployment is testing politicians and central bankers to the utmost as the impact of a shortfall in demand is amplified by an aging population, a mismatch of skills and inadequate efforts to get people back to work.

Warner Bros. on Thursday will unveil a Web show from Charlie's Angels director McG that seeks to create a new genre the studio calls a social series by taking pictures, music and information from a viewer's Facebook page and putting it in the video.

Pending sales of existing homes fell in August to their lowest level in four months as Hurricane Irene held back sales in the Northeast, data from a real estate trade group showed on Thursday.

Record-high long-term unemployment is testing politicians and central bankers to the utmost as the impact of a shortfall in demand is amplified by an aging population, a mismatch of skills and inadequate efforts to get people back to work.

Pending sales of existing homes fell in August to their lowest level in four months as Hurricane Irene held back sales in the Northeast, data from a real estate trade group showed on Thursday.

A single, strong dose of hallucinogenic mushrooms may alter a person’s personality for more than a year and perhaps permanently said researchers of a Johns Hopkins study published Wednesday.

Even before China's great stock market bull run of 2006-2007, Wang Jianzhong had become known as China's god of stocks for his prescient picks.

The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits fell to a five-month low last week, while the economy grew slightly more than previously reported in the second quarter, the latest suggestion a recession was not in the cards.

Those worried about getting hit by NASA's defunct Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) can breathe a sigh of relief. The satellite fell into the Pacific Ocean sometime between 11:23pm Friday and 1:09am Eastern Saturday morning, Sept 23.

Albert Einstein revolutionized the way science thought about space and time when he said the two were inseparable. But one of the more unprovable ramifications was that mass has a warping effect on space-time, much like a bowling ball set on a mattress would depress the cushion around itself.

Angela Merkel won her toughest challenge yet as German chancellor by pushing through changes to a rescue fund for the euro zone debt crisis on Thursday without the humiliation of relying on opposition support.

The physics community was rocked last week when the OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion Tracking Apparatus) team working at Gran Sasso in central Italy announced that preliminary findings seemed to suggest that they had observed subatomic particles traveling faster than the speed of light.

With cryptic messages coming from Apple and a big announcement coming Oct. 4 the Internet rumor mill has been all abuzz. Speculation is running wild with talk of a new entry level iPhone 4S and the new and improved iPhone 5.

Stocks were poised for a higher open on Thursday after Germany's lower house approved new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund and U.S. economic data was stronger than forecast.

The Federal Reserve's move last week to further lower borrowing costs was risky and won't significantly speed up a painfully protracted recovery, one of the officials who dissented against the decision said on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve's move last week to further lower borrowing costs was risky and won't significantly speed up a painfully protracted recovery, one of the officials who dissented against the decision said on Thursday.

American student Amanda Knox was a naive young woman publicly crucified and impaled to justify wrongly imprisoning her for murder, her lawyer told an Italian court on Thursday.

The U.S. economy grew slightly more than previously reported in the second quarter, helped by consumer spending and export growth that was stronger than earlier estimated, according to a government report on Thursday that pointed to slow growth rather than a recession.

THE ISSUE: The S&P Indices/Case Shiller recorded a fourth consecutive month of increases. Existing home sales jumped in the latest report. Low-rate mortgages have boosted affordability measures. Is it time for investors to start looking for real estate?

THE ISSUE: The S&P Indices/Case Shiller recorded a fourth consecutive month of increases. Existing home sales jumped in the latest report. Low-rate mortgages have boosted affordability measures. Is it time for investors to start looking for real estate?

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after Germany approved new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund and before the government releases data on U.S. economic growth and the labor market.