IBT Staff Reporter

While businesses across the United States slash jobs, state and local governments have actually increased employment slightly since the economic recession began in December 2007, according to a report released on Thursday.

President Hamid Karzai's campaign and chief rival Abdullah Abdullah both said on Friday they had won Afghanistan's election, but Washington's chief envoy warned candidates not to declare victory prematurely.

Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith, former members of Panic! At the Disco, are anything but panicked as they prepare for life after a schism that cut the band in half.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday, spurred by positive economic data from Europe, as investors awaited a U.S. report on existing home sales and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the lessons from the financial crisis.

Million Dollar Billy Bob? Billy Bob Thornton is attached to star in

Singer-songwriter Norah Jones will move away from jazz roots on her fourth studio album.

For better or worse, this weekend's opening of Quentin Tarantino's

General Motors is moving closer to picking Germany's favored buyer, Magna International and its Russian partners, for its Opel business when GM's board meets on Friday, sources close to the matter said.

Stocks rose on Friday after positive economic data from Europe and ahead of a U.S. report on existing home sales and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the lessons from the financial crisis.

Exxon Mobil Corp is evacuating staff from its Sable Offshore Energy Project off the coast of Nova Scotia before Hurricane Bill arrives in the area this weekend.

Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd posted a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit on Thursday but trimmed its full-year forecast for shipments and said prices on solar panels were still falling sharply, sending shares down 3 percent.

COLOGNE, Germany - Films and videogames would seem a match made in heaven, so why are games based on hit movies so bad? Despite sharing the same demographic of devoted fans, action, sci-fi and fantasy films rarely translate into branded videogame hits.

In an effort to combat falling advertising revenue, News Corp executives have been proposing the formation of a consortium with other publishers to charge for news distributed on the Internet and on portable devices, the Los Angeles Times reported on its website.

Stock index futures rose on Friday as investors looked to a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and new data on the sale of existing homes for a fresh insight into the economy.

Central bankers around the world may be gathering to solve the world's problems at their annual mountain retreat hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, but the only fur coat being sported in the lobby of the Jackson Lake Lodge is by a stuffed grizzly bear.

Oil touched a high for this year above $73 a barrel on Friday ahead of further pointers on the economic health of the United States and as the dollar flagged against a stronger euro.

Caterpillar and Navistar International Corp are in talks with China's Jianghuai Automobile to set up a truck venture, a source said, as the firms become the latest foreign players to tap the market dominated by Chinese state auto groups.

Stock index futures rose on Friday as investors looked to a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and new data on the sale of existing homes for a fresh insight into the economy.

Oil touched a year-high above $73 a barrel on Friday ahead of further pointers on the economic health of the United States and as the dollar flagged against a stronger euro.

Oil rose over $73 a barrel on Friday, off a seven-week high, ahead of further pointers on the economic health of the United States, the world's top energy consumer.

Oil eased below $73 a barrel on Friday, tracking back from a seven-week high, as caution braked gains ahead of further pointers on the economic health of the United States, the world's top energy consumer.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.12 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.39 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.42 percent at 0730 GMT.

The fate of Opel hangs in the balance as General Motors is poised to pick a buyer for the European carmaker after months of negotiations.

Fujitsu Ltd , Japan's biggest IT services firm, nearly quadrupled its annual net profit forecast after it unloaded shares in industrial robot maker Fanuc Ltd for 89 billion yen ($945 million), parrying speculation that it needs to raise capital.

The U.S. government said it will suspend its popular Cash for Clunkers auto rebates on Monday as the program's $3 billion budget runs dry, a month after it was launched.

Oil eased below $73 a barrel on Friday, reversing an earlier surge to a seven-week high, as optimism over the pace of demand recovery in top energy consumer, the United States, faded on the back of mixed economic data.

U.S. sales of existing homes likely rose to their highest level in 10 months in July, according to a Reuters poll, as buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time homeowners.

Oil eased below $73 a barrel on Friday, reversing an earlier surge to a seven-week high, as optimism over the pace of demand recovery in top energy consumer, the United States, faded.

Most Asian stock markets edged higher on Friday, keeping a wary eye on volatile Chinese shares, while currency traders went on the defensive after a wild see-saw week and mixed U.S. economic data, bidding up the safe-haven yen.