IBT Staff Reporter

Asian stocks held most of the week's gains before monthly U.S. jobs data on Friday, although property and bank shares fell in many markets as soft U.S. data raised concerns about the pace of economic recovery.

General Motors Co, battling for survival for much of the past year, has cut loose designers to sketch out a vision of the ultimate youth car of the future -- a virtual one-wheeled wonder that would match wits with its driver.

The United States may be emerging from recession but some firms are canceling holiday parties for a second year in a row and others are bragging about having fun on the cheap.

China has maintained a consistent allocation of its foreign exchange reserves across different currencies, a senior official said on Friday, suggesting that any diversification away from the dollar has been gradual.

Teenagers who are addicted to the Internet are more likely to engage in self-harm behavior, according to an Australian-Chinese study.

Comcast Corp struck a deal to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co, creating a media superpower that would control not just how television shows and movies are made, but how they are delivered to the home.

Talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, headed to the White House on Thursday for an interview with the president and his wife ahead of airing a Christmas Special.

Welcome to an orchestra of the 21st century. iPhones are being used as musical instruments in a new course at an American university.

Friendster, one of the world's earliest social networking sites, will be sold to an Asian buyer by the end of December for at least $100 million, a source familiar with the matter said.

Following much date-guessing from bloggers and Apple fans about when the highly rumored “Apple Tablet” would debut, now a top industry analyst predicts it will debut next year. Frank Gens, chief analyst at IDC, said it's a “no-brainer” that it will be released in 2010.

President Barack Obama asked leaders in various capacities today how companies could start hiring again in opening remarks that were part of a business forum convened in Washington today.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, making his case for a second term, defended his record on Thursday before a skeptical Senate that criticized the central bank for failing to prevent the financial crisis.

Friendster, one of the world's earliest social networking sites, will be sold to an Asian buyer by the end of December for at least $100 million, a source familiar with the matter said.

Friendster, one of the world's earliest social networking sites, will be sold to an Asian buyer by the end of December for at least $100 million, a source familiar with the matter said.

U.S. lawmakers told President Barack Obama's top advisers on Thursday not enough was being done to combat corruption in Afghanistan, singling out allegations against the Afghan president's brother, whom Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged was a problem.

The British university of East Anglia announced Thursday to probe into allegations that its scientists manipulated data about global warming.

Bank of America Corp will sell nearly $19 billion in equity later on Thursday amid strong investor interest as it races to shed government regulatory curbs that have bedeviled its CEO search.

Obama's Job Challenge; Strong Demand for BofA; Big Growth in Mobile

An excerpt of the Chris Brown interview with 20/20 was aired today on Good Morning America where he apologized a second time for assaulting his former girlfriend Rihanna.

Bank of America Corp sold more than $19 billion of equity on Thursday amid strong investor interest as it races to shed government regulatory curbs that have bedeviled its CEO search.

A new study by MTV and the Associated Press show that almost one-third of teens have sent nude photos or videos of themselves, and are more likely to be bullied online by their friends than from adult predators. The study, released Thursday, found that 50 percent of 14- to 24-year-olds have experienced some type of digital abuse during their time spent online or through their mobile phones.

Jesper Parnevik, the man who introduced Tiger Woods to Elin Nordegran while she worked as a nanny for the Parnevik family spoke about Tiger Woods' affairs to FOX Sports.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after data showed the vast U.S. services sector unexpectedly shrank in November and investors worried that Friday's non-farm payrolls report may show the recovery is sluggish.

Up in the Air, a comedy directed by Jason Reitman (Juno) was awarded the Best Film of 2009 by the National Board of Review, an indicator of films to most likely become future Academy Award winners.

Luxury U.S. homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday as revenue slumped and it wrote down the value of its land holdings, sending its shares down 7.5 percent.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after data showed the vast U.S. services sector unexpectedly shrank in November and investors worried that Friday's non-farm payrolls report may show the recovery is sluggish.

Google announced Thursday a new service called Google Public DNS (Domain Name System), that allows users to utilize the Google DNS servers to access the Internet.

President Barack Obama on Thursday urged corporate America to help tackle the nation's highest unemployment in 26 years but also hinted at federal tax credits and aid to states to ease jobless woes.

The National Board of Reviews of Motion Pictures awarded Up in the Air directed by Jason Reitman as the best film of 2009 on Thursday.