IBT Staff Reporter

President Barack Obama got some unwelcome news on Friday showing unemployment still stuck at 10 percent in December and that businesses had unexpectedly shed another 85,000 jobs.

Sri Lanka on Friday rejected the findings of a trio of United Nations-appointed investigators who said they doubted a video showing apparent executions by Sri Lankan soldiers was fake.

Top electronics chain Best Buy disappointed investors by not raising its full-year forecast despite an 8.2 percent rise in December same-store sales, signaling a potential weakness in margins.

The declining wave of pandemic H1N1 flu is likely to be followed by new, unknown strains of seasonal flu which health authorities must watch carefully to devise protection measures, European flu experts said on Friday.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian accused of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner, will appear in federal court on Friday to hear the charges against him in an incident that has prompted a sweeping review of U.S. security policy.

President Barack Obama should move quickly in 2010 to win approval of long-delayed free trade agreements that would help create new U.S. jobs without adding to the budget deficit, business officials said.

The Dow and the S&P 500 pulled back from 15-month highs on Friday after an unexpectedly weak employment report dampened hopes for a rebound in the labor market.

U.S. employment companies are reporting higher demand for temporary and technology workers, in a sign that business confidence is returning but that employers are still reluctant to hire full-time workers.

The Swiss financial regulator broke bank secrecy law last year when it ordered UBS to hand over the files of nearly 300 clients to U.S. authorities, a Swiss court said on Friday.

Foot Locker said it was consolidating its management team, cutting jobs and closing 117 stores this quarter as the athletic shoe retailer reorganizes its business under its new chief executive officer.

General Motors named a restructuring firm to run the winding-down of Swedish carmaker Saab on Friday, even as it reviewed several bids which included an offer from Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

Friday's surprisingly weak employment report, which showed a net loss of 85,000 jobs in December, suggested that companies were in no hurry to re-hire even though the economy resumed growing in the third quarter of 2009 and appeared to generate above-average output in the fourth quarter.

The man who changed rock and roll forever, Elvis Presley, would have turned 75 years old today had he not passed away in 1977. In celebration, his former wife Priscilla Presley and daughter Lisa Marie Presley, attended Elvis' 75th birthday party celebration for free cake and coffee at Graceland Plaza in Memphis.

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives briefed party members on Thursday on healthcare talks with the Senate, with competing approaches on taxes and the shape of new insurance exchanges topping the list of priorities.

Pregnant women tempted to induce labor for convenience rather than medical necessity may want to wait for nature to take its course.

U.S. regulators plan to ask outside experts to re-evaluate the use of Amgen Inc and Johnson & Johnson anemia drugs when given to patients with chronic kidney disease.

Some carbon emissions trading desks are expanding or diversifying into other commodities as continued low carbon prices and a weak U.N. climate deal have dulled the market.

British bid target Cadbury (CBRY.L) will paint an upbeat picture for 2010 and upgrade 2009 forecasts next week in a final attempt to fight off a hostile bid from Kraft Foods (KFT.N), analysts said on Friday.

China Investment Corp, a $300 billion wealth fund, may be weighing up a bid for state-owned Chinalco's stake in mining giant Rio Tinto in what would be its boldest move yet into natural resources.

A French court awarded President Nicolas Sarkozy one euro (89 pence) in damages on Friday because fraudsters took money from his personal account after obtaining his account details.

Hopes that GM [GM.UL] unit Saab will find a buyer rose on Friday after new bidders joined the race, just before a deadline expired.

While some studies have implicated gas appliances in children's risk of respiratory ills, a new report suggests that gas cooking stoves may have only a small effect on most children's lung function.

The United States has made no decision on whether to cancel or sell any of its orders for the H1N1 vaccine, unlike some European countries with a vast oversupply of shots, a federal health official said on Thursday.

Less than a quarter of Americans eats the five daily servings of fruits and vegetables that the National Cancer Institute recommends, but online programs may help boost those numbers, a new study hints.

Fannie Mae, the largest funder of U.S. home mortgages, on Thursday said it is making it easier for some Florida condo buyers to qualify for loans in a bid to stabilize one of the worst-hit real estate markets.

A global scarcity of scientific research on using nanotechnology in foods means food safety authorities are unable to properly regulate products that may be beneficial or harmful, a British science panel said on Friday.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday urged Muslim nations to contribute troops for service in Afghanistan to help avoid the appearance of a religious war.

Owners of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, a vast New York apartment complex, will miss a $16 million loan payment on Friday, putting them in technical default on their mortgages, the New York Times said, citing executives briefed on the matter.

Now that Geely Automotive has won the bidding for Sweden's Volvo car unit, China's No. 1 private auto maker is making plans to set up a local production base, according to sources familiar with the company.