IBT Staff Reporter

Popular reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance has made peace with America's gay community by putting a same-sex Latin ballroom couple into a new round of competition and appointing an openly gay judge.

The stock of Mexican telecommunications provider Axtel rose for a third straight session on Thursday on news that it plans to offer satellite television, creating tougher competition for media giant Televisa.

British private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd is improving results at EMI, but said it might have paid too much money for the debt-laden home of the Beatles and Coldplay.

Oil prices slipped slightly in seesaw trading Thursday as U.S. equities fell, again raising concern about the economy and a rebound in energy demand.

Emily, the 3-year-old girl that made headlines for throwing a foul ball back caught by her father at the Phillies' game was interviewed by reporters.

Former members of The Clash, Mick Jones and Nicky Topper Headon, have recorded together for the first time in almost 30 years by reworking a version of the punk rock band's 1978 song Jail Guitar Doors.

Users of Microsoft Office or Windows Live will soon have the option of trying out Microsoft's new Office Web Apps.

Puerto Rican rap duo Calle 13 led the contenders for the 10th annual Latin Grammys with five nominations, organizers said on Thursday, while Brazilian star Caetano Veloso and alternative Mexican band Cafe Tacvba were among the diverse acts with multiple mentions.

In a career spanning some 40 movies including global hits The English Patient and Chocolat, Juliette Binoche has built a strong reputation by playing many erotically charged and emotionally naked characters.

Hard core vampire fans take heart, a new movie about the fabled living dead has a bit more bite to it than the popular Twilight brand of blood suckers.

Germany's Siemens aims to build on its leading position in offshore wind turbines to become the world's third-biggest supplier to the wind industry overall by 2012, a senior executive said.

U.S.-based solar panel maker First Solar Inc said on Thursday that it will supply 27 megawatts of solar panels for utility projects in the United States to a unit of juwi Holding AG.

European plane maker Airbus expects a spate of order cancellations by cash-strapped airlines this winter to contribute to flat overall sales next year, its chief operating officer said on Thursday.

Employers may bear the brunt; Billions for AMR; AT&T's Flat Projections

Shares of American Airlines parent AMR Corp soared as much as 25 percent Thursday after the company said it had raised $2.9 billion and would shift flying to more profitable routes.

FedEx Corp reported a 53 percent drop in quarterly profit on Thursday as the worldwide economic downturn continued to weigh on shipping volumes.

Solar power makers will get a boost in California, already their largest U.S. market, as it sharpens its focus on small-scale projects as part of efforts to get a third of its power from renewable energy.

One needs to look no further then the river that runs through Shangba to understand the extent of the heavy metals pollution that experts say has turned the hamlets in this region of southern China into cancer villages.

A stretch of Enbridge Inc's crude oil pipeline from Canada to the United States was operating normally after being shut by a power outage last week, the company said on Thursday.

Electrical components maker Thomas & Betts Corp expects to see flat volumes through the end of the year, a top executive said in an analyst presentation on Thursday.

U.S. stocks declined on Thursday, weighed down by materials and financial shares as investors paused following a three-day run-up.

Tucson Electric Power, a unit of UniSource Energy Corp, agreed to buy power from two solar energy systems to be built in Arizona that would generate enough electricity for more than 6,000 homes, the company said in a release late Wednesday.

Engineering and construction company Foster Wheeler is learning how to grow more through mergers and acquisitions, but must shed its careful approach first, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Avon Products Inc President Elizabeth Smith is leaving the company to pursue her ambition of being a chief executive, the world's leading direct seller of cosmetics said on Thursday.

The chief state's medical examiner's office released the autopsy results Wednesday of the 24-year-old Yale graduate student whose body was found inside a basement wall on Sunday.

A 24-year-old Yale University lab technician was arrested Thursday morning and charged for the murder of Annie Le, a crime that police has called a concerning case of workplace violence.

Genetic analysis products maker Sequenom Inc said on Thursday it launched its cystic fibrosis carrier screening test, sending its shares up 12 percent.

Chip technology developer Tessera Technologies Inc raised its third-quarter revenue forecast, driven by improved performance across its segments.

Prosecutors expect a mainstream international bank to reach a settlement within 30 days over illicit links with Iran, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said on Thursday.