IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks rallied on Friday, finishing the week higher after European Union leaders agreed on a plan to toughen the region's budget rules to help restore market confidence after a two-year sovereign debt crisis.

AT&T's decision to focus on its antitrust battle with the U.S. Justice Department for its purchase of T-Mobile may have backfired, irritating the judge overseeing the case and laying the groundwork for a possible deal-killing delay.

European governments -- many of which are already struggling to woo buyers for sovereign debt -- could find it even harder to raise money as the investment banks they relied on to sell the debt baulk at the cost.

Philip Falcone, a hedge fund manager who became an overnight billionaire by betting on the collapse on the U.S. housing market, is now fighting to keep his career afloat.

A gunman opened fire on cars in the heart of Hollywood on Friday, injuring at least one person before he was shot and killed by police, a Los Angeles police spokesman said.

There's a Hollywood mogul who is fond of saying that sooner or later all rumors are true. The question in the case of Ryan Kavanaugh: Is this that time?

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said he is not interested in becoming chief executive of Internet pioneer Yahoo Inc, whose struggle to compete with the likes of Google and Facebook have forced it to explore proposals to revamp its business.

It sounds like the title of Fox's hit (for now, anyway) musical Glee might be growing more ironic by the day.

Atheist bloggers have shown their charitable side by swarming to donate money to Doctors Without Borders, in what turned into the humanitarian agency's biggest online fundraiser.

How many times have you walked into an Apple store and thought, Wow, it's like Grand Central Station in here?

Jerry Robinson, a comic book artist who was among the earliest Batman illustrators and was credited with creating the characters of sidekick Robin and archvillain The Joker, has died at age 89.

Two of Canada's largest telecom and media companies will take control of the Toronto sports empire that owns the NHL's Maple Leafs in a C$1.32 billion ($1.30 billion) deal that brings more premium content to their competing sports channels.

A judge approved a $2.2 billion transfer to U.S. commodities customers of fallen brokerage MF Global on Friday as a trustee acknowledged there were suspicious transfers leading up to its October 31 collapse.

Proton beam facilities can cost over $200 million, a price few medical centers are willing to pay. But with the help of investors and a growing body of research that points to better patient outcomes, the technology is starting to take hold and will soon be on track to be the status quo in radiation oncology.

Michelle Duggar from the show 19 Kids and Counting has suffered a miscarriage in the reality star's latest pregnancy, she and her husband said in a joint statement.

Donald Trump may have to cancel his much-maligned GOP debate now that Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are the only ones attending -- but he wants you to know it's not his fault.

Prime Minister David Cameron has made history by blocking EU treaty change in a move that has isolated Britain and this detachment will define the next chapter in this island nation's notoriously tricky relations with continental Europe.

A fire tore through a seven-story private hospital in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata before dawn Friday, killing at least 84 people, most of them intensive care patients who were asleep and suffocated in the fumes.

Stocks rose on Friday as European Union leaders agreed on measures to tackle the region's sovereign debt crisis and data showed U.S. consumer confidence rose to a six-month high.

Stocks rose on Friday as European Union leaders agreed on measures to tackle the region's sovereign debt crisis and data showed U.S. consumer confidence rose to a six-month high.

The Canadian Wheat Board and its supporters said on Friday they may seek an injunction to stop the federal government's move to end the board's monopoly on sales of Western Canadian wheat and barley.

Europe divided in a historic rift on Friday over building a closer fiscal union to preserve the euro, with a large majority of countries led by Germany and France agreeing to forge ahead with a separate treaty, leaving Britain isolated.

Chemical maker DuPont cut its 2011 profit outlook on Friday due to weak electronics and housing markets, sending its shares down more than 3 percent.

An index of consumer sentiment rose to its highest in six months in early December and the trade deficit narrowed in October in the latest signs that the U.S. economy's health is slowly improving.

The Conservative government may chop federal spending by C$8 billion ($7.87 billion) in each of the next three years, twice the amount it previously estimated, La Presse newspaper said on Friday.

Motorola Mobility won a preliminary injunction against Apple Inc in Germany, which could bar the sales of iPhones and iPads in the country.

Washington D.C.-based District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle on Friday called for an additional hearing next Thursday to determine the status of the U.S. Department of Justice's case against the AT&T/T-Mobile USA merger.

Governments worldwide must boost internet accessibility in order to nurture democracy and economic development, entrepreneur Loic Le Meur said at the prestigious LeWeb technology conference in Paris which he founded.

The European Union will outline a strategy on Monday to support activists living under repressive governments who are using technology to organise, mobilise and exercise their rights, European Commissioner Neelie Kroes said on Friday.