IBT Staff Reporter

Over the past decade, the number of middle class jobs has fallen by about ten percent. There is a reason for this. America is becoming poorer. The economic pie is shrinking. When we ship 40 to 50 billion dollars into the hands of foreigners every single month, that means that there is a lot less wealth for all of us to divide up.

NASA is in countdown mode as the crew prepares for Monday's launch.

OK! Magazine is reporting that Ashton Kutcher's pay check will not be as large as Charlie Sheen's.

Starbucks has stopped buying coffee for the moment as it waits for coffee prices to pull back from a 34-year high, John Culver, president of Starbucks Coffee International, was quoted on Friday as saying.

Thursday evening, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark reopened for previews at the Foxwoods Theatre in New york City.

Stocks declined on Friday and were on track for a second week of losses as investors opted out of financial shares amid lingering euro zone debt worries.

It is confirmed that Ashton Kutcher will be replacing Charlie Sheen on the popular hit TV comedy show Two and a Half Men. The contract signs Kutcher for the new season though it has not been revealed how much he earns per episode.

TMX Group, the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, delivered forecast-beating quarterly results on Friday as it prepares for regulatory reviews of its $3 billion plan to join forces with the London Stock Exchange.

Nordstrom, Inc. reelected its board of directors and also hired a new director for the board.

The shoe retailer extends its light-weight, high-performance shoe line into the spring and summer.

The Golden State Warriors have received permission from the Los Angeles Lakers to interview assistant coach Brian Shaw, following their elimination from the NBA playoffs.

Sony offering 30 days of free game time and some bonus in-game additives as part of the welcome back package.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will host technology titans, including Facebook, Google and Amazon, at a summit to debate how governments can encourage innovation on the Internet, while taming its excesses.

A U.S. appeals court has ruled that Rambus inappropriately destroyed documents related to patent cases it filed, but the judges asked a lower court to reassess its decision to toss out a lawsuit because of the document shredding.

'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' will have its premiere at Cannes on Saturday. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Director Rob Marshall, Depp and Cruz discuss the film.

Citigroup Inc declared its first dividend in more than two years on Friday, announcing it will pay a penny per share on June 17, but analysts said the bank could take a while to pay the kinds of dividends that its rivals do.

Starbucks expects coffee prices to pull back from a 34-year high, John Culver, president of Starbucks Coffee International, was quoted on Friday as saying.

Stocks fell about 1 percent on Friday as a strengthening in the dollar due to global uncertainty caused a drop in commodity-related and financial shares.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to buy a minority stake in Chinese e-commerce company Yihaodian, giving the world's largest retailer a stronger foothold online and in the fast-growing China retail market.

Tickets for the Americal Idol Live Tour go on sale Friday. This year, the top 11 will be performing live.

China's Alibaba Group said it told its board in July 2009 that it had transferred ownership of its online e-commerce business to Chief Executive Jack Ma, rejecting allegations by major shareholder Yahoo Inc that it had been blindsided by the deal.

Sony has show signs of steady and even increases in sales despite the prolonged PlayStation Network outage for the month of April. The Sony brand has taken a hit from the cyber attack from hackers that compromised over 100 million user account information but the effect on sales has been minimal.

Ford is using Google's Prediction API to create smarter cars.

Sony PlayStation Network is still offline and will be so for quite some time, apparently to allow Sony to boost its security, but some angry and disappointed fans are already deserting Sony.

France's Schneider Electric SA denied it is working on a deal to buy U.S. manufacturing conglomerate Tyco International Ltd , contrary to a New York Post report on Friday.

He initiated the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and was out of office before the mission was accomplished. Now, former President George W. Bush has released his thoughts on the killing of bin Laden, saying that while he is not overjoyed at the news, it is ultimately a victory for the American people.

U.S. consumer sentiment improved in early May as optimism about jobs reduced the pinch from high gasoline and food prices, a survey released on Friday showed.

U.S. consumer prices rose as expected in April on higher food and energy prices, but continued to exhibit little sign of a broader pick-up inflation that would trouble the Federal Reserve.

Consumer prices rose as expected in April on higher food and energy prices, but continued to exhibit little sign of a broader pick-up inflation that would trouble the Federal Reserve.