IBT Staff Reporter

The sexual assault case against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was close to collapse on Friday, sources close to the case said, in a dramatic turnabout that could upend French politics again.

Stocks advanced for a fifth straight session on Friday and were poised to record their best week in nearly a year after data showed the U.S. manufacturing sector grew faster than expected in June, helping to dispel some recent gloom about the economy.

Thursday afternoon Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton arrived in Canada for the start of their North America tour.

The pace of growth in the manufacturing sector picked up for the first time in four months in June, a sign of optimism for the sputtering economy, according to an industry report released on Friday.

Google+ the search engine giant’s answer to challenge Facebook’s social media hegemony is finally here.

Consumer sentiment worsened in June on jitters about the economic outlook and spending is likely to remain lackluster in the long-term, a survey released on Friday showed.

Where to go for the fourth of July can always be a difficult decision to make. We have created an events list to help you have a great Independence day!

Tokyo's Levitating Girl, Natsumi Hayashi, is a Japanese teenager who has garnered an international Internet fan base after she published photos of herself floating on her blog.You too can 'levitate,' now that Hayashi has revealed her secret power:

The Federal Trade Commission is reviewing social networking company Twitter and its dealings with at least one company that makes software designed to interact with the service, according to media reports.

U.S. airlines will step up their campaign against European Union climate policy next week, with a legal challenge at Europe's highest court to their inclusion in the EU carbon market.

The European Commission plans to present next week its plan to eliminate differences between domestic rates and mobile calls abroad, making post-travel bill shock a thing of the past.

International banks threw their weight behind plans to support Greece with the help of the private sector on Friday, detailing options such as a roll-over of debt, extension of maturities and debt buy-backs.

Washington Mutual Inc's officers, directors, underwriters and auditor have agreed to a $208.5 million settlement to end class-action securities fraud lawsuits, according to court documents.

Stocks were set to post their best week in nearly a year on Friday as investors looked ahead to key national manufacturing data, with confidence growing that the economic slowdown could be temporary.

General Motors Co announced two separate recalls on Friday affecting a little more than 10,000 pickup trucks, predominantly in North America.

The many Tennis spectacles over the past week-and-a-half, has culminated in a semifinal stage devoid of a six-time champion but not of entertainment and excitement.

The apparel industry in Los Angeles, California is riding a small but growing wave of insourcing as costs in China and India rise and the city's factories cater to demand for high-quality garb and fast-turn fashion.

Japan must prevent currency rates and electricity costs from driving companies abroad after the March 11 earthquake raised concerns about the reliability of suppliers and the availability of power, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Friday.

Google’s new social networking site Google+ will take a long time to catch up with Facebook, which has a following of 750 million active users.

The technical sophistication of cybercriminals is swamping the world's ability to cope, a top U.S. official warned on Friday, demanding an accelerated cross-border campaign to combat the security threat.

American automobiles have a limited diet, but gasoline's monopoly at the pump may be ending. The giant of U.S. automakers is turning to something cheaper and cleaner: natural gas.

Japanese optical glass-maker Hoya said on Friday it would sell its Pentax camera business to copier and printer maker Ricoh, in a deal the Nikkei business daily said was worth about 10 billion yen ($124.2 million).

Apple Inc and Research In Motion are part of a winning consortium of six companies buying bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp's remaining patent portfolio for $4.5 billion, in a hotly contested auction that saw Google and Intel lose out.

Macau, the world's largest gambling market, posted an annual 52.4 percent rise in gaming revenue in June to 20.8 billion patacas ($2.6 billion), the Macau government said on Friday, signaling a ravenous gambling appetite from Chinese tourists.

HTC is releasing another phone, the HTC Eternity, which adds Windows flavor to the growing list of super-phones vying to upset the iPhone's dominance in the market.

Investigators in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office have discovered significant inconsistencies with the account of the chambermaid who claimed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, sexually assaulted her in a luxury hotel room in May, sources said Thursday.

JLo is reportedly holding out for a better deal

The many Tennis spectacles over the past week-and-a-half, has culminated in a semifinal stage devoid of a six-time champion but not of entertainment and excitement.

The sexual assault case against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was close to collapse on Friday, sources close to the case said, in a dramatic turnabout that could upend French politics again.