IBT Staff Reporter

The U.S. unemployment rate fell in July for the first time in 15 months as employers cut far fewer jobs than expected, giving the clearest indication yet that the economy was turning around from a deep recession.

Giambi was released by the A's on Friday, cutting short the struggling slugger's return to his first major league club. It's unclear whether he will catch on with another club or whether this could be the end of a 15-year career.

Total U.S. consumer credit fell by a steeper-than-expected $10.3 billion in June, Federal Reserve data showed on Friday, and the drop in May was much bigger than previously thought.

Sherri Shepherd took center stage on “The View” on Thursday to show off her new figure after months of diet and exercise.

Florida republican, Senator Mel Martinez, has decided to leave the senate permanently in the next few weeks following his earlier announcement that he would no longer be running for re-election in 2010.

Stocks shot up on Friday, pushing the S&P 500 to a 10-month high, as stronger-than-expected July non-farm payroll data underpinned hopes that the economy was on track for recovery.

Oil fell from six-week highs on Friday, pressured by gains in the dollar following the release of better-than-expected U.S. job-loss numbers.

Despite Friday's economic report indicating that the deterioration in the labor market is slowing more than earlier this year, policy makers should not conclude that the long-term unemployed no longer need assistance, a non-profit think tank said.

A shift in mindset among currency investors, who are now buying dollars on good news about the U.S. economy, may help the greenback in a week highlighted by a Federal Reserve policy meeting and data on retail sales.

The White House boasted a new jobs report Friday as evidence the US economy country has pulled back from recession. US job employment slowed down slightly to 9.4 percent from 9.5 percent while Jobs fell by 247,000, after a 443,000 loss in June the labor and department reported today in Washington.

For David Wessel, an award-winning journalist for the Wall Street Journal, last year's financial crisis was the The Great Panic.

The veteran Italian filmmaker, who turns 90 on Saturday, is developing a remake of his original 1968 sci-fi movie, which immortalized Jane Fonda as a sex symbol.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell in July for the first time in 15 months as employers cut far fewer jobs than expected, providing the clearest indication yet that the economy was turning around.

Pakistan confirmed on Friday that Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head, was killed in a missile strike and that his body was buried in South Waziristan.

George Sodini, the men suspected of shooting three women dead in a Pennsylvania gym was studious and very quiet, according to a women in a self-help seminar he attended.

Jenny Sanford, the wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, is moving out from the official governor's residence in Columbia for the school year along with the couple's four children.

Colonial BancGroup Inc said it faces a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice related to accounting irregularities at its mortgage lending unit, and the struggling lender warned it may be put under receivership.

London is a wonderful place to visit whether you grew up in Europe or elsewhere. As soon as you enter the confines of the city, you realize that it is strikingly different from the rest of Europe.

President Barack Obama said on Friday the latest U.S. unemployment figures showed the worst may be over in the economic crisis but acknowledged there was more work to be done to put the economy back on track.

Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, the only Hispanic Republican in the Senates, said he is resigning on Friday, according to Fox News.

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday after stronger-than-expected non-farm payroll data lifted investor optimism and pushed the S&P 500 to a 10-month high.

Magna International Inc , one of the bidders vying to buy carmaker Opel from General Motors , reported a quarterly loss on Friday given a decline in global auto production.

Royal Bank of Scotland has suffered a damaging but not yet destructive exodus of top staff and some areas of investment banking had lost significant numbers, the British bank's chief executive said.

Stocks rallied, driving the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a 10-month high on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report added to recent data pointing to an economic recovery.

AIG, the giant insurer bailed out by the U.S. government, posted its first profit in seven quarters on Friday, helped by large investment gains as financial markets improved, sending its shares up 18 percent.

Volkswagen is targeting a decline in full-year sales of 5 percent, or not much below 5.92 million vehicles, from an earlier forecast for a 10 percent fall, group sales chief Detlef Wittig told Autogazette in an interview published on its website.

The construction and manufacturing industries were experiencing the highest unemployment rates among industries in July, according to the latest government report.

Merck & Co shareholders overwhelmingly approved the drugmaker's planned merger with Schering-Plough Corp, and the deal remains on track to close in the fourth quarter, Merck said on Friday.

Malaysia denied on Friday that a proposed Internet filter would be used to police blogs and websites, saying it would be used only to block pornography.