IBT Staff Reporter

Health conscious South Koreans are driving the growing demand for blueberries in the Asian country as they recognized the fruit's potential to ward off cancer, heart disease, strokes, infections, and other ailments

n an effort to improve the diet of Australian kids, Avocado growers have just launched eat-healthy kits funded by the government for early childhood educators to encourage and promote healthier eating habits among 3 to 5 years old.

U.S. researchers have found that real and fake acupuncture can relieve knee arthritis pain.

Sleep experts reveal Australian teenagers are suffering from insomnia because of their addiction to text-messaging, iPods listening or checking up their social networking sites.

Cardiac surgeons at St Vincent's Hospital, where Australia's first heart transplant operation was done in 1968, continue to urge the state government to fund its costly heart-lung transplant program.

A report by the Institute of Health and Welfare reveals there has been a spike of 70 per cent in the number of Australians being admitted to the hospital for kidney dialysis.

A mother from Penrith in Sydney's West has given birth every year since 2000 and says she still wants more children.

The Australian Dollar is steady after a relatively quiet night on the economic data front gave the markets little to draw on as far as the state of the economic recovery in the US and Europe is concerned.

The Australian Dollar opens lower today against the greenback at 0.8980.

Pizzas and other meaty recipes containing 20 to 45 percent less salt will be served in 10 Pizza Hut stores in NSW starting November as the fast food chain prepares to roll out its healthier offerings in all 280 outlets nationwide next year.

European and U.S. health authorities have banned a flu vaccine for children made by Australian biopharmaceutical CSL Biotherapies Australia.

Your odds of going under the knife may depend on whether or not your orthopedic surgeon has a financial stake in your treatment center, suggests a new study.

Cigarette smoking has been clearly linked to increased risks of a number of cancers, including cancers of the lungs, colon, pancreas and bladder. But studies have yielded conflicting results as to whether smoking may boost a woman's odds of developing breast cancer.

Toyota Motor Corp plans to introduce a start-to-finish manufacturing system for midsize hybrid vehicles made by a Kyushu subsidiary to meet growing consumer demand for hybrids.

German automaker Volkswagen AG struck a deal with workers at its Mexican plant to avoid a strike threatened by the factory's union

General Motors and China's SAIC Motor Corp deepened their ties to include the joint development of small engines and transmissions as the U.S. automaker seeks to draw on the allure of the fast-growing China market ahead of a highly anticipated IPO.

U.S. safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into a potential problem with the Kia Soul after a driver reported a complete loss of steering and limited braking in a two-month-old car.

General Motors Co will recall more than 243,000 model year 2009/2010 crossover sport utilities, mainly in the United States, to inspect safety belts for possible damage.

Mazda Motor Corp will recall 215,000 Mazda 3 and Mazda 5 vehicles sold in the United States because of the risk that they could lose power steering without warning.

General Motors Co will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange after its initial public offering, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Sandy had an extensive human resources background, yet it was hidden in a plethora of bullet points in a lengthy and somewhat redundant résumé. She was also seeking a management-level position and was finding the fact that she did not have a college degree hindered her search. She did not know how to position her experience to overcome the potential disqualifier.

In March of 2000, American homeowners got a scare.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be abolished rather than reformed as part of the Obama administration's planned overhaul of the government's role in housing finance, Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services committee, said on Tuesday.

Mortgage applications leaped last week as rock-bottom rates lifted demand for home refinancing loans to its highest level in 15 months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Home building increased at a much weaker pace than expected in July, though sturdy growth in industrial output implied the embattled economy has enough strength to keep growing.

Influential bond investor Bill Gross dispensed more policy advice than the U.S. Treasury bargained for on Tuesday, calling for a massive program to refinance mortgages at low rates to boost the flagging economy.

The U.S. government's role in housing finance should undergo fundamental change, but it should still provide some guarantees in the mortgage market, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

The euro surrendered early gains and fell against the dollar on Wednesday in technical trading after again failing to holds above a key psychological level. Earlier, the euro had rallied for the third straight day against the dollar after a German government bond auction attracted solid demand, easing some concerns about fiscal instability in the European Union. That euphoria failed to last much into the New York session.

Oil prices fell to a five week low on Wednesday as U.S. government data showed inventories of crude and oil products rose to a record high in the world's top consumer the United States. U.S. crude oil futures fell $1.51 to $74.26 a barrel by 1503 GMT, having hit $73.83 earlier, the lowest price since early July.