IBT Staff Reporter

Certain types of assisted fertilization appear to result in more male than female babies being born, a large study in Australia and New Zealand has found.

Computerized systems intended to stop doctors from prescribing dangerous drug combinations can cause potentially harmful treatment delays, new research shows.

Parents and caretakers who drink alcohol may put infants at a higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), new research suggests.

Valuemart Info Technologies Limited (Valuemart), a Bangalore based Software development and legal process outsourcing (LPO) firm, said it has bagged a contract for legal document processing from a leading US law firm.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's top IT services firm, said on Wednesday it signed a 5-year infrastructure management services contract worth more than AUD $50 million with Australia-based renewable energy company AGL Energy Ltd.

The Motorist Choice Awards named Audi's A5 and A6 as the Best Sexy Styling and the Best Country Club Vehicles for 2010 in the Premium Brand category. The results stem from the information taken from more than 42,000 consumer surveys.

Chrysler Group on Monday fired 13 workers at the same auto plant visited by President Barack Obama this summer, after a local television station report showed some of them drinking on their lunch breaks.

Toyota Motor Corp said it would enter the growing Japanese minivehicle sector next year through a supply deal with unit Daihatsu Motor Co in a move set to intensify competition in the tough domestic market.

Competition (too few jobs and too many graduates)

In the current state of the economy, demand and competition for jobs has never been higher.

Consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since February in September, underscoring lingering worries about the stremgth of the economic recovery, while home prices dipped in July.

Toys R Us Inc said it plans to hire about 45,000 seasonal workers -- 10,000 more than in the past three years -- ahead of the U.S. holiday shopping season as it opens 600 temporary stores, essentially doubling its domestic workforce.

Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to cut around 500 jobs at its investment banking arm, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

The new leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party will signal a break with some of the party's policies on Tuesday, and distance himself from former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's stewardship of the economy.

Whether your left or right hand reaches for the phone, elevator button or cup of coffee is typically decided unconsciously. Now, a new study suggests that magnetic pulses sent into your brain could alter that choice.

Single-family home prices dipped in July, hovering above multi-year lows absent the homebuyer tax credit that ended in April, according a Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price report on Tuesday.

The Obama administration on Monday pleaded with a U.S. appeals court to allow federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research to continue, arguing a ban would ruin numerous projects and cost millions of dollars.

Older women with thinning bones who exercise regularly have sustained improvements in their balance and walking speed that may protect them from fractures and even extend their lives, new research shows

Acupuncture does not help speed recovery after stroke, according to an analysis of 10 trials using fake or sham acupuncture as a control.

Suicide rates for middle-aged people are edging up -- particularly for white men without college degrees -- and a combination of poor health and a poor economy may be driving it, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Giving cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to more people could be a cost-effective way of preventing heart attacks, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Employers can expect to pay nearly 9 percent more for health care costs for their workers in 2011, the highest level in five years, according to a forecast released on Monday.

President Barack Obama signed a $30 billion small business lending bill into law on Monday, claiming a victory on economic policy for his fellow Democrats ahead of November congressional elections.

Saab owner and luxury car maker Spyker is in talks with German peer BMW about parts and technology in a move that could help it reach a goal of trebling sales volumes.

China's BYD rolled out the welcome mat for billionaire investor and backer Warren Buffett, flying him to its south China base on Monday for a series of events to showcase its clean car initiatives.

Ford will be cashflow positive and improve overall performance next year after solid earnings in 2010, as it intensifies its focus on smaller, greener models, its chief executive Alan Mulally said on Monday.

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top automaker, will recall some 139,500 Sonata sedans sold in the United States, due to problems with the steering wheel that could cause a loss or reduction of control.

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen is considering expanding its cooperation with German peer BMW in carbon fibers, the German business daily Handelsblatt reported.

Italian automaker Fiat is considering listing part of its sports car unit Ferrari to raise cash in order to increase its stake in U.S. carmaker Chrysler, Il Corriere della Sera said on Sunday.