IBT Staff Reporter

Italy buckled to world pressure in a bid to halt a market rout endangering the global economy, pledging to speed up austerity measures and social reforms in return for European Central Bank help with funding.

Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway reported a larger second-quarter profit on Friday, as favorable investment results and strength in the rail and manufacturing businesses offset another underwriting loss in insurance.

U.S. sales of Blu-ray movie and television discs rose this year as overall spending on home entertainment dropped and viewing habits shifted, new figures from an industry group showed.

Warner Bros. unveiled official photos of The Dark Knight Rises character 'Catwoman' to the media showing actress Anne Hathaway riding a Bat Pod. The photo reveals the latest Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, costume equipped with goggles, gloves, utility belt, and no high heel stiletto shoes.

A Spanish investigator claims to have identified Jack the Ripper, the serial killer who terrified London. Jose Luis Abad makes the claim in his newly published book 'Jack the Ripper: The most intelligent murderer in history', and identifies the killer as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline, the Scotland Yard detective who was in charge of the case.

Facebook says it has uncovered smoking gun evidence that a contract at the heart of a lawsuit against the company and its founder Mark Zuckerberg is fraudulent, according to a Facebook court filing.

The Dow and S&P 500 dipped into negative territory late on Friday in a volatile session that saw large swings in the indexes, as worries about the economy caused investor skittishness.

Sony will release a sequel to "The Amazing Spider-Man" in the summer of 2014.

The U.S. seems to be fighting an uphill battle against HIV. The number of new infections was about 50,000 per year over the past decade and continues to persist, federal officials said Wednesday.

The European Central Bank is demanding that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi commit to fast-track specific welfare reforms and a constitutional amendment enshrining a fiscal rule before it will buy Italian bonds, sources close to the matter said on Friday.

Italy buckled to world pressure in a bid to halt a market rout endangering the global economy, pledging to speed up austerity measures and social reforms in return for European Central Bank help with funding.

Kaspersky and Symantec say Shady RAT isn't as big of a deal as McAfee made it out to be.

President Barack Obama on proposed $120 million in new tax credits for businesses that hire U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan at a time of high unemployment at home.

U.S. job growth accelerated more than expected in July, tamping down fears the economy was sliding into a fresh recession and easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to provide more support for the weak economy.

Stocks closed out its worst week in more than two years on Friday in a volatile session that saw major averages whip back and forth before the S&P 500 settled with a slim loss.

Chinese electric motor maker Harbin Electric on Friday denied any Securities and Exchange commission investigation against it, while responding to an allegation made by Citron Research in a recent blog post.

Top Morgan Stanley officials purchased thousands of shares this week as the U.S. investment bank's stock price fell to new two-year lows, according to regulatory filings.

It's known for its Broadway shows, designer shops and exclusive restaurants but there are plenty of things to enjoy in the Big Apple without burning a hole in your pocket.

Sony Corp plans to launch a range of organic electroluminescent monitors for commercial users this month, priced almost 70 percent below existing models, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Stocks slipped back into the red late on Friday after fluctuating between big gains and losses in a wildly volatile session with trading volume in equities and options on track to set another record.

Boeing said that two of its employees will act as crew members in the first manned mission of its new astronaut capsule. The company confirmed that it will use the Atlas 5 rocket to test on three flights in 2015.

According to a new report from the Defense Department Inspector General, the U.S. Army failed to properly test five million plates of body armor that were to be used to protect soldiers on the battlefield.

Wall Street's advice to investors battered by plunging markets: Keep buying stocks.

U.S. bank stocks declined on Friday as investors sold off shares of some of the largest U.S. lenders amid new fears surrounding the European debt crisis and a U.S. economy showing little new growth.

A New Orleans jury began deliberating Wednesday after a shooting occurred when a dozen officers responded to a radio call that police had been fired on and that the shooters were headed toward the Danziger Bridge, just days after the Hurricane Katrina storm.

Looking to gain some ground on the iPad, HP slashed the price of its TouchPad tablets.

Keira Knightly will star in "A Dangerous Method:" a film about a psychiatrist whose mentor is Sigmund Freud, and his patient.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged on Friday to bring forward austerity measures and bring Italy's budget into balance by 2013, a year ahead of the original plan, in a bid to stem rising turmoil on world markets.

'Weeds' is well into its latest season and soon to be joining the cast is Michelle Trachtenberg, who will guest-star on two episodes.