UNITED STATES

Carrefour, the world's second-biggest retailer, must slash prices, build more convenience stores and attract online shoppers as dire economic times make the current CEO's hypermarket revival plan increasingly obsolete.

Panning across all nationalities and ethnic groups, immigrants to the U.S. are assimilating into American life, at higher rates than their predecessors. The overall progress of the people who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1990s shows that various aspects like home ownership and higher education are set to grow from 2000 to 2030 despite their current financial setback due to the economic meltdown.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Wednesday were: Qihoo 360 Technology, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, Exterran Holdings, Maidenform Brands, Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp, Wabco Holdings, Trinity Industries, HollyFrontier Corp, Berry Petroleum and Oasis Petroleum.

World stocks dipped to a one-week low on Thursday and the euro held near a five-week trough while safe-haven German bonds rose, as concerns grew over spillover damage to U.S. banks from the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

According to a new research paper published in the November Journal of Virology, vaccinating children annually against influenza virus could interfere with their development of cross-reactive killer T cells to flu viruses.

France-based Airbus AS has secured a total of 211 orders at the 12th Dubai Airshow worth $20.5 billion. The order involves 135 firm orders worth $13.7 billion (130 A320neo and five A380s) and 76 memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth $6.8 billion.

Crude oil prices slightly eased in Asian trading Thursday, after surging to a five-month high of $102.59 a barrel in Wednesday's North American session.

Two Romanians recoded Dunkin' Donut gift cards with stolen bank account details and used them to withdraw money in New York City.

Solyndra LLC, the failed solar panel maker at the center of a political firestorm in Washington, did not receive any acceptable bids by a Wednesday night deadline, and postponed an auction for its California manufacturing plant for two months.

Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that it would launch a redesigned version of its 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab model in Germany as early as this week to avoid a sales ban on the tablet, which a German court said violated Apple's patents.

Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that it would launch a redesigned version of its 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab model in Germany as early as this week to avoid a sales ban on the tablet, which a German court said violated Apple's patents.

Italian clothing firm, Benetton, has withdrawn its latest ad campaign featuring an image of Pope Benedict XVI kissing an eminent Egyptian Imam on the lips, due to the Vatican's hot protests.

German fashion brand, Hugo Boss AG has raised its 2015 sales and earnings forecast following plans to set up new stand alone stores.

Finnish startup Ovelin is launching a game in the United States and Britain that is designed to help people stick with their music lessons, with the first version of the game playable on Apple's iPad.

The 2011 National Book Award ceremony was held in New York late Wednesday and hosted by actor, musician and author John Lithgow, featuring the finest writers, editors and publishers in the United States. The winners included: Jesmyn Ward, Stephen Grenblatt, Nikkey Finney and Thanhha Lai.

The United States Air Force has received the delivery of the first batch of a massive 30,000 pound bunker-buster bomb dubbed as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).

U.S. and Mexican authorities have announced on Nov.16, 2011 the seizure of an estimated amount of 17 tons of marijuana from a newly discovered cross border drug tunnel.

Don Peters, a former U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics coach, has been banned for life from the sport and kicked out of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame after he was accused of having sex with at least three young gymnasts.

Google argues against U.S. online piracy bill

While gossip columns report that, once again, Kate Middleton is pregnant, the palace confirmed the truth about the baby rumors, which are just that, rumors.

Chip gear maker Applied Materials Inc gave a cautious quarterly revenue outlook and warned it expects to be affected by a tough economy.