IBT Staff Reporter

American student Amanda Knox was a naive young woman publicly crucified and impaled to justify wrongly imprisoning her for murder, her lawyer told an Italian court on Thursday.

The U.S. economy grew slightly more than previously reported in the second quarter, helped by consumer spending and export growth that was stronger than earlier estimated, according to a government report on Thursday that pointed to slow growth rather than a recession.

THE ISSUE: The S&P Indices/Case Shiller recorded a fourth consecutive month of increases. Existing home sales jumped in the latest report. Low-rate mortgages have boosted affordability measures. Is it time for investors to start looking for real estate?

THE ISSUE: The S&P Indices/Case Shiller recorded a fourth consecutive month of increases. Existing home sales jumped in the latest report. Low-rate mortgages have boosted affordability measures. Is it time for investors to start looking for real estate?

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after Germany approved new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund and before the government releases data on U.S. economic growth and the labor market.

Lockheed Martin Corp is helping arm U.S. lawmakers for a renewed push to sell its new F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, not just the Obama administration's planned $5.3 billion upgrade of old ones.

Angela Merkel won her toughest challenge yet as German chancellor by pushing through changes to a rescue fund for the euro zone debt crisis on Thursday without the humiliation of relying on opposition support.

Ford Motor Co. on Thursday stuck to its target of adding 7,000 jobs in the U.S. over the next two years, saying it sees an economic expansion there and not a double-dip recession.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after a German vote approving new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund was approved and before data on U.S. economic growth and the labor market.

Four years after her death, a campaign sparked by Body Shop founder Anita Roddick has had surprising success in getting governments to agree to toughen up child protection laws, the campaign's manager Christopher Davis said in an interview.

A new research on galaxy clusters emerged to validate Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, on a cosmological scale.

Germany's parliament approved new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund on Thursday but it was not clear if Angela Merkel got enough votes from her coalition to silence rebels worried about funding a series of bailouts of countries like Greece.

Germany's parliament approved new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund on Thursday but it was not clear if Angela Merkel got enough votes from her coalition to silence rebels worried about funding a series of bailouts of countries like Greece.

Greek civil servants blocked the doors of government ministries on Thursday in protest against austerity ahead of the start of talks with the EU and IMF on the delivery of an aid tranche Athens needs to avoid running out of cash next month.

stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.9 to 1.2 percent.

Workers represented by the United Auto Workers union approved on Wednesday a four-year labor contract with General Motors Co, the first such deal for the top U.S. automaker since its 2009 bankruptcy.

stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.9 to 1.2 percent.

An Australian court could rule next week on an injunction sought by Apple to bar the sale of Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy 10.1 tablets in the country, a federal court judge said on Thursday.

An Australian court could rule next week on an injunction sought by Apple to bar the sale of Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy 10.1 tablets in the country, a federal court judge said on Thursday.

A string of Chinese entrepreneurs have gone into hiding to avoid repaying loans, according to state media reports, highlighting a credit squeeze on private firms and the dangers of steep interest rates in China's vast and growing informal lending market.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a battle for her political survival on Thursday when some of her coalition, worried about throwing good money after bad by bailing out Greece, could humiliate her in a parliament vote on euro-zone rescue schemes.

European index futures fell on Thursday ahead of a vote in Germany's parliament that is expected to approve new powers for the euro zone's bailout fund, but also underline the political divisions hampering efforts to solve the region's debt crisis.

Samsung Electronics expects the semiconductor industry to grow at a low rate next year as the global economic slowdown cuts into demand, a top executive said on Thursday.

Asian technology companies came under pressure on Thursday to slash prices of their tablet computers after Amazon.com launched its Kindle Fire at a mass market-friendly $199.

South Africa needs to work harder to boost the current sluggish rate of creating jobs, with the employment still well below 2008 levels, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe is hurting investor confidence and stalling recovery by promoting a law to force the transfer of foreign-owned firms to local ownership, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a battle for her political survival on Thursday when some of her coalition, worried about throwing good money after bad by bailing out Greece, could humiliate her in a parliament vote on euro-zone rescue schemes.

Groupon launched its online retail arm Groupon Goods for its American subscribers on Wednesday, moving beyond daily group discounts to compete with leaders like Amazon Inc.

Chinese police in Shanghai have arrested five people for making and selling fake versions of Apple Inc's iPhone, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.