IBT Staff Reporter

Exxon Mobil Corp's chief executive officer disputed findings from a White House commission that lax industry practices were to blame for last year's massive BP oil spill.

If statistics is your thing – whether for scholarly work, trivial pursuit, or just to impress a date – you may want to look into the latest edition of the U.S. government’s best-selling reference book: the Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011.

Technology research firm Gartner projected a 5.1 percent rise in global spending on technology in 2011, up from its prior estimate of a 3.5 percent rise, helped by the dollar’s recent weakness.

Many top U.S. retailers reported disappointing December sales as consumers who shopped right after Thanksgiving would only spend again on big bargains and were set to stay frugal in 2011.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday stepped up pressure on Republican lawmakers to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit, warning failure to act would lead to an economic catastrophe.

In this piece, we will examine four of gold's most important rules; the irreversible trends affecting the gold price; and how the consequences of these trends will push gold higher in 2011 and beyond.

A new study has found no significant link between cosmic collisions and growth of black holes for at least the past eight billion years, meaning other, less dramatic phenomena are responsible.

Could it be time to talk in the long-running saga of Sanofi-Aventis SA's $18.5 billion bid for Genzyme Corp ? There is certainly the opportunity.

GameStop Corp's sales during the holiday season topped last year's, as new products like Microsoft's Kinect motion controller revived customers' spending in its stores.

New claims for jobless benefits moved higher last week, but a decline in the four-week average to a nearly 2-1/2 year low indicated a trend toward better labor market conditions remained intact.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose during the week ending Jan. 1, according to a report by the U.S. Labor Department.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but a decline in the four-week average to a fresh low in more than two years indicated the labor market improvement remained intact.

Many top U.S. retailers reported disappointing December sales as consumers who shopped right after Thanksgiving would only spend again on big bargains and were set to stay frugal in 2011.

While Microsoft slugs-it-out in the CES arena, Google won temporary relief in its cloud-war against Microsoft as it restricted the U.S. Interior department from handing a $59 million contract to Microsoft.

The Canada Summer Jobs Program has received an additional $10 million this year from the federal government and is likely to pay for 3500 more jobs

America’s No 2 mobile service provider AT&T Inc will cut the price of older iPhone 3GS model by half to $49 from $99 from January 7 even as it is widely expected to lose its exclusive US rights to sell Apple Inc smart phones.

GameStop Corp's same-store sales during the holiday shopping season rose a less-than-expected 3.4 percent, sending its shares lower on Thursday.

Microsoft's move to make its Windows software compatible with chips designed by ARM throws open computer markets previously dominated by Intel.

Justin Bieber is insisting on the inclusion of Cheryl Cole on the show, Glee, with him

'The Monster of Florence' movie is based on the life of a serial killer and how Clooney’s character investigates and tries to prove the innocence of the convicted man

Hackers released a code that makes it easy for people to run homemade games, other operating systems or even pirated games on the PS3 console, previously considered the most secure.

Shares in BP and Transoceanrose on Thursday as investors bet a new Presidential panel report that spreads the blame for the country's worst-ever oil spill means the companies will avoid a highly costly gross negligence charge.

Corporate interest in Research in Motion's new tablet was massive, the company said, as it announced plans to launch a 4G version of the device this summer with Sprint Nextel.

Interest in Facebook shares is so strong that Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to stop soliciting interest from potential investors on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

U.S. stocks hovered near break-even on Thursday as an uptick in jobless claims failed to dent sentiment following surprisingly strong data on private-sector jobs creation a day earlier.

Boeing Co delivered 116 commercial airplanes in the fourth quarter, down from 122 a year earlier, the company said on Thursday.

Research firm comScore said online spending in the United States rose 12 percent to $32.6 billion for the entire November-December 2010 holiday shopping season, thanks to an exceptional Cyber Monday and the impact of free shipping.

There is yet another reason to walk or run now, other than for just being healthy. Tremont Electric, a U.S.-based company, announced a new device that will help charge gadgets by using power generated by walking or running.

Microsoft Corp sold more than 8 million of its Xbox Kinect motion-sensing game system in its first 60 days since launch, outpacing its target of 5 million and outshining Sony Corp's competing Move.