IBT Staff Reporter

US banking giant Citigroup said it had 1.4 billion dollars in direct exposure to Netherlands-based chemical giant LyondellBasell.

The 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show completed its first full day in Las Vegas Thursday with technology products galore but industry expectations of lower sales this year amid a tough economy.

SanDisk Corporation today unveiled its third-generation family of solid-state drives (SSDs). Using multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology, SanDisk's G3 Series establishes new benchmarks in performance and price-performance leadership in the SSD industry.

China is cracking down on what it considers to be vulgar websites across the internet, chiding sites like Google and MSN for not cleaning up their sites.

Researchers in Japan have made a new robotic suit that will aid farmers with augmented strength for the laborious task of tending the fields.

Microsoft's website struggled to stay online today as the masses swooned to its online properties to get their hands on a special pre-release version of its upcoming operating system.

Dell unveiled a new netbook at the CES show on Friday, and gave a sneak peek of its new ultra-thin laptop PC.

Supercomputers are deployed around the world for a myriad of scientific and academic research; the supercomputer AMD plans to build will be for games however.

On Thursday the European Union said that gas supplies would resume after agreeing with Russia on supervising the gas flow through Ukraine.

An Illinois General Assembly investigative committee has recommended that the state's House of Representatives impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Vice President Dick Cheney said on Thursday that Iraq would one of the top foreign policy challenges President-elect Barack Obama, according to an interview with the Associated Press.

On Thursday gunmen shot and killed a food monitor for the United Nations' World Food Program making it the second killing of a WFP humanitarian worker in Somalia in three days.

On Thursday the US Fifth Fleet announced the establishment of a new international naval force to fight off pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean following a wave of hijackings off the coast of Somalia.

All aid delivery of food and fuel by the UN 1.5 million people in the embattled Gaza strip has been suspended.

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook Costa Rica on Thursday leaving 2 people hurt and causing some damage in San Jose and Alajuela cities.

Sherry Johnston, mother of Levi Johnston, who was arrested on December 18 on charges of selling OxyContin has spoken out for the first time since the arrest.

The Australian Dollar opens little-changed from this time yesterday at 0.7120 but has experienced another wide 24-hour range.

President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is urging Congress to delay implementation of the switch from analog to digital television, arguing too many people won't be ready by the February 17 legally mandated deadline.

Norwegian public radio network NRK planned to present a podcast for 200 plus episodes each featuring a different song by the Beatles however only managed to give away only 14, reported Reuters.

Citigroup has reached a deal with key senators that may pave the way for judges alter mortgage loans to help homeowners stay in their homes. Cramdowns' as they are called, are when judges force lenders to modify the original terms of a loan.

India's Satyam Computer is dealing with a crisis of unimaginable proportions, Ram Mynampati its interim chief executive said Thursday, but the software giant confirms it is focusing on the sustenance of its operations.

The NHL announced the Western Conference reserves for the 2009 All-Star Game on Wednesday and the list included four of the top six scoring defense men in the conference.

Bernard Madoff had 100 signed checks worth $173 million in his office desk and was ready to send them to family members last month, prosecutors said, Thursday.

Department-Store operator Macy's Inc. said today it is closing 11 stores in nine U.S. states amid lower than expected profits and declining sales.

John Smoltz of Braves has managed to come to a preliminary agreement on a contract with the Boston Red Sox.

Text of President-elect Barack Obama's speech on the economy on Thursday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., as found on Barak Obama's presidential transition website.

NACCP Image Awards, created by the oldest US civil rights organization, named singers Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson, along with cast of TV comedy Tyler Perry's House of Payne as some of the top nominees on Wednesday.

NBC on Thursday announced the 16-member cast of Celebrity Apprentice.”

Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo escapes injury in horror smash Thursday despite writing off his Ferrari in a horrible car crash near Manchester airport.