IBT Staff Reporter

Rihanna posed topless in a provocative photo shoot for the Italian Vogue magazine.

U.S. home prices are nearing the end of a three-year slump and should rise in 2010, though the overall economy can rebound even if the housing market does not, according to a Reuters poll.

NEW YORK - Carrie Underwood has rushed out the first single from her new album to YouTube, a day after an unfinished version of Cowboy Casanova leaked online.

Family Dollar Stores Inc saw quarterly sales grow less than expected, as store reorganizations it undertook across the country interrupted some shopping, and its shares fell nearly 9 percent.

NEW YORK - Carrie Underwood has rushed out the first single from her new album to YouTube, a day after an unfinished version of Cowboy Casanova leaked online.

Chemical shipments on U.S. railroads fell 13.4 percent last week, the Association of American Railroads said on Thursday.

We are a species that thrives on discovering the undiscovered, catching glimpses of the unseen and telling stories about the unverified. Our myths and tall tales are full of sea monsters, giants and demons

U.S. home prices are nearing the end of a three-year slump and should rise in 2010, though the overall economy can rebound even if the housing market does not, according to a Reuters poll.

Starbucks Corp named Michelle Gass on Thursday to the new role of president of its Seattle's Best Coffee chain, responsible for building out the brand and managing 550 U.S. Seattle's Best cafes.

At first glance, one might think this Buddhist shrine belongs in a science-fiction movie. Or somewhere in Las Vegas.

Oil prices slipped on Thursday, settling just under $68 a barrel as disappointing news from the labor market outweighed economic optimism from data showing that the U.S. service sector and retail sales improved.

Giuseppe Tornatore has always been a sentimental director with a love for over-the-top emotions.

The Fox business news channel of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has agreed to simulcast the radio show of Don Imus, the ratings-grabber who stirred a national controversy on race two years ago.

Sound familiar? It's the way most people travel-circling must-sees, creating air-tight itineraries, booking tours and hotels, practicing how to ask for the bathroom and haggle for souvenirs

U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday, with investors divided between hopes of recovery after stronger-than-expected retail sales and worries about the economy before Friday's key jobs report.

Hollywood actress Audrina Patridge became a U.S. television personality when she landed on MTV's hit reality series

The Toronto International Film Festival is under attack for its decision to present a series of films spotlighting the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, which a group of high-profile artists and celebrities say constitutes complicity in

The U.S. manufacturing sector's return to expansion should be music to equity investors' ears, but bankers say past experience as well as the circumstances of the current rebound suggest a good deal of caution is warranted.

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.

Oil prices steadied on Thursday as economic optimism from data showing that the U.S. service sector and retail sales improved was tempered by disappointing news from the labor market.

Lower-priced U.S. retailers posted better-than-expected sales results in August as consumers looked to save money in the key back-to-school season, leaving luxury chains struggling.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, criticized this week for failing to detect the Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scam, needs more money and a new way of getting it, said a key lawmaker on Thursday.

It's been suggested that gum disease raises the risk of preterm birth in pregnant women and it was thought that getting rid of gum disease may potentially reduce the risk of preterm delivery.

Carmakers Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) plan short working hours at plants in Germany later this year, abandoning hopes that a year-long sales swoon could reverse quickly.

U.S. yogis are being asked to regulate more than their breathing -- and they are fighting back.

General Motors Co [GM.UL] will end a three-month stoppage at its Venezuela plants next week after reaching an agreement with the government of President Hugo Chavez to free up foreign currency to import parts.

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.

Taking on corporate giants can feel like tilting at windmills, but John Kopchinski's six-year legal battle against Pfizer Inc just made him a rich man.

Stocks rose slightly on Thursday as investors focused on stronger-than-expected sales by key retailers in August, offsetting weak labor-market data.