IBT Staff Reporter

Oil pared gains on Friday as weaker-than-expected U.S. pending home sales data for April triggered fresh concerns about the pace of recovery by the world's largest energy consumer and after a softer dollar initially lent support to prices.

The U.S. economy stayed on a sluggish growth path early in the second quarter, with high gasoline prices constraining consumer spending and helping to push pending home resales to a seven-month low in April.

Planking is a fast-growing, but possibly dangerous, game – started in England, most popular in Australia, but spreading worldwide – in online society where people post up their pictures of lying down on some of the most unusual and obscure places.

Wall Street rose on Friday, led by energy and materials stocks as commodity prices firmed in light trading before the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Do the 2011 San Francisco Giants have a new anthem? We all remember last year's anthem made famous by baseball announcers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper Giants Baseball: Torture. Tortuous baseball was good enough to win the Giants a World Series.

European bank shares rose Friday on hopes that new international capital rules for lenders would be applied with a lighter touch in the European Union as Germany and France demand more leeway.

The Mets lost knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to foot injury, adding to the pitching mess the baseball team currently faces.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's office was recently inundated with angry postcards and letters from people outraged by the looming enforcement of a rule that will limit beach lovers' access to the Jersey Shore.

Last week he got it all wrong, picking the Mets to take two out of three games in the Subway Series, losing only the game R.A. Dickey threw for the Mets. But we have a fresh weekend in front of us, and I was interested in how he thought the two local baseball clubs might fare in the next three days.

Lindsay Lohan is making the most out of house arrest with the use of 'art.'

California regulators may open a formal examination of AT&T Inc's proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA, a move that could delay or add conditions to approval of the deal.

Sony says PS4 development is underway and the next console won't have an initial overhead investment like PS3.

Consumer spending rose less than expected in April as high gasoline prices continued to squeeze household budgets, in government data on Friday which also showed annual inflation at its fastest pace in a year.

HSBC <0005.HK> faced a fresh backlash from investors on Friday over high executive pay and mediocre returns, echoing the stinging attacks of a year ago that it had tried to duck by revamping its remuneration package.

A New York judge rejected Morgan Stanley's bid to throw out a lawsuit accusing the bank of fraudulently inducing bond insurer MBIA Inc to insure $223.2 million of risky mortgage debt.

Planking is a game that is gaining a lot of popularity where people (known as “plankers”) lie down on the ground – usually in an unusual location – and post the picture of planking on online community such as Facebook.

Consumer spending rose modestly in April, starting the second quarter on a soft note as high gasoline prices continued to squeeze household finances and keep inflation pressures simmering.

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes dropped far more than expected in April to touch a seven-month low, a trade group said on Friday, dealing a blow to hopes of a recovery in the housing market.

The text of the complaint filed in April 2011 by Paul Ceglia, claiming he is entitled to 50 percent of Facebook.

The response from Facebook to the suit filed by Paul Ceglia, claiming a 50 percent stake in the company.

According to a number of reports, the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show was the highest rated episode of the hit daytime talk show in more than 17 years.

A fired up Sarah Palin is looking ahead at a critical moment as she launches tour of various American historical sites and patriotic events starting on Sunday, fueling further speculation about a possible presidential run as the Republican field starts to take shape in the party's bid to oust President Barack Obama from the White House.

Say goodbye to swiping since tapping is in as Google's anticipated NFC-based mobile payment platform Google Wallet is here to revolutionize the way payments are made.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Even travelers going solo do not need to feel lonely, out of touch, or misinformed thanks to mobile devices which are proving to be good travel companions.

We take a brief look at the life of the artist, William Henry Johnson.

Stocks were higher on Friday as bullish comments about Greece caused the dollar to fall, resulting in strength in commodity prices.

HSBC Holdings Plc <0005.HK> faces scrutiny from investors over its ambitious plans to cut costs and lift waning profits, as well as a revamped pay format for managers through which it hopes to placate critics.

Hillary Clinton, the U.S secretary of State on a surprise visit to Pakistan on Friday, said Pakistan needs to take decisive steps against Islamist militancy.

A former inmate at the Jixi labour camp in China has exposed a money making scheme going on within the prison: virtual gold farming.