IBT Staff Reporter

European Union antitrust regulators are seeking to ensure that an offer by U.S. software company Microsoft to give users the chance to choose rivals' Web browsers was workable for consumers and its rivals.

Wall Street was set for a lower open on Friday on doubts about the strength of the economic recovery, after data showed new orders for durable goods unexpectedly fell in August.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell unexpectedly in August, dropping by their biggest margin in seven months, following a plunge in commercial aircraft orders, the government reported on Friday.

Large Cadbury investors are worried Chief Executive Todd Stitzer may overplay his hand in fending off Kraft's $10 billion offer, with no white knight in sight to spark a bidding war.

Volkswagen is setting up a joint venture with Varta Microbattery GmbH to develop more powerful batteries for use in electric cars, Europe's biggest carmaker said on Friday.

Swiss watchmaker Omega, a part of the Swatch Group, has extended its deal as one of the IOC's top sponsors and will be the Olympic Games' official timekeeper until 2020, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.

Casino operator Wynn Resorts' $1.6 billion Initial Public Offering of its Macau unit in Hong Kong is more than 10 times covered, a source familiar with the deal said on Friday.

Oil rose above $66 a barrel on Friday, recovering from the previous day's drop to an eight-week low, but gains were limited by doubts about the strength of economic recovery and high fuel inventories.

The Group of 20 will agree to phase out subsidies on oil and other fossil fuels in the medium term, but will not set a firm timetable for the move aimed at combating global warming, a draft statement said.

A new Michael Jackson single called This Is It will hit the airwaves on October 12, two weeks before it is available as part of a two-disc album released by the late pop star's record label.

The Lion will try to get its distribution roar back this weekend, but its female-targeting musical Fame will have to fend off a couple other wannabe kings of the box-office jungle.

India aims to set up a real estate regulator and an appellate tribunal to control and facilitate construction and development in its largely unorganised housing sector, the government said on Friday.

The European Union's ambition to lead the fight against climate change faces a setback as its target of rolling out full-scale carbon capture and storage plants by 2015 is increasingly seen by experts as unrealistic.

Homebuilder KB Home reported a deeper quarterly loss than Wall Street had expected, and its chief executive warned he does not expect meaningful improvement in the U.S. housing market in the near future.

It's shake-up time for Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

A 50 percent leap in the shares of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc on their first day of trading looks likely to jumpstart the market for clean-tech share offerings.

Actor Randy Quaid and his wife Evi were arrested on Thursday following a complaint that they had not paid a hotel bill of more than $10,000, according to U.S. authorities.

Actor Brad Pitt was honored on Thursday for his humanitarian work in helping rebuild hurricane-ravaged New Orleans at former U.S. President Bill Clinton's philanthropic summit, the Clinton Global Initiative.

Pearl Jam is on course to nab its first No. 1 album on the U.S. pop chart in 13 years next week.

Homebuilder KB Home reported a narrower quarterly loss, though its chief executive cautioned that he does not expect to see meaningful improvement in the U.S. housing market in the near future.

Character actor Ken Howard was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild on Thursday, the union said, four days after he won an Emmy for the HBO TV movie Grey Gardens.

Surrogates is a movie about human robots that appears to have been made by human robots. Just as the dystopian world the movie portrays is arid and specious, the movie itself is a mechanical sci-fi'er absent of logic or emotions. It functions as an expensive place-filler on the Disney release schedule and, as such, will be welcomed by only the least discriminating thriller fans after it opens Fr...

Sales of newly built U.S. homes likely rose to their highest level in a year in August, supported by government-sponsored tax incentives and growing signs of the economy's recovery, according to a Reuters poll.

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday ahead of key data expected to show a small gain in new orders for durable goods.

As ailing showbiz mogul Dick Clark prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday in November, a new documentary threatens to tarnish his image by recounting his controversial beginnings.

Watch out Britney, Octomom and Paris! Shows spoofing your fame are piling up faster than celebrity magazines in a hair salon, and they include a stage musical and animated TV programs.

New orders for long lasting U.S. manufactured goods probably rose for a second straight month in August as stronger demand for automobiles offset a drop in commercial aircraft orders, according to a Reuters survey.

The Group of 20 will become the forum for global economic management, giving rising powers such as China more clout, and roll out tougher rules on bank capital by the end of 2012, a draft communique said on Friday.

The dollar slipped on Friday after a draft communique from Group of 20 leaders said economic stimulus measures would remain in place for now, suggesting U.S. interest rates would remain low.