IBT Staff Reporter

Candidates across Japan made their final pitch to voters on Saturday on the eve of an election the opposition looks poised to win, giving the untested Democrats the job of tackling record unemployment and a fast-aging society.

U.S. presidents, members of Congress and the public gathered on a rainy Saturday to say goodbye to Senator Edward Kennedy, a towering figure in American politics who contributed to major social changes of the last 50 years.

Director Spike Lee is sponsoring a public birthday celebration for Michael Jackson in Prospect Park, New York on Saturday.

Three more U.S. banks failed on Friday, bringing the total to 84 so far this year, as the industry continues to grapple with deteriorating loans on their books.

U.S. bank regulators closed Affinity Bank of Ventura, California on Friday, the 84th U.S. bank to fail this year as economic weakness continues to take a toll on financial institutions.

The last week of summer could prove to be anything but relaxing for stock investors worried about the economy, with the crucial August jobs report on the agenda.

U.S. bank regulators closed Mainstreet Bank of Forest Lake, Minnesota, on Friday, the 83rd U.S. bank to fail this year as economic weakness continues to take a toll on financial institutions.

TORONTO - Bank of Montreal, one of Canada's top banks, is suing two U.S.-based brokerages and some of their former officers and shareholders for their part in an intricate fraud carried out by the former head of its commodity derivatives group, court documents showed.

A surge in H1N1 cases and outbreaks is expected in Hong Kong when schools resume next week, officials said on Friday, adding the virus is still active in the city.

Insurance giant American International Group has paused the auction of its aircraft leasing firm, International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), as its new CEO reviews the divestiture process, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Scottish explorer Cairn Energy said on Saturday it may rope in partners if it decides to bid for blocks offered in the latest auction round of Iraq oil fields.

The chief executive of insolvent German retailer Arcandor said its department store business Karstadt could survive independently and may not need to merge with rival Kaufhof, a German magazine reported.

Whirlpool Corp plans to shut a plant in Evansville, Indiana and move some production to Mexico next year, a change that will eliminate about 1.6 percent of the world's biggest appliance maker's workforce.

Walt Disney Co, Hearst Corp and NBC Universal said on Thursday that their jointly owned A&E Television Networks group will buy Lifetime Entertainment Services for an undisclosed sum.

Twenty years ago, the idea that technology would be at the center of business was still part of the future. Computers were just starting to land on desks as fledgling companies like Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc said their products would change the way we work.

FremantleMedia Enterprises is betting that parkour and freerunning, up-and-coming sports that have already attracted an online crowd, can draw a TV audience.

Ford Motor Co's mid-size 2010 Fusion in August has set a monthly sales record for the model for a fifth consecutive month and average transaction prices have been increasing, Ford said on Friday.

Foxconn, the world's top contract cellphone maker, posted its second straight half-year loss, and said the outlook remained cloudy, underscoring the fragility of the sector's recovery.

Out of pain and destruction can come hope and celebration. That's the genesis of jazz trumpeter and film composer Terence Blanchard's new album,

A lead single about a proletarian revolt against the global banking crisis. A teaser campaign involving a worldwide musical treasure hunt. And an album that ends with a three-part, fully orchestrated symphony about an alternative theory of the creation of mankind. Is Muse the only young, stadium-filling rock band that could get away with this?

With the face of an ingenue and the lyrical bite of a social commentator, Kany Garcia debuted in 2007 as part of a new crop of Latin female singer-songwriters.

Randy Houser is on top of the world. His second single,

Italy's UBI Banca saw net profit fall 75 percent in the first half as revenues fell, the bank said on Saturday.

Two real estate investment trusts filed for initial public offerings on Friday, bringing to eight the number of applications since early July by REITs created by real estate companies seeking to take advantage of the distressed commercial property market.

A patriotic Chinese film aimed at boosting national pride ahead of a key political anniversary has tempers rising instead, because many of the movie's stars are foreign citizens.

Demian Bichir, the Mexican actor who portrayed Fidel Castro in Steven Soderberg's

Qatar Holding LLC aims to become the largest shareholder in Songbird Estates -- owner of much of London's Canary Wharf office complex -- the investment arm of the Qatari wealth fund said late on Friday.

Demand in the ailing forestry sector has stabilised after a grim start to 2009 but controlling costs will remain a major focus for the foreseeable future, paper company executives said on Tuesday.