IBT Staff Reporter

TSMC, the world's biggest contract chip maker, said third-quarter sales rose by a fifth from the previous three months, matching its own forecast, thanks to growing chip demand.

The dollar rose on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated U.S. monetary policy could be tightened as a recovery takes hold, sending crude and metal prices lower.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is contemplating accessing money market funds through clearing banks or the creation of a facility to drain cash added to the financial system, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the plans.

Government programs to fight the U.S. home foreclosure crisis look increasingly inadequate and should be reworked, expanded and supplemented with new ideas, a congressional watchdog said in a report on Friday.

Asian shares hit a new 14-month high on Friday on investor optimism over the global economy, while the dollar rose on short-covering following its slide earlier in the week.

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is questioning the positive conclusions given to Citigroup Inc's management team in a government-mandated review in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.

China's Tengzhong may finalize a deal to buy General Motors Co's Hummer business for about $150 million on Friday, a source familiar with the deal said, China's biggest brand grab since Lenovo bought IBM's PC unit in 2005.

Asian shares hit a fresh 14-month high on Friday on optimism over U.S. earnings and the global economy, while the U.S. dollar got a reprieve after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated monetary policy would have to be tightened as a recovery takes hold.

U.S. lawmakers urged regulators to investigate Google Inc's ability to block expensive calls to rural areas to slash expenses, marking the latest spat between the Internet giant and AT&T Inc.

Gestational diabetes occurs only during pregnancy, and affects about 4 percent of pregnant women, says the American Diabetes Association.

An India-made cholera vaccine that meets World Health Organization standards has proven to be safe and effective in young children in a part of India where the disease is endemic, a new study says.

One of two former Bear Stearns managers indicted for fraud over the collapse of hedge funds in 2007 feared a blow up risk to investors as early as November 2006, according to an email released on Thursday.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc will soon sell its own electronic reader to rival Amazon.com Inc's Kindle, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

James Simons, a mathematics professor who became one of the best paid hedge fund managers in the world, is retiring as chief executive of his Renaissance Technologies firm on Jan 1, a person briefed in the matter said.

Liz Claiborne Inc will move its namesake brand to JC Penney Co Inc Department Stores and take a line by celebrity designer Isaac Mizrahi off department store shelves in a strategy shift that pushed shares up nearly 33 percent to their highest level in 11 months.

Prosecutors will not be allowed to suggest to a jury in the trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers that they believe one defendant tried to hide certain email evidence, a U.S. judge ruled on Thursday.

Music producer Shelby Singleton, whose biggest hit was Harper Valley PTA in a career that spanned country and rhythm and blues, has died of brain cancer, friend Jerry Kennedy said on Thursday.

Guy Laliberte, the Canadian billionaire circus entrepreneur, flew into space with a clown nose and an idea that was literally out of this world.

Country singer Taylor Swift has proven she has nothing to fear from touring after performing to sold-out crowds, so the 19 year-old said on Thursday she will extend her Fearless Tour into 2010.

British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber Thursday unveiled his latest musical Love Never Dies, a sequel to hit show The Phantom of the Opera which has played to more than 100 million people around the world.

Barry Manilow is in a festive mood. With Manilow set to end a five-year run at the Las Vegas Hilton on December 30, Sony Music said the 66-year-old singer has re-signed his recording deal with its Arista Records label and will be releasing two new albums in the coming months.

If George W. Bush was the Decider who relied mostly on gut instinct as U.S. president, Barack Obama has shown himself to be the Deliberator.

Comedian Lewis Black has been making people laugh with his take-no-prisoners approach to whatever pops up in his cross-hairs -- government, milk, official tips on how to survive a nuclear blast.

Don't Panic. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is back with a sixth installment of the absurd, intergalactic and increasingly inaccurately named trilogy.

A top U.S. labor group on Thursday asked the Obama administration's pay czar to stop any retirement payments to Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday that while the U.S. central bank's vast support for the economy will likely be needed for a while, the Fed must remove that help as the economy heals to ward off inflation.

Security software maker Sophos Inc is introducing free programs that prevent sensitive data from getting outside corporate firewalls, taking on products sold by Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc.

The United States slipped from first to third place after the U.K. and Australia in a ranking of financial development released by the World Economic Forum on Thursday, as the global financial crisis badly hurt bank stability in developed countries.

A lower reading in the Unemployment Rate for September yesterday saw the Australian Dollar rally hard in local trade.