IBT Staff Reporter

With the launch of the new Google+, a lot of buzz has been created about how Google+ is innovative and at the same time it appears to be a great threat to other social networks, such as Facebook. But is it good enough to take on Facebook+Skype?

Rumors about Jiang Zemin's death are provoking the ire of Chinese censors.

Casey Anthony, the young mother accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter using chloroform and duct tape, was acquitted Tuesday, prompting lawmakers to push for Caylee's Law. The 25-year-old will likely be released July 16, making her the most hated woman in the nation.

Illinois' fiscal 2011 revenue jumped nearly $3.4 billion over fiscal 2010 collections due mainly to a big income tax rate hike and a tax amnesty program, a legislative commission reported on Thursday.

Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky could feel the charge of riders on either side of him as he approached the line. He pushed harder and just beat HTC's Matthew Goss and yellow jersey race leader Thor Hushovd (Garmin) for the win in Stage 6 of the Tour de France.

While rumors swirl around iPhone 5, details around the sixth generation of iPhones has also been unveiled little by little. The iPhone 6 is said to be launching in 2012, featuring a new way of charging the phone, claimed a Wall Street Journal report.

Casey Anthony's jurors may remain anonymous only for a while. Judge Belvin Perry, who oversaw the Casey Anthony case, refused Thursday to release the names of the jurors who acquitted the Florida mom of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, out of concerns about their safety.

Consumers who illegally download copyrighted films, music or television shows might see their Internet speed slowed or access restricted under an industry anti-piracy effort announced on Thursday.

Kate Middleton is a fashionista and a role model to young girls. According to one anorexia expert, that's not a good thing.

Rumor has it that the blonde bombshell, Blake Lively moved into Leonardo DiCaprio's LA pad.

Bank of America will take another $13 billion in charges related to pending settlement with private label mortgage-backed securities investors, Sanford C Bernstein said.

The stock market was on fire today after investor confidence increased after two promising reports on the job market were released. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 94 points or 0.7%, closing at 12.720.

Bristol Palin made some remarks on The View which spark controversy.

In a breathtaking response to a scandal engulfing his media empire, Rupert Murdoch moved on Thursday to close down the News of the World, Britain's biggest selling Sunday newspaper.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is close to vaulting past Bank of America Corp to become the biggest bank in the United States, but it will likely get there in an odd way -- by shrinking less than its rival.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation will close its tabloid News of the World after this Sunday's edition, as a result of an escalating phone hacking scandal, James Murdoch said on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve's $600 billion Treasury buying spree is over and the bond market is growing nervous now that its biggest bidder has stepped aside.

by Andrea JohnsonBRADENTON/NEW YORK, July 7 - One of the U.S. high-grade market's favorites, Caterpillar Financial Services, is becoming quite the regular issuer in the offshore yuan-denominated market, also called the dim sum or CNH bond market.

'One Life to Live' is given a second life on the internet

If recent reports are any indicator, Apple is planning on producing an iPhone 5 -- and there will be a lot of them to be sold.

Mariah Carey resurfaced Wednesday, two months after giving birth to her twins Monroe and Moroccan.

During the waning hours of testimony that led to the sentencing of Casey Anthony murder trial to four years for lying to investigators. Orange County Court Judge Belvin Perry says she can go free in late July or early August because she has already served nearly three years in jail and has had good behavior.

A federal appeals court threw out a lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase & Co of violating U.S. racketeering law by conspiring with Bernard Madoff to further his Ponzi scheme.

News International Chairman James Murdoch said on Thursday he regretted the phone-hacking scandal that has led to the closure of the News of the World tabloid and defended his chief executive Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of the paper.

Stocks closed sharply higher and the Nasdaq notched an eighth day of gains on Thursday as improved labor market and retail sales data added to optimism a day before the critical June payrolls report.

Exeter Property Group, a real estate private equity firm, has bought a portfolio of 19 industrial buildings, primarily in Indiana and Tennessee, for about $240 million, reflecting investor demand for U.S. warehouse and distribution centers, the deal's broker, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc , said on Wednesday.

Casey Anthony, the young woman accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter using duct tape and chloroform, was sentenced to four years in prison this morning. Unfortunately, the three years that she has already spent behind bars will be counted. Court officials said that Anthony will be released from the Orange County Jail July 13.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion said on Thursday it has added more than one million subscribers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in less than three weeks.

New copyright agreement aimed at stopping pirated content on the web.