IBT Staff Reporter

Iranian hardline authorities accused opposition leaders on Thursday of links to foreign enemies and warned they would be shown no mercy unless they changed course.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed an Egyptian-hosted summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a possible way to resume stalled peace talks, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

Megachurch pastor, Rick Warren, posted what he described as an urgent letter on his website Wednesday seeking $900,000 to make up the deficit for the year.

Oil finished the year above $79 a barrel on Thursday, climbing a whopping 78 percent in 2009 and notching the biggest annual gain in a decade.

Washington Mutual Inc said it could receive an additional $2.6 billion in tax refunds due to a recently enacted law, sending shares of the bankrupt bank holding company soaring on Thursday.

The United Nations will withdraw some of its staff from Pakistan because of safety concerns, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Thursday, highlighting security threats posed by increasingly brazen Taliban militants.

The government played down a report on Thursday that Iran masterminded the kidnapping in Iraq of a British man held hostage for more than 2-1/2 years, saying there was no firm evidence of direct Iranian involvement.

A Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a U.S. passenger jet on Christmas Day began his journey in Ghana and spent less than 30 minutes in Nigeria's Lagos airport, the Nigerian government said on Thursday.

Telecommunications giant, AT&T Inc., has parted ways with Tiger Woods following the professional golfer's admissions to marital infidelity.

As New Years eve festivities kick in, police chiefs around the nation said they are concerned with the number of people driving while drunk, and note that Twitter has become a tool some use to warn their friends and followers of police checkpoints.

Wells Fargo & Co said on Thursday it gave Chief Executive John Stumpf and three other top executives stock payouts worth a total of about $25 million, but it said none of these executives will receive a cash bonus for 2009.

If you recently tweeted about how you were chillaxin for the holiday, take note: Fifteen particularly over- or mis-used words and phrases have been declared shovel-ready to be unfriended by a U.S. university's annual list of terms that deserve to be banned.

An industry association revised downward its December reading on expansion in business activity in the U.S. Midwest on Thursday and said employment in the region failed to enter growth territory as it originally reported.

U.S. trucking giant YRC Worldwide said it averted bankruptcy by finally negotiating a critical debt-for-equity exchange that wipes out $470 million in debt and gives the struggling company access to needed credit as it restructures.

U2 may have suffered disappointing sales for their new album, but the Irish rockers were easily the most popular draw on the North American concert circuit this year, according to data issued on Wednesday.

Bankrupt shopping mall owner General Growth Properties Inc, which is seeking to surface from bankruptcy protection next year, posted a narrower net loss in November from the month before, according to a monthly regulatory filing.

Oil rose toward $80 a barrel in thin holiday trade on Thursday, poised for the biggest annual climb in a decade, a year after posting huge falls as the global economic crisis sapped demand.

ConAgra Foods Inc has sued Dean Foods Co , saying the dairy processor's Swiss Premium teas infringe its trademark for Swiss Miss hot cocoa products.

Stocks fell on Thursday, extending earlier losses after a reading on Midwest business growth was revised downward, though it remained in expansionary territory.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, extending earlier losses after a reading on Midwest business growth was revised downward, though it remained in expansionary territory.

India plans to allow state-run power utility NTPC Ltd to sell around a tenth of its capacity at market-determined prices, which could boost its profit by up to 40 percent, the Economic Times reported on Thursday.

Bankrupt shopping mall owner General Growth Properties Inc , which is seeking to surface from bankruptcy protection next year, posted a narrower net loss in November from the month before, according to a monthly regulatory filing.

European Union carbon futures slipped in light trading on Thursday to end the year down 21 percent from 2008 closing prices.

The U.S. commercial paper market expanded for the second week in a row in the latest week, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

Venture capital investors spent 36 percent less this year on clean technology for a total of nearly $5 billion, an industry group reported on Wednesday.

U.S. mortgage rates rose in the latest week for a fourth straight week and hit the highest level since August, a closely watched mortgage survey showed on Thursday.

The C$16.2 billion ($15.4 billion) Mackenzie pipeline in Canada's Arctic should be allowed to proceed, provided 176 recommendations aimed at securing socioeconomic benefits and minimizing environmental damage are followed, regulators ruled on Wednesday.

German carmakers will gain market share by producing more smaller vehicles, even as competition in the global auto industry intensifies, the head of Germany's VDA automotive industry association said in an interview.

Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom expects gas to move without interruption to Europe via Ukraine this New Year, avoiding a repeat of a dispute last year that severed midwinter supplies.