IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. housing starts fell less than expected in July as builders broke ground on new multifamily units likely to meet demand for rental apartments, while permits for future construction dropped, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Unions representing more than 1 million South Africa state workers said on Tuesday they had reached a wage increase deal with the government to avert a mass strike that could have slowed Africa's largest economy.

Mozilla has released Firefox 6 only 12 weeks after Firefox 5. What is new and different about it? Not much, but here are five things to take away from it.

Roughly 52,000 snapshots of rare, exotic mammals were taken by a group of international scientists with camera-traps earlier this week, offering a global view of declining mammal populations. The study caught animals in protected wildlife areas of Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Laos, Suriname, Tanzania and Uganda.

Fitch Ratings said it was keeping the United States' long-term credit rating at AAA with a stable outlook, less than two weeks after Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S.

Home Depot Inc raised its fiscal-year profit forecast for the second time in three months as timely promotions and a focus on cheaper products helped the No.1 home improvement chain gain market share from rival Lowe's Cos Inc .

Stocks fell on Tuesday after three days of gains as weak German growth data renewed concerns about the euro zone debt crisis and the global economy.

At luxury department store chain Saks Inc , customers were buying more designer suits at full price.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc sharpened its focus on low prices and said it expects to get out of its U.S. sales slump later this year, sending shares higher on Tuesday.

Samsung can sell its latest iPad rival in most of Europe again after a German court lifted most of an injunction it had imposed at Apple's request.

Hackers attacked the website of a prominent Canadian newspaper early on Tuesday and posted a false news item alleging Quebec Premier Jean Charest had died of a heart attack, the paper said.

Samsung Galaxy S2's beefed-up 4G LTE version, which first reared its head in Korea is back in the limelight, as pictures of the phone were released by Japanese site Amelbo.

Ryan Tedder of "OneRepublic" who collaborated on a track with Lovato claimed that her comeback album, "Unbroken," will "shock everybody." "Demi blew me out of the water vocally!" He said at the Do Something awards. "I had no idea how good her voice is. She's one of the best singers I've ever worked with. Literally, that good...I mean, she's a Kelly Clarkson-level vocalist. And Kelly has a set of pipes."

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Tuesday that sales at its U.S. discount stores open at least a year fell 0.9 percent during its second quarter, marking the ninth straight quarterly decline as it tries to bring bargain hunters back to its stores.

The death of Zachery Tims, Florida megachurch pastor and televangelist, has stirred controversies.While autopsy results returned inconclusive and no criminal activity has been suspected, a white powdery substance believed to be narcotics was found in his pocket.

At luxury department store chain Saks Inc , customers were buying more designer suits at full price.

Stock index futures fell sharply on Tuesday after an unexpectedly low reading on growth in Germany held back the euro zone and rekindled fears the global economy was stagnant.

Paul Ceglia, the wood pellet salesman from New York claiming he was a founder of Facebook along with Mark Zuckerberg, filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg in 2010, alleging that they have signed a contract in 2003 that entitled Ceglia to half the company. A court filing on Monday suggests that an authentic contract found embedded in electronic data on Mr. Ceglia's computer did not mention Facebook at all. All it had was a company called Street Fax that Mr. Ceglia reportedly owned.

German gross domestic product growth slowed more than expected in the second quarter, data showed, raising questions over how much drive can be expected from Europe's top economy in uncertain times.

Ever wanted to visit Hogwarts? Soon you can! Coming in Spring 2012 is the opening of an exclusive look of the actual film sets used during for the Harry Potter franchise.

A new drug, dubbed 'DRACO' by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, works by targeting a type of RNA produced only in virus-infected cells.

Investors slashed equity holdings in August and boosted cash levels to their highest since March 2009 as concerns about a global economic slowdown and the euro zone debt crisis drove an exodus from riskier assets, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Home Depot Inc outperformed rival Lowe's Cos Inc in same-store sales for the ninth quarter in a row, and the No. 1 home improvement chain raised its profit forecast for the fiscal year.

The leaders of France and Germany meet for high-pressure talks on Tuesday to discuss what further measures they can take to shore up investor confidence in the euro zone following a dramatic market sell-off last week.

The Da Vinci Code may have been a popular e-book for years, but now readers around the world can view the manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Arundel in high definition on iPad as the British Library launches its e-book treasures series.

The euro zone economy slowed sharply in the second quarter, hobbled by sluggish growth in Germany and stagnation in France, raising fears of a longer-term dip that could derail efforts to resolve the bloc's debt crisis.

Industrial production rose at its quickest pace in seven months in July as motor vehicle output rebounded strongly, further easing fears the economy could slide into recession.

Phone hacking was widely discussed at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, according to a reporter who was blamed as the sole culprit, contradicting repeated denials by senior executives and dragging Britain's prime minister back into the scandal.

Miley Cyrus has been under fire lately for her recent pile up of raunchy and less than commendable behavior. The 18-year old star first came into the lime light with Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana" series. During the series she released several albums including "Breakout," that established her a successful musician among her young audience. The southern belle was charming, funny, and sassy as she acted alongside her real life father, Billy Ray, on the hit show. Since the shows e...