IBT Staff Reporter

Worried about your child's flu symptoms but don't want to risk a visit to a germ-infested waiting room?

Low-income Americans with no more than a high school education appear more likely to get vaccinated against H1N1 swine flu than people with more money and better schooling, according to a poll released on Friday.

Quarterly results from Whirlpool Corp, Fortune Brands and several other manufacturers pointed to slight improvements in the U.S. housing market, sending their shares higher.

Microsoft Corp's results smashed Wall Street expectations on Friday, sending its shares up 7 percent, as the PC market improved and sales of its Windows software and Halo video game were stronger than expected.

Oil prices fell on Friday as a stronger U.S. dollar and doubts over the pace of economic recovery halted the commodity's recent rally.

Russell Read, the former chief investment officer of Calpers, the largest pension fund in the United States, knows his trees.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday laid out his most detailed description yet of the central bank's post-crisis approach to regulation and said requiring big banks to hold more capital was under consideration.

Stocks fell on Friday as weak industrial and energy shares overshadowed robust results from technology heavy-weights Microsoft and Amazon.com.

Ingersoll-Rand PLC , which makes heating and cooling systems for homes, businesses and transport, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday despite challenges in its markets and gave a 2010 outlook above Wall Street estimates.

Intel Corp assured Clearwire Corp it is closely guarding its investment information on the wireless-broadband company after an insider-trading scandal surfaced last week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Clearwire chief executive Bill Morrow.

Netbook PC pioneer Asustek aims for its notebook PC shipments to grow faster than the overall industry in 2010, its CEO Jerry Shen said on Friday, with tech demand returning as the global economy recovers.

Microsoft Corp. reported Friday its quarterly sales fell sharply from a year ago and profit that fell from year-ago results but easily beat Wall Street's forecasts.

Oracle should remove the key stumbling block to approval of its Sun acquisition by giving Sun's database MySQL to an independent, non-profit foundation, a free software group said on Friday.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc posted a 15 percent profit drop that was far less severe than analysts had forecast, saying that cost-cutting had protected its margins.

Renewed talks to resolve Honduras' deep political crisis collapsed on Friday over whether leftist President Manuel Zelaya could return to power after he was toppled in a June coup.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as declines in industrials, energy shares and some tech companies overshadowed strong earnings from Microsoft Corp .

General Motors Co bought all of the new shares offered by its struggling South Korean unit for $413 million and the U.S. carmaker will consider further financial aid if necessary, GM Daewoo said on Friday.

Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai said he wanted a better and cleaner presidential election run-off in November to bring stability at a time when Taliban violence is at its worst in eight years of war.

Shares in Dole Food Co Inc, the world's largest producer and seller of fresh fruits and vegetables, edged down in their debut on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange after its initial public offering priced below expectations.

After two years on the sidelines, a handful of retailers is getting ready to test the initial public markets again, emboldened by the stock market rally and a better consumer spending outlook.

Mongolia has shortlisted eight potential partners for its huge Tavan Tolgoi coking coal project, according to Temuulen Ganzorig, deputy director of Erdenes MGL, the Mongolian government company that will hold at least 51 percent of the equity.

Daylight Saving Time schedule ends on Sunday November 1 (The first Sunday of November) at 2 a.m., according to official information from the U.S. government.

U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc's $41.1 billion takeover of smaller rival Schering-Plough Corp won approval from European Union antitrust regulators on Friday.

Malaysia's biggest mobile service provider, Maxis Bhd, aims to raise as much as $3.65 billion in the country's biggest IPO, despite a cooling off in demand for Asian listings following China's flurry of offerings.

Boeing Co has submitted two proposals to the Indian Air Force, offering the AH-64D Apache and the CH-47F Chinook in a deal potentially worth $2 billion, Boeing's country head and Indian officials said on Friday.

South Korea ended a frustrating losing streak in overseas resource deals with the agreed $1.7 billion takeover of Canada's Harvest Energy Trust, securing oil and gas reserves but also taking on an aging refinery in need of significant investment.

Existing home sales resumed their growth trend in September, with sales having risen for five of the past six months, the National Association of Realtors reported on Friday.

Russia has agreed to proposals by the U.N. nuclear watchdog to help reduce Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

Thousands of New York City apartment renters on Thursday won a major court victory that could help them keep lower rents, but may drive landlords into foreclosure and crater city tax revenues.