IBT Staff Reporter

The disco King was found dead in his hotel room while on tour in Russia

New Year celebrations have begun all round the World. Thousands of revelers in New Zealand welcomed 2011 with a bright display of fireworks illuminating the skies. Australians and tourists who flocked at the Sydney's harbor bridge were treated to the biggest fireworks since the millennium celebrations. A clear, warm day in Sydney cheered up the occasion.

The pace of expansion in the manufacturing and service sectors quickened modestly in December, two upcoming surveys are expected to show, further evidence of an economy that is mending gradually.

Oil was set to close the year up more than 12 percent, despite a slight decline on Friday, due to a resurgence in global demand, an unusually cold winter and falling inventories.

Drugstore chain CVS Caremark agreed to buy Universal American's Medicare prescription drug business for about $1.25 billion.

A merry holiday e-shopping brings cheer for a depressed US economy

She waged a public battle against the promotion of thin models with revelations of her struggle against anorexia

Odd science claims made by various celebrities - about diets, cancer, reabsorbing sperm, hologram bracelets and more - make no scientific sense, according to a campaign group.

U.S. stocks edged lower on Friday, the final trading day of the year, as investors took profits after a recent rally that has the S&P on track for its best December performance in nearly two decades.

Miner BHP Billiton's acquisition strategy was back in the spotlight on Friday as market talk resurfaced it was looking at a $40 billion-plus bid for Anadarko Petroleum although banking sources said they were unaware of any imminent offer.

Technology licensing firm Wi-Lan Inc said it would get more time to discuss infringement settlements with defendants as a U.S. federal court extended the trial date by about a month, after redefining a term in a patent related to its wireless products.

Greece is in talks with commercial banks on extending the repayment of its outstanding debt, in line with a similar plan to stretch out paying back its EU/IMF bailout, an Athens weekly reported on Friday.

Prior to Apple's launch of iPhone 4 on June 7, HTC had launched its Android-based Evo 4G phone on June 4 and now a report prior to Apple's launch of iPad 2 says that HTC is working on tablet to rival iPad.

U.S. stocks were set for a lower open on Friday as investors appeared poised to grab profits after a recent rally that has the S&P on track for its best December performance in nearly two decades.

U.S. stock index futures drifted lower on Friday as investors appeared poised to grab profits after a recent rally that has the S&P on track for its best December performance in nearly two decades.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday, the last trading day of the year, with the S&P on track for a yearly advance of nearly 13 percent and its best December performance in nearly two decades.

NEW YORK - Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq 100 are flat to 0.1 percent higher, pointing to a slight rise in equities on Wall Street on Friday.

Chrysler Group is recalling 150,000 trucks, crossover wagons and SUVs in three separate campaigns over steering, stalling and airbag concerns.

University of Wisconsin at Madison emerges at the top in the TrendTopper MediaBuzz Internet analysis published by the Global Language Monitor.

Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 15,000, 2011 models crossovers to address potential electrical shorts that could lead to fires.

NEW YORK - Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq 100 are flat to 0.1 percent higher, pointing to a slight rise in equities on Wall Street on Friday.

Wireless pioneer Craig McCaw, the chairman of Clearwire Corp, has decided to resign from his position effective December 31, the company said in a regulatory filing late Thursday.

The China government may slash export quotas of rare earth mineral by half in 2011, according to China Securities Journal, after Beijing raised international concern by cutting exports of the minerals next year.

A U.S. federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by 10 hedge fund groups accusing German automaker Porsche SE of cornering the market in shares of Volkswagen AG , resulting in more than $2 billion of damages.

China may not announce a second rare earths export quota in 2011, the official China Securities Journal said on Friday, after Beijing raised international concern by cutting exports of the minerals next year.

Wilmington, Delaware-based chemical manufacturer DuPont has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $3.3 million for violating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

The federal judge in the Washington District of Columbia has granted preliminary approval to a long-running and highly contentious $3.4 billion Cobell Settlement - a move that could end the class action litigation over the mismanagement of trust fund assets for hundreds of thousands of Native Americans.

In the legal sector, many lawyers are leaving their law firms in search of greener pastures during the Holiday Season.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has scored a big win for its client News Corporation (News Corp.) in its bid to buy the remaining shares in BSkyB by securing the clearance from the European Commission (EC).