IBT Staff Reporter

Talks between Spanish unions and business leaders on labor reform ended without success on Friday, the latest sign that the euro zone is struggling to steer its way out of a debt crisis and into growth.

May 28, 2010

Consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April after six straight months of gains, but growing consumer confidence in the economic outlook suggested consumption will remain strong this quarter.

May 28, 2010

Prudential has entered talks to cut its $35.5 billion offer for AIG's Asian life insurance arm, in a last-ditch bid to salvage a deal criticized by shareholders as too expensive.

May 28, 2010

(Reuters) - At midnight Valentine Uwingabire's back began to hurt. Her husband ran to tell Germaine Uwera, a community health worker in their village in the fertile foothills of Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.

May 28, 2010

Ideally the best thing you can do is try to find an internship which is related to your degree or passion.

May 28, 2010

(Reuters Health) - Prescribing heroin to addicts who can't kick their habit helps them stay off street drugs, British researchers said Friday.

May 28, 2010

(Reuters) - Indoor tanning beds sharply increase the risk of melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, and the risk increases over time, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, and others experts called for tighter regulation.

May 28, 2010

U.S. consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April, but real disposable incomes recorded their biggest increase in nearly a year as the labor market improved and inflation remained muted, a government report showed on Friday.

May 28, 2010

The world's top countries face more wrangling over a global bank tax next week and crunch time over beefing up capital and cutting risks at big banks.

May 28, 2010

Federal Reserve Bank directors say a Senate plan to kick bankers off the boards of regional Fed banks is an overreaction to one headline-grabbing incident and could harm the U.S. central bank.

May 28, 2010

The first step in an ambitious project to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines in Lake Erie was taken this week with an order to General Electric for five massive turbines. The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., a Cleveland-based nonprofit, said the direct-drive turbines will provide 4 MW each of electricity and would be operational by the end of 2012, generating enough electricity to power 6,000 homes.

May 28, 2010

Stocks were set for a flat open on Friday as upbeat news from Apple, a technology and retail bellwether, was offset by unexpectedly flat April consumer spending data.

May 28, 2010

Consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April, but real disposable incomes recorded their biggest increase in nearly a year as the labor market improved and inflation remained muted, a government report showed on Friday.

May 28, 2010

European Central Bank policymaker Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on Friday the euro zone's problems were an early warning to the rest of the world and took a swipe at Germany for fanning the flames of the crisis.

May 28, 2010

U.S. mortgage rates moved still lower in the past week, nearing a record low set in early December, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

May 28, 2010

Stock index futures rose on Friday ahead of data on business conditions and consumer sentiment as investors steered toward a three-day holiday weekend.

May 28, 2010

The Philippines is considering a five year moratorium on exports of iron ore till the completion of its two integrated steel processing plants. According to country's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the proposed ban comes from the need to conserve the resource for the possible establishment of iron or steel plants as well as the rights of the companies producing iron.

May 28, 2010

Growing demand for petroleum products in the tiny south-eastern nation of Brunei forced it to import some of its required fuel products for the first time to avoid shortage. Country's only oil refinery, which was built in 1983, can no longer keep up with the increase in domestic demand for petroleum products, making it necessary for the Sultanate to import some of its required fuel products to avoid shortage.

May 28, 2010

China on Thursday inaugurated Asia's largest solar power plant with a designed installed capacity totalling 166 megawatts. The power plant located at Kunming, capital of Yunnan province went into operation in the first stage with installed capacity of 20 MW.

May 28, 2010

Stock index futures edged higher on Friday, tracking global stocks, as beaten-down shares continued to entice investors and fears about euro-zone debt receded.

May 28, 2010

BP Plc still does not know whether its top kill operation designed to plug the biggest oil spill in United States history will be successful and puts the cost of tackling the disaster so far at $930 million.

May 28, 2010

Opera Software said its Internet browser for Apple's iPhone was downloaded more than 2.6 million times in April after the Norwegian company got access to iPhone as the first rival browser.

May 28, 2010

Prudential said it was trying to negotiate a cut in the $35.5 billion it has agreed to pay for AIG's Asian unit, AIA, amid fears its shareholders might block the deal as too expensive.

May 28, 2010

Nokia sold less than 100,000 top-of-the-range N900 smartphones in its first five months on the market, researcher Gartner said, indicating it has yet to mount a serious challenge to the iPhone and Blackberry.

May 28, 2010

The euro dipped versus the dollar on Friday, paring hefty gains made the previous day, as investors squared positions ahead of the month-end while worries over the impact of the euro zone debt crisis capped rallies.

May 28, 2010

Royal Dutch Shell said it would pay $4.7 billion cash to buy privately held East Resources Inc, giving it substantially more exposure to natural gas plays in North America.

May 28, 2010

Opera Software said its Internet browser for Apple's iPhone was downloaded more than 2.6 million times last month after the Norwegian firm got access to iPhone as the first rival browser firm.

May 28, 2010

Global platinum production is set to face some crisis in the coming month as the world watches one of the biggest sports festivals in the world, the FIFA World Cup Soccer. It is strange that a sports event will help lift the prices of precious metals in the global markets. But this is not the first time sports events helped lift the prices of commodities. During the Beijing Olympics, several commodities witnessed a surge due to the increased demand from China for construction and other purposes....

May 28, 2010

After raiding iron ore mines across the world to make investments, China is now scouting for platinum producers in South Africa. Recently, China has decided to pump in $877 million into South Africa's platinum sector. In a deal backed by the China-Africa Development Bank, Chinese state-owned mining firm Jinchuan will acquire a 51 per cent stake in the small platinum developer and develop its Frischgewaagd-Ledig mine.

May 28, 2010