IBT Staff Reporter

Gold futures were a touch lower but remained near $1,000 after the previous session's rally, which took the metal to a six-month high as safe-haven buying gathered momentum on renewed economic uncertainties.

The two main U.S. regulators policing the securities and futures markets were urged on Thursday to align their rules for ferreting out fraud, protecting investors and punishing wrongdoers.

The U.S. government plans to accelerate the pace of processing up to $3 billion in cash for clunkers reimbursements to auto dealers and hopes to complete the job by month's end, officials said on Thursday.

Michael Jackson finally will be buried near Los Angeles on Thursday evening, 70 days after his death, and authorities are going to great lengths to ensure he will rest in peace.

North Korea said Friday that it was in the final stage of enriching uranium, a process that would give it a second path to making a nuclear weapon.

An investigative panel in the U.S. Congress will hold hearings on the failure of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to follow clues that could have uncovered Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

US TREASURIES pulled back on Thursday. Pressure from covering of recent long positions, announcements of next week's Treasury auctions and an apparent stabilization of equity prices ahead of Friday's reports on US payrolls prompted many with long positions to cover ahead of the long weekend.

Apple Inc's media extravaganza next week is being greeted with unusual calm, as it is uncertain if charismatic CEO Steve Jobs will appear and investors have nothing much to bet on apart from new iPods with cameras.

Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was purchased by French designer Christian Audigier for an undisclosed amount.

Jaycee Lee Dugard's family has finally spoken to the media. Her aunt Tina Dugard talked to the media in Los Angeles and read out a written statement on Thursday .

Google Inc should develop a privacy policy for its plan to digitize millions of books that limits use of consumer data, the Federal Trade Commission said in a letter to the company.

The Australian Dollar opens higher on Friday just shy of US84 cents as recent positive economic data bolsters sentiment. During Thursday's local session, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that the trade deficit for July widened by A$1bio to a larger than expected A$1.556bio. Imports were up by 4 per cent which the market interpreted as showing businesses and consumers were doing well and defying international trends. Also underpinning the local unit was a steady session on local equi...

USD/JPY Current Price: 92.64. Pair lost downside momentum and looks slightly bullish at this point, at least in the short term. Moving inside an ascendant channel and above 20 SMA, indicators in the hourly seem a bit exhausted and pointing for a short downside correction; 92.50, base of the channel should hold to see the pair extend the upside rally, and attempt a test of the 93.00 level.

The contraction in the U.S. services sector eased last month, with a gauge of activity hitting its highest point in nearly a year, a further suggestion that a modest economic recovery was under way.

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke confirmed the details of his forthcoming single release Thursday with a posting on the band's website.

Whitney Houston struggled with her voice during her much-hyped comeback performance on ABC's

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, snapping a four-day losing streak, after stronger-than-expected retail sales data eased concerns about the economy before Friday's important jobs data.

European Union antitrust regulators launched an in-depth probe on Thursday into Oracle Corp's $7 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc on concerns the deal could dent competition in the database market.

U.S. scientific instruments maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc said on Thursday it agreed to buy privately held Brahms AG for about $470 million to acquire the German company's line of diagnostic tests and expand its manufacturing presence in Europe.

A Chinese sovereign fund could take a stake in French state-controlled nuclear reactor maker Areva CEPFi.PA., French daily Les Echos reported.

Another week, another turn at the top for the Black Eyed Peas.

The head of General Motors Europe told a newspaper he believed Canadian auto parts group Magna was most likely to win a bidding battle for Opel, but that the carmaker could also thrive under the ownership of its U.S. parent.

Gold prices rallied on Thursday to their highest level since February on strong investment demand amid caution ahead of key U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday.

British transport group National Express is considering an improved takeover proposal worth 765 million pounds ($1.3 billion) from a consortium led by its largest investor, sending its shares up 13 percent.

G20 countries need to pre-plan for withdrawal of the monetary and fiscal stimulus that is fuelling global economic recovery but should not move on either front for much of the next year, the OECD's chief economist says.

Opel's senior labor leader threatened General Motors that the European carmaker's workforce would not pitch in to reduce some $1.2 billion in costs if Detroit retains control of Opel.

A unit of GreenHunter Energy Inc said on Thursday it signed a 20-year power sales deal for its biomass power plant in California, enabling the company to complete construction.

The global economic crisis is not over and unemployment will keep rising in the months to come, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany warned on Thursday before a meeting of G20 policymakers in London this weekend.

A Chance to Learn; Low Prices Rule; Will Probe Derail Oracle?