IBT Staff Reporter

Google is taking on Kayak and Expedia in the newly launched Google Flight Search.

Stocks rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday after major central banks moved to boost European bank funding and regional leaders offered strong support for Greece, easing default fears.

America's Got Talent named its Season 6 champion, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., a former car washer from West Virginia who was once homeless and almost gave up his dream as a talented singer.

The spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy were formed through two collisions with a nearby dwarf galaxy, a new study suggested.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will discuss with European finance ministers the possibility of leveraging the euro zone's bailout fund to make it more effective in fighting the debt crisis.

New claims for jobless benefits hit the highest level since late June last week and a gauge of New York state factory activity contracted in September, sustaining the view the Federal Reserve would take new action to boost growth.

Netflix shares took a hit after the company lowered subscriber expectations.

Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., a car washer from Logan, West Virginia who was once homeless, has finished his long journey to be crowned the most gifted in 'America's Got Talent' Wednesday night.

Stocks rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday after major central banks moved to boost European bank funding and regional leaders offered strong support for Greece, easing default fears.

Bank of America Corp's $8.5 billion proposed mortgage-backed securities settlement is now in the hands of a New York federal judge. But it could end up back before state court in a legal tug-of-war over who should decide whether the pact passes muster.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week in a sign concerns about a weak economy were sapping an already beleaguered labor market, data showed on Thursday.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week in a sign concerns about a weak economy were sapping an already beleaguered labor market, data showed on Thursday.

Myanmar lifted bans on prominent news websites on Thursday, including some run by critics of the army-dominated government, and unblocked online video portal YouTube, the latest signs of possible reforms in one of Asia's most reclusive states.

A multi-state outbreak of listeriosis, or Listeria bacteria, reportedly found in cantaloupe grown in southern Colorado, has infected 22 and killed two in seven states since Monday.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion plans to open doors for its key corporate customers using a decade-old technology most in the smartphone industry eye as a way to turn phones into wallets.

The United States needs to use fiscal as well as monetary policy to boost the economy if it wants to convince cash-rich corporations to start hiring and investing, Bob Doll, chief equity strategist of BlackRock Inc said on Thursday at the Bloomberg Markets 50 Summit.

The newly created yeast that includes synthetic DNA marks the first achievement in complex-celled organisms, and could potentially allow scientists to take control of genome in larger scale, leading to the manufacture of entirely synthetic organisms.

New jobless claims rose last week to their highest since June and a gauge of New York State manufacturing contracted in September, sustaining the view the Federal Reserve could take new action to boost growth.

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Thursday after three straight winning sessions on relief European leaders were committed to keeping Greece afloat, but weaker-than-expected data, including jobless claims, kept gains in check.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel bluntly rejected euro zone bonds as a solution to the currency area's sovereign debt crisis, saying on Thursday that collectivizing debts would not solve the problem.

The U.S. securities regulator is widening its probe into mortgage-bond deals that ushered in the financial crisis, and is pushing for a settlement of more than $200 million with Citigroup, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

In recent months, a red-hot Swiss franc has made Switzerland an expensive place to buy a slice of pizza, let alone run a business. Swiss-based Roche, the world's biggest maker of cancer medicines, and its cross-town rival Novartis have felt the pain along with Switzerland's other exporters.

Apple is allegedly preparing a refresh of MacBook Pro in the late 2011, and possibly before the end of the month, according to sources.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after three days of market gains as investors welcomed signs that European leaders are committed to keeping Greece afloat for now.

Global regulators have revised their rules so they can more easily track down commodity market abuses that cut across national borders.

HTC Bliss, the long-rumored Android phone designed for women, was allegedly renamed to HTC Rhyme, according to a newly leaked press shot.

Sony Corp has yet to secure the next generation of Capcom's popular Monster Hunter game for its new handheld games device, company executives said on Thursday, after the developer said it would offer the game on a rival gadget.

Naked pictures of Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis have appeared across the web today, after their phones got hacked.

Swiss bank UBS said a trader had lost it around $2 billion in unauthorised deals, and police in London arrested a man in connection with the case.