IBT Staff Reporter

Ford Motor Co> is recalling nearly 463,000 Windstar vans from model years 1998 to 2003 in cold-weather U.S. states due to the possibility that the rear axle may fracture due to corrosion, federal regulators reported on Friday.

Boeing Co has pushed back delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner by several weeks -- a widely expected decision but also the latest in a series of embarrassing glitches that have disrupted production of the hotly anticipated aircraft.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday the economic recovery has softened more than expected and the Fed is ready to take further steps if needed to spur the stumbling economy.

South Africa's largest union threatened Friday to bring gold and platinum mining and other industries to a halt next week in a strike to support a stoppage by 1.3 million state workers.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it would recall 1.3 million Corolla and Matrix cars in the United States and Canada because of defective engine control modules that could cause the vehicles to stall.

Canadian developers are plotting a small revolution in the still-tiny market for electric cars, with a concept vehicle made from hemp set to debut at a specialized auto show next month.

Losing the weight gained during pregnancy is a real struggle for many new mothers. But dropping just 10 pounds between pregnancies may help many women diagnosed with a dangerous complication during the first pregnancy to avoid a recurrence the second time around.

Intel Corp warned third-quarter revenue could fall short of its own estimates by more than $1 billion, reinforcing doubts about the strength of a technology sector recovery.

Stocks rose in volatile trading on Friday as investors shook off a revenue warning from technology bellwether Intel and a downbeat economic assessment by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to snap up bargains.

U.S. economic growth was revised down to a sluggish 1.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter, dampened by the largest increase in imports in 26 years, the government said on Friday.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has increased his holding in Motorola Inc to about 10.4 percent, according to documents the company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas every two weeks to improve the prospects of Middle East peace talks, a diplomatic source said on Friday.

Spain's Iberia posted a narrower-than-expected first-half operating loss on Friday as improving business travel and air cargo demand countered the negative impact of a volcanic ash cloud in April.

Former President Jimmy Carter procured the release of 31-year-old American English teacher, Ajilon Gomes, from imprisonment in North Korea. Carter and Gomes left Pyongyang, North Korea, yesterday and Gomes is expected to be reunited with his mother and other family members in Boston today.

Italian researchers offer some hopeful news for parents of colicky babies: a daily dose of good bacteria may help their child to cry less.

U.S. economic growth slowed more sharply than initially thought in the second quarter, held back by the largest increase in imports in 26 years, a government report showed on Friday.

U.S. birth rates in 2009 declined for the second straight year, a sign the economy may be causing some women to think twice about having children, health officials said Friday.

Economic growth was revised down Friday to a 1.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter, pointing to an even softer performance in the third quarter.

Thousands of people fled on Friday from the southern Pakistani town of Thatta after the swollen Indus river burst its banks and authorities ordered an evacuation.

U.S. consumer sentiment pulled back in late August from earlier in the month but still improved from late July in the face of dismal labor and housing conditions, a private survey released on Friday showed.

Britain's economy grew at its fastest pace for nine years in the second quarter, an unexpected revision to official data showed on Friday, but economists said a sharp slowdown was still on the cards.

The U.S. economy hit a soft patch in the second quarter but is not likely to fall back into recession and will pick up speed in the first half of 2011, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Friday.

When the lender took back the foreclosed property the day before the closing, Florida-based sales associate Brenda Parish had to scramble to make sure the sale closed.

Cheered by hundreds of thousands of jubilant Kenyans waving national flags, President Mwai Kibaki signed a new constitution on Friday that curbs his sweeping powers and strengthens civic rights.

The top share index was up by midday on Friday, off a seven-week low earlier this week, after the UK's second-quarter gross domestic product was unexpectedly revised upwards and ahead of a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

U.S. economic growth slowed more sharply than initially thought in the second quarter, held back by the largest increase in imports in 26 years.

U.S. stocks rose in volatile trading on Friday, shrugging off initial losses after the Federal Reserve chairman said the recovery has softened more than expected and Intel Corp warned about revenue.

The number of U.S. homes headed for foreclosure fell during the second quarter, marking the first such drop since the housing slump began in 2006, but the improvement may be fleeting as the number of newly delinquent homeowners rose, a banking group said on Wednesday.

U.S. chipmaker Intel and Infineon are likely to announce an agreement on the future of the German chipmaker's wireless business this weekend, three people familiar with the matter said.