IBT Staff Reporter

The Group of Seven rich nations urged China on Saturday to strengthen the yuan, but gave no sign of how it might overcome Chinese resistance to that suggestion or resolve other tensions over global currency rates.

Australians are being encouraged to set aside some time to go for a walk and to continue to be active as part of Walk to Work Day today.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a big investor in Citigroup , urged the U.S. government to sell its stake in the bank as soon as this year to boost investor confidence, Emerging Markets magazine reported.

Toy Story 1 & 2 in 3D Double Feature, the two pioneering Pixar films which have been digitally remastered and have been altered with 3-D effects, hit theaters on Friday October 2, for only two weeks.

The head of the International Finance Corp said on Saturday that the group plans to work with private equity funds, debt servicing companies and major banks to soak up toxic assets held by banks in emerging markets.

Amid job losses, workers and small businesses can seek gov't help

Ashley A.J. Jewell, the former fiancé of a cast member from The Real Housewives of Atlanta died after a fight late Friday outside an Atlanta strip club, police said, according to the Associated Press.

The Group of Seven rich nations urged China on Saturday to strengthen the yuan, but gave no sign of how it might overcome Chinese resistance to that suggestion or resolve other tensions over global currency rates.

Private equity firm Bridgepoint is eyeing a dual track process for pet food retailer Pets at Home, sources said, exploring the options of a listing and an outright sale in tandem.

Education Management Corp rose 20.9 percent in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq on Friday, above average for a U.S. initial public offering this year.

Mexican construction company ICA and partner Goldman Sachs placed a package of toll highways on the stock market on Friday, the first use of a new investment vehicle meant to boost financing for infrastructure projects.

A group of investors including Starwood Capital Group and private equity firm TPG are the likely winner of the auction for assets of failed Corus Bank, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Israeli holding company IDB Holding Corp said on Saturday it was close to signing a deal to acquire from HSBC the bank's headquarters in Manhattan for $330 million.

International real estate firm Hines plans to set up a $1 billion distressed asset fund focusing on the United Arab Emirates, a company official was quoted on Saturday as saying.

Cities and municipalities are having trouble spending the money allotted by the controversial Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which was passed by Congress last year to acquire houses in blighted neighborhoods.

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke made a case to Congress on Thursday that the Fed needed additional powers to oversee banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, and others. He also admitted that the Fed hasn’t done a good job protecting consumers but said improvements are being made.

The United Nations scientist whose report set the global standard for climate change sees biofuels as a good investment bet and advised on Friday that people eat less meat to help curb global warming.

Three U.S. banks failed on Friday, bringing the total to 98 this year, as regulators continue to shutter financial institutions that are overwhelmed by bad loans and liquidity problems.

A former JPMorgan Chase & Co Inc employee sued the bank on Friday, accusing it of firing him after he uncovered what he said were schemes to overstate the value of bank assets, court documents showed.

Financial officials of the Group of Seven rich nations, which dominated global policymaking for decades, were set Saturday to discuss a diminished future for their group as it grappled with tensions over currency rates.

A powerful typhoon slammed into the northeastern Philippines on Saturday, killing four people, tearing roofs off houses and uprooting trees, but damage and flooding was much less than expected.

Israeli planes carried out strikes on tunnels used for smuggling along the Gaza-Egypt border and a building east of Gaza city on Saturday, causing damage but no casualties, security forces and the Israeli military said.

The Group of 24 nations on Saturday called for a significant shift in IMF voting power to developing nations and a doubling of members' quotas to raise more resources for the global financial institution.

Irish voters have approved the EU's Lisbon Treaty, Ireland's foreign minister said on Saturday, reversing last year's shock rejection and pulling the bloc's ambitions for greater global influence out of the deep freeze.

Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi held a rare meeting with a minister from the ruling junta on Saturday, a government source said, a week after she offered to work for withdrawal of sanctions on the country.

After gaining market share every month since its June unveiling, Microsoft's Bing search engine slowed for the first time in September as Google snatched 83 percent share of the market.

Rescue teams pushed deeper into Indonesia's earthquake-hit Sumatra on Saturday, finding entire villages obliterated by landslides and survivors desperate for aid three days after the tremor.

The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived in Iran on Saturday for talks on a timetable for inspectors to visit a newly disclosed nuclear enrichment plant, state radio reported.

Apple could double its iPhone sales if it ended its policy of exclusive contract with mobile service providers, according to analysts.