IBT Staff Reporter

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, rose 5.2 percent to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly revised 75.5 in June, but remains 19.1 percent below July 2009 when it was 98.1.

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana will stop the distribution of its two main lines at London shopping temple Selfridges after reports of a dispute over space in the department store chain, the designers said on Thursday.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, wearing his green military cap and clothing like the comandante of old, made his first speech before the Cuban public since falling ill in 2006 on Friday, warning of the threat of nuclear war.

Militants operating out of safe havens in Pakistan remain a major threat to Afghanistan but cooperation between NATO-led forces and the Pakistani military is increasing, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.

Bristol Palin, daughter of politician Sarah Palin, will match her dance steps against former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and R&B singer Brandy in the new season of Dancing with the Stars.

Natalie Portman starrer dark psychological drama Black Swan, is creating waves at the ongoing 67th Venice film festival. The Darren Aronofsky-directed film explores the mind of an insecure and jealous ballerina played by Portman.

It's pretty sad that in recent years resumes have become more and more popular as vehicles for stealing personal identities. It sort of makes sense when you think about it because resumes contain some pretty vital personal information.

Michael Douglas has taken his throat cancer in his stride. He told People magazine that he was optimistic and treating this as a curable disease. But he admitted that he was uncertain about the future.

Hurricane Earl slapped North Carolina's coast with rain, winds and heavy surf on Friday and swirled up the U.S. eastern seaboard towards New England and Canada as a weakened but still potent storm.

U.S. employment fell for a third straight month in August, but the drop was far less than expected and private hiring surprised on the upside, easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to prop up economic growth.

Wall Street was set to close out its best week in six on Friday after recent economic data, including a stronger-than-expected jobs report, showed the U.S. economy may be in better shape than thought.

Kia Motors <000270.KS> said on Friday it had started a recall of some 56,000 Soul and Sorento vehicles sold in the United States and South Korea due to defective wiring harnesses that could cause fires.

Chinese officials have ordered state-owned companies to meet with investment bankers to explore potential options to block BHP Billiton's $39 billion (25 billion pounds) bid for Canada's Potash Corp , according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Annabel was a very successful pharmaceutical sales representative who had 20 years of experience in the medical and pharmaceutical sales field and both a bachelor's and master's degree.

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras will sell up to $64.5 billion in new stock -- one of the largest in capital markets history -- to raise funds for the world's biggest oil exploration investment plan.

Chinese officials have ordered state companies to meet investment bankers to explore ways to block BHP Billiton's $39 billion bid for Potash Corp, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Mozambique police fired rubber bullets and teargas at demonstrators on Friday as rioting flared in the capital following two days of protests over high bread prices that saw seven people killed and hundreds injured.

Concerns over security and transparency in Afghanistan's parliamentary election grew on Friday after another candidate was attacked and a German observer sought to temper expectations of the poll.

World stocks jumped on Friday while the low-yielding yen and government bonds tumbled after a closely-watched U.S. jobs report showed a smaller-than-expected decline in non-farm payrolls.

A suicide bomber struck a rally in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing up to 43 people in the second major attack this week, piling pressure on a government struggling with a flood crisis.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged Palestinians to keep up their armed struggle against Israel a day after Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to continue talks on a U.S.-backed peace deal.

The White House on Friday greeted a better than expected August employment report as reassuring news after a recent spate of unsettling economic data, and reiterated it was working with Congress to take additional steps to boost U.S. growth and hiring.

Wall Street advanced for a third day on Friday as the monthly payrolls data showed the U.S. economy may be in better shape than investors had thought and helped whet some investor appetite for risk.

The U.S. non-manufacturing sector grew in August for an eighth straight month but at a slower pace than July and at a rate that was below expectations, according to an industry report released on Friday.

A suicide bomber struck a rally in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least 22 people in the second major attack this week, piling pressure on a government struggling with a flood crisis.

General Motors' new boss Dan Akerson sent his first letter to staff on Thursday, saying he valued the role of organized labor in the company's success as GM heads into negotiations with its union-represented U.S. workers next year.

Autoliv, the world's biggest maker of air bags and seat belts, has seen stable demand despite expectations for slower car production in the second half of the year.

U.S. employment fell for a third straight month in August, but the drop was far less than expected and private hiring surprised on the upside, easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to prop up economic growth.

A blast ripped through a rally in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least 22 people, the second major attack this week, piling pressure on the civilian government struggling with a flood crisis.