IBT Staff Reporter

I've never seen anyone hitchhiking in Japan. Maybe it's because most people own a car or motorbike, and those that don't rely instead on the fantastically efficient train and bus services.

Bangkok is 'fake it' central. It's a city where pretending you're something you're not has become a way of life. Everywhere you go, you'll see fake designer purses, watches, shoes, suits; you name it, and Bangkok has it in all the colors.

Oil prices jumped more than 2 percent on Thursday, touching a one-year high after government data showed a steep, unexpected drop in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories.

Fertility clinic websites aren't doing a great job of explaining the risks of testing an embryo for genetic disorders before it's implanted in the womb, researchers found.

Stocks slipped on Thursday after Goldman Sachs and Citigroup reported quarterly results, but losses were limited after positive oil inventory data helped energy shares.

Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it was launching same-day delivery service in seven cities as the online retailer looks to win sales from last-minute shoppers this holiday season.

U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday after Goldman Sachs and Citigroup reported quarterly results, but losses were limited after positive oil inventory data helped energy shares.

A common gene that can cause abnormal heart rhythms can also trigger epileptic seizures in the brain and may explain the sudden, unexplained deaths that often occur in people with epilepsy, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Uninformed relatives responsible for the care of advanced Alzheimer patients often seek overly aggressive treatments, and doctors treating frail elderly with kidney failure should be wary of using dialysis, according to two studies reported Wednesday.

A Senate panel voted on Thursday to bar drug companies from paying generic drugmakers to delay bringing their cheaper medicines to market.

CVS Caremark Corp (CVS) said on Thursday its seasonal flu-shot clinics will run through Oct. 22, less than three weeks after the official start of the influenza season, due to manufacturer delays in delivering flu vaccine.

Shares of Lazard Ltd dropped nearly 3 percent on Thursday following news that its chief executive, legendary Wall Street deal maker Bruce Wasserstein, had died at the age of 61.

Walmart.com is cutting the prices of popular books even before they hit store shelves.

Lazard Capital Markets started coverage of acute care hospitals with a cautious stance based on its slower growth outlook for the sector in 2010, and rated Community Health Systems Inc (CYH) a buy, citing the company's internal growth opportunities and limited-risk balance sheet.

Garth Brooks, the best-selling solo musician in U.S. history, said on Thursday he was coming out of retirement and was expected to announce an extended concert run at the Wynn Las Vegas casino and hotel.

The Dow Jones industrial average briefly turned positive on Thursday as resurgent crude oil prices lifted energy shares, but both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq held near break-even due to caution about earnings.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Thursday its car sales in China in September rose 45 percent from a year earlier to a record monthly high of about 72,000 vehicles as stimulus policies bolstered consumer confidence.

Hundreds of workers at General Motors Co GM.UL's Thai assembly plant ended a 10-day strike on Thursday after settling a pay dispute with the management, the U.S. auto maker said in a statement.

Bajaj Auto (BAJA.BO) said on Thursday its net profit more than doubled in the September quarter, beating forecasts, and India's second-largest motorcycle maker said it saw strong sales growth in the next six months.

U.S. consumer prices edged up in September, the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a nine-month low last week and New York state factory activity perked up this month, more proof the economy was healing after a protracted recession.

Citigroup Inc posted a quarterly per-share loss as it suffered $8 billion of credit losses, raising questions about when the bank can return to sustained profitability.

Oil rose toward $76 a barrel on Thursday, its sixth straight session of gains in spite of a brief midsession stumble as the euro fell on disappointing Q3 earnings reports, traders said.

Oil rose toward $76 a barrel on Thursday in its sixth straight session of gains after a government inventory report showed large drops in gasoline and distillate stocks, surprising the market.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The number of British adults signing up to social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace has almost doubled in the last two years, according to new research from the country's communications watchdog.

U.S. clothing chain Gap Inc plans to open its first store in China next year as it seeks new international opportunities to counteract a protracted domestic sales slump at its main brand.

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe became the most-watched lawmaker in the U.S. healthcare debate by following one of the oldest and most pragmatic of maxims -- that all politics is local.

Older people who have been infected with or vaccinated against seasonal flu may have a type of immunity produced by cells that protects them from the swine flu virus, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it has recovered most of the data feared lost by users of its Sidekick mobile phone, following a Microsoft server computer failure.

Hospital and other healthcare workers are at the front of the line to get the new swine flu vaccine, but many are resisting and even fighting vaccination requirements.