NEW YORK

October retail sales missed Wall Street expectations, with companies reporting weak numbers as the holiday season approaches.

South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Thursday as Greek government plans for a referendum on a sovereign bailout appeared to unravel with the expected collapse of the government.

Chinese mining companies in Zambia, Africa's biggest copper producer, are routinely flouting laws designed to protect workers' safety and the right to organise, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.

The HTC Rezound, formerly known as the Vigor, was unveiled today at the HTC event in New York. The Rezound is the newest addition to the smartphone family and will be a Verizon exclusive. The most anticipated aspect of the Rezound is that it is the first HTC smartphone in the U.S. to feature Beats Audio. The Rezound has Beats Audio built in, ships with a custom pair of Beats headphones and users have a special audio profile on the phone.

Runners from around the globe have been taking part in the New York City Marathon for nearly 40 years. However, they each have their own motivation and drive to finish the race

New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw has a cracked bone in his right foot and is considering surgery that could potentially be season-ending and possibly devastating to fantasy owners, according to sources.

Increasing shale play in the region has environmentalist increasingly concerned and towns thrilled.

Cuba will allow residents to buy and sell real estate starting Nov. 10, reversing a 50-year policy forbidding the practice.

One of the two former National Restaurant Association employees who filed sexual harassment complaints against Herman Cain received a $45,000 settlement, substantially more than the two or three months' pay Cain recalled, Politico reported on Thursday.

A suicide car bomb was detonated by suspected Taliban insurgents outside a NATO contractors office in the Herat province of Afghanistan.

Macy's announced that its Herald Square flagship store in New York City will be getting a facelift. A major facelift, in fact; one that will take four years to complete.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that it is of “high priortity” to “make everybody safe” in Lower Manhattan, after allegations of sexual assaults at the Occupy Wall Street campgrounds were revealed.

Amazon's new Kindle Owner's Lending Library will let Amazon Prime members borrow e-books on their Kindle devices.

Look for the faces of Christy Turlington, Mario Lopez and more in this year's marathon.

Michele Bachmann is calling for the repeal of parts of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, including the extremely popular Medicare and Medicaid programs.

New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw has a cracked bone in his foot and is out indefinitely, according to a report.

Going forward, CEO Antonio Perez said the company needs the sale of a portfolio of 1,100 patents to survive because of the cash that could bring in.

Jones Lang LaSalle, one of the world's largest real estate services companies, reported revenue of $903 million in the third quarter, up 28 percent from the previous year.

Kim Kardashian seems to be taking her recent break-up very hard. TMZ reports that the divorcee is telling friends that she is so distraught over the failure of her marriage and the maelstrom of public scrutiny that she cannot function. She is supposedly telling friends, I need to take care of me now, and I can't work for awhile.

Two other major Dutch banks, ABN AMRO and Rabobank, have already unveiled significant job cuts.

In spite of facing a collapse in interest within the domestic market, having to deal with cross-marketing limits imposed by the airlines and booking less flights and hotels overall, the $202.92 net revenue figure represented a jump of 4.34% from quarterly net revenue a year ago. The company's net earnings, however, were down 26.73 percent from a year ago, as a substantial spike in marketing costs, payroll and Other Expenses ate into the bottom line.