IBT Staff Reporter

English actors Samantha Morton, Dominic West and Polly Walker have joined

Gus van Sant, who last directed Sean Penn to an Oscar in

Workers at a crisis-hit boiler factory in France have stripped off for a nude calendar in a bid to save 204 jobs slated for redundancy.

Letitia James, a New York City lawmaker, would like Michael Jackson to be honored by naming the subway station where the King of Pop made the film

Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff has told fellow prison inmates that he is dying of cancer, the New York Post reported Monday, citing unnamed prison sources.

Apple announced Monday that the latest version of its Mac OS X operating system would be available starting Friday, August 28.

Venezuelan Stefania Fernandez, an 18-year-old brunette, won the Miss Universe 2009 title on Sunday, giving her South American country its second consecutive win and its sixth title in the beauty pageant.

The Obama administration will not get involved in General Motors Corp.'s choice of a buyer for its Opel operations in Europe, an administration official said on Monday.

U.S. oil refiners could cut output by as much as 25 percent and the nation's reliance on imported refined products could double in the next two decades if the House version of a climate bill becomes law, the American Petroleum Institute said on Monday.

Oil prices rallied to a 10-month high near $75 a barrel on Monday, part of a broad global rally in commodities and equities markets propelled by expectations for an economic recovery.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The U.S. units of media company Reader's Digest Association Inc filed for bankruptcy, marking a new chapter for the 87-year-old magazine as it carries out a plan to cut its debt and transfer ownership to a group of lenders.

Online social networking site Facebook is looking to expand its staff by as much as 50 percent this year, its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told Bloomberg news agency in an interview dated August 20.

Stocks rose to 10-month highs on Monday, extending last week's gains as investors became even more optimistic about signs that major world economies were emerging from recession.

The 98,200 barrel per day Hibernia offshore oil project southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, was unaffected by hurricane Bill, a spokeswoman for Exxon Mobil Corp. said on Monday.

Apple will ship its new Mac OS X version, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, on Friday, Aug. 28, the company's released in its website on Monday.

The Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Qatar's first film event, said on Monday it wants to create a hub for regional filmmakers in the Gulf Arab state, through education initiatives and community involvement.

Reams have been written about the importance of communication between company leaders and the workers.

The new Miss Universe, Stefania Fernandez of Venezuela, receives her crown from the former Miss Universe, also of Venezuela, as the Latin American country takes back to back wins in the pageant.

Wall Street salaries have become everybody's business lately, but the Obama administration's pay czar may try to keep under wraps a large portion of the compensation plans he is reviewing.

Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists who accurately predicted the magnitude of the world's recent financial troubles, sees a big risk of a double-dip recession, according to an opinion piece posted on the Financial Times' website on Sunday.

Stocks rose to 10-month highs on Monday, extending last week's gains as investors became even more optimistic about signs that major world economies were emerging from recession.

The German government sought to calm a growing transatlantic row over the fate of carmaker Opel on Monday as unions threatened

British gas producer BG Group Plc said a well it and partner Petrobras drilled offshore Brazil does not contain hydrocarbons despite an initial examination suggesting gas could be present.

Crescent Point Energy Corp said on Monday it has agreed to acquire private oil and gas producer Wave Energy Ltd for about C$665 million, in a bid to expand its asset base in Saskatchewan.

Bernard Madoff, convicted of swindling $65 billion through the biggest-ever Ponzi scheme, has told fellow prison inmates that he is dying of cancer, the New York Post reported on Monday, citing unnamed prison sources.

The Obama administration will not get involved in General Motors Corp.'s choice of a buyer for its Opel operations in Europe, an administration official said on Monday.

Women's-apparel retailer Charlotte Russe Holdings Inc said it has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Advent International Corp for about $380 million in cash.

A reality TV star wanted for the brutal murder of his bikini model ex-wife in California has been found dead in a motel near Vancouver, Canadian police said on Sunday.

President Viktor Yushchenko criticized domestic and foreign detractors on Monday and said Ukraine needed strong institutions to parry threats to its future prosperity.