IBT Staff Reporter

Having lived with double-digit inflation since Ronald Reagan was in the White House, Venezuelans know a money-stretching trick or two the rest of the world could heed as soaring commodities push up prices.

Shares of Boeing Co gained 4 percent in premarket trade on Friday after the company won a $30 billion contract for 179 new U.S. Air Force refueling planes a day earlier.

In one fell swoop, a nearly evenly split Providence, Rhode Island School Board voted on Monday to send out termination notices to all of the city's nearly 2,000 teachers, citing the need to cut a $40 million school budget deficit by March 1.

A Taiwan-owned plant making parts for Apple Inc said it is offering around 80,000 yuan ($12,177) as compensation to each of the 115 workers hit by chemical poisoning but some of the affected Chinese workers said the sum was not enough.

Whether is it texting during dinner, talking on a cellphone in a public restroom or using a laptop while driving, most people think mobile etiquette is getting worse, not better.

After a moving launch, the 39th and final crew on the space shuttle Discovery is awake and ready to go on their first full day in space.

Crude oil shipments from Libya, the world's 12th largest exporter, have almost halted as reduced production, a lack of staff at ports and security concerns due to violence take their toll, industry sources said on Friday.

Gold and Silver Prices failed to hold onto a sharp overnight bounce in London trade on Friday, trading below $1404 and $33 respectively per ounce as volatility in crude oil remained at record levels but world stock markets rose for the first day in six.

Sheen attacked the show's creator in two interviews. The actor went on a profane rambling against Alcoholics Anonymous, party girls, his ex-wife, founding father Thomas Jefferson and the creator of Two and a Half Men.

Troubled actor Charlie Sheen managed to shut down production of the hit show for the remainder of the season.

The economy grew more slowly in the fourth quarter than initially estimated as government spending shrank more sharply and consumer spending was less robust, a government report showed on Friday.

Health regulators want more data on Protalix Biotherapeutics Inc and Pfizer Inc's experimental drug for Gaucher disease before deciding whether to approve the therapy for patients with the rare genetic disorder.

Gold held near $1,400 an ounce in Europe on Friday, supported by interest in the metal as a haven from risk as violence flared in Libya, but struggled to maintain traction as some investors cashed in this week's hefty gains.

Wall Street rebounded on Friday after a week-long sell-off as oil prices stabilized from recent highs.

Reports are emerging that the Libyan government may be jamming satellite signals, in an effort to block incoming news channels and communications from the outside world.

Rep. Paul Broun R-GA, called a question by a person at a Town Hall meeting inappropriate and he moved on on after the question Who is going to shoot Obama? was posed.

Lady Gaga's eight month reign as the living person with the most likes on Facebook is a thing of the past. Rapper Eminem has surpassed the pop star, according to MTV.com.

Germany's parliament will vote in mid-March on a motion opposing most of potential solutions to Europe's debt crisis, possibly tying Chancellor Angela Merkel's hands ahead of a summit aimed at agreeing a deal.

Stocks rose on Friday after a week-long sell-off as oil prices stabilized from recent highs.

Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in three years in February, helped by an improving view of the labor market recovery, a survey released on Friday showed.

The automotive credit market showed a significant improvement in the final quarter of last year, as 30- and 60-day loan delinquencies exhibited sharp declines, says a new report.

Researchers are studying how boiling is altered in zero-gravity, the results of which could help design space hardware.

British bank Lloyds took a 4 billion-pound ($6.5 billion) hit from bad debts in Ireland and margins will not improve this year, taking the shine off a return to profit for the part-nationalized lender.

The economy grew slower than initially estimated in the fourth quarter as government spending contracted more sharply and consumer spending was less robust, a government report showed on Friday.

The Wisconsin Senate still can't do business due to missing members but the other half of the state's legislature, the Assembly, on Friday passed a bill that will partially take away collective bargaining power for state employees, part of a broader bill with various measures which Gov. Scott Walker says are meant to repair the state's budget.

A list of top 5 tablets in the 7-inch category that Apple's iPad 2 has to fend with when it arrives on March 2.

Stocks were set for a higher open on Friday, after a week-long sell-off as oil prices stabilized.

Britain's economy suffered an even sharper slump than expected at the end of last year and would have shrunk slightly even without December's bad weather, official data showed on Friday.

A restaurant in London is selling ice cream made with breast milk donated by a British mom to make the totally natural treat.