IBT Staff Reporter

Eating disorder campaigners criticized British model Kate Moss on Thursday for saying she backed the motto Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, a slogan popular with pro-anorexia websites.

Iraqi lawmakers, failing to resolve differences over an election law, said they would meet on Saturday and send the law for approval as it stands, keeping on track plans for a January vote and a partial U.S. troop withdrawal later next year.

Mitsubishi Fuso, the Japanese unit of market leader Daimler Trucks, aims to weatherproof the company for smaller volumes in the future in order to steer clear of the losses it will book this year.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a court building in Peshawar on Thursday, killing 18 people, officials said, in the latest of a series of attacks on the northwestern Pakistan city.

Exide Technologies has landed a deal to sell 105,000 more batteries a year to Toyota Motor Corp, deepening its relationship with the world's top carmaker and boosting the battery company's shares.

Federal Reserve officials on Thursday downplayed the consequences of the falling U.S. dollar, underscoring that deflation is still a threat, especially with commercial real estate prices falling.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, with all major indexes down more than 1 percent on weakness in the technology and health insurance sectors.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday that without sweeping financial regulatory reforms, economic recovery would not be enough to ensure U.S. strength and stability.

Top cell phone maker Nokia has seen growing interest among companies for its first netbook or mini-laptop, a company executive said on Thursday.

The dollar and inflation link; Weaker recovery expected; Sony sees profit for 2013

Williams-Sonoma Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year outlook on Thursday as the home-goods retailer's cost-cutting and merchandising efforts bore fruit.

Asia is leading the global economy out of the deepest downturn in decades but the recovery will be marred by high unemployment and huge government debt across the industrialised countries, the OECD said on Thursday.

Demand for Swiss watches picked up slightly in October from the previous month as the pace of decline in exports slowed, pointing to a sluggish recovery reliant on sustained demand from Asia.

World powers could have a package of measures against Iran within weeks, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday, warning Tehran of consequences for its failure to respond to an offer of a nuclear deal.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is beefing up in Europe by buying the half of Cazenove it does not already own in a deal valuing the 190-year old UK stockbroker at 2 billion pounds ($3.36 billion).

Veteran Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was sworn in as president on Thursday, pledging to fight graft and take control of his country's security before his five-year term ends, after a fraud-marred election left his image in ruins.

French insurer AXA said on Thursday that there was no change for now to its offer made with partner AMP for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, despite speculation the bid may be raised.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is interested in buying Allied Irish Banks' minority stake in U.S. lender M&T Bank Corp, the Irish Independent reported on Thursday.

India's prime minister and U.S. President Barack Obama meet next week to strengthen ties, with the emerging Asian power increasingly playing a bigger role on global issues such as climate change and trade.

Spain's Santander, the banking group which owns Britain's Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, will next year launch a no-fees current account, with no charges for overdraft use or access to foreign ATMs.

Belgian banking and insurance group KBC will divest its private equity unit as part of the restructuring plan required in return for receiving state aid, a spokeswoman for the group said on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he was willing to help North Korea repair its economy and end decades of international isolation if Pyongyang stopped a cycle of threats and finally moved toward nuclear disarmament.

BofA Merrill Lynch lowered its 2010 growth forecast for global semiconductor industry and downgraded ten chipmakers, including Intel Corp , turning more cautious on the group on expectations of a modest overshoot in global supply chain inventories.

Australia's government demanded on Thursday that conservative rivals stop opposing carbon trade laws, citing a heatwave searing the country's biggest cities as evidence of Australia's vulnerability to climate change.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday urged Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to change an agreement on supplies of Russian natural gas whose terms he said were too onerous for the Ukrainian economy.

Funnyman Will Ferrell and British actor Ewan McGregor on Wednesday headed a Forbes.com list of Hollywood's most overpaid stars when looking at the financial returns of their movies.

Vaccine makers praised the U.S. response to the swine flupandemic on Wednesday but said regulatory delays and public suspicion have held up innovative ways to speed and stretch the U.S. influenza vaccine supply.

LONDON - Oil explorer Premier Oil Plc cut its production guidance for 2009 following a temporary loss of output at the Kakap field in Indonesia and maintenance work at its UK producing fields.

Spanish research appearing to show that very heavy drinking can reduce men's risk of heart disease has come under fire from scientists who say the study is flawed and should not encourage anyone to drink more.