IBT Staff Reporter

Delinquencies on mortgages rose to nearly 14 percent in late 2009, led by a sharp increase in seriously overdue home loans held by the most credit-worthy borrowers, U.S. banking regulators said on Thursday.

A new facility in Alice Springs will help decrease the rate of chronic illness in Aboriginal communities, says the minister for Rural and Indigenous Health.

In a global significant breakthrough, Australia has led the development of a new lens that can slow a short-sighted person's rate of vision deterioration and aid them to see.

U.S. gold futures finished Thursday with moderate gains, bouncing from a 6-week low hit overnight, and ending a choppy session in which prices were batted around by gyrations in the euro, oil and U.S. equity prices as well as impact from gold options expirations. * For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/].

Only one in five Australians diagnosed with cancer receive chemotherapy even thought half of all cancer sufferers are likely to benefit from it.

The number of workers filing for jobless aid fell sharply last week and a gauge of underlying labor market trends hit a 1-1/2 year low, boosting hopes the economy is on the verge of creating jobs.

More overseas-trained doctors are being used to fill the gaps in the health system, in an effort to sustain Australia's doctor-to-population ratio, in which the federal government fast-tracking Medicare provider numbers to 4831 new residents last year.

The leaders of Germany and France clinched a deal on a joint European-IMF financial safety net for debt-stricken Greece at a EU summit on Thursday, in an effort to restore confidence in the euro.

Stocks ended little changed after paring gains of more than 1 percent late in the day on Thursday amid concerns about overseas debt problems.

The United States urgently needs to invest more in nanotechnology if it is to maintain its global lead in the emerging field, according to a report issued on Thursday to U.S. President Barack Obama.

State regulators said they are taking control of roughly $64 billion of the worst assets at U.S. bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc .

U.S. securities regulators are looking at some trades of hedge funds Carlson Capital LP and Appaloosa Management LP, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Two of the largest U.S. manufacturers said the healthcare overhaul will cost them millions of dollars this year, but the White House dismissed their complaints, saying it was simply closing a tax loophole.

(Corrects securities affected to $64 billion in 1st paragraph; error first appeared in update 2)

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Thursday, driving the Dow and S&P 500 to new 18-month highs as Qualcomm and Best Buy boosted their profit outlooks and financials surged for a second day.

(Reuters) - The ride just got wilder for Harry Potter fans waiting for the next big spin on the best-selling books and blockbuster movies.

Signs are that some overseas buyers are drifting back into the New York real estate market, betting a decline in prices may be about to turn.

Toll Brothers Inc, which dominates the market for large, expensive houses known as McMansions, is shrinking its square footage as the worst housing market downturn since the Great Depression grinds on.

A key U.S. lawmaker expressed support on Thursday for a proposal by communications regulators to give auction proceeds to broadcasters as an incentive to give up some airwaves highly sought by wireless broadband providers.

A pair of top U.S. industrial companies gave some of the first estimates of what the nation's healthcare overhaul will cost them, although an Obama administration official called the moves premature.

U.S. mortgage rates rose for a second straight week, a trend that could continue as key support from the government ceases at the end of the month, a closely watched mortgage survey showed on Thursday.

(Reuters) - Scientists have found a new and simple way to identify breast cancer patients who are likely to respond well to treatment with a common class of chemotherapy drugs, and predict who is unlikely to see any benefit.

(Reuters) - Agriculture needs revolutionary change to confront threats such as global warming and end hunger in developing nations without adding to the ranks of the obese, an international study showed on Thursday.

Serious delinquencies among mortgages jumped in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, led by a sharp increase in serious delinquencies by the most credit-worthy borrowers, U.S. banking regulators said on Thursday.

The leaders of Germany and France clinched agreement on a joint European-IMF financial safety net for debt-stricken Greece just before an EU summit on Thursday, the French president's office said.

(Reuters) - A growing number of Americans spend more than 10 percent of their income on out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare services and insurance, according to a study published on Thursday.

Stocks rose sharply on Thursday, driving the Dow and S&P 500 to fresh 18-month highs, as Qualcomm and Best Buy boosted their profit outlooks and financials surged for a second day.

The leaders of Germany and France clinched agreement on a joint European-IMF financial safety net for debt-stricken Greece just before an EU summit on Thursday, the French president's office said.

Stocks jumped on Thursday as Qualcomm and Best Buy boosted their profit outlooks and financials surged for a second day.