IBT Staff Reporter

The Federal Trade Commission is launching an investigation into Google's proposed purchase of AdMob, , a company specializing in ads for small screens.

More education may mean a lower heart attack risk later in life, with benefits seen in low-income countries as well as wealthy nations, a new study finds.

The chief operating officer of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc , Len Lauer, has resigned to become a chief executive of another company, Qualcomm said on Thursday.

Revlon Inc's chairman and majority shareholder Ronald Perelman was sued by an investor who exchanged his common stock for preferred shares, alleging that he missed out on a sharp rally in the cosmetic maker's stock price.

For months, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid exhorted his fellow senators to vote yes on healthcare reform. But when the big moment came on Thursday, he momentarily voted no -- by mistake.

Smoking is a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a new analysis of 16 studies confirms.

After months of political brawling in the Congress, the final act of the healthcare fight -- negotiations between the House of Representatives and Senate -- could be the most contentious stage of all.

People with Alzheimer's disease may be less apt to get cancer and people with cancer may be less apt to get Alzheimer's disease, new research hints.

A beef industry group has challenged a ruling by U.S. environmental regulators that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, saying the move would hurt agriculture.

Bouts of low blood sugar can lead to unsafe driving among people with diabetes, new research shows.

European carbon prices fell on Thursday, pressured by lower German power prices. EU Allowances for December 2010 delivery lost 22 cents or 1.7 percent at 12.78 euros a tonne on around 160 lots traded by 0935 GMT.

Chronic stress can speed up memory decline in older people who already have some impairment in their mental function, a new study in the American Journal of Psychiatry shows.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that disappointment over the outcome of the Copenhagen climate change summit was justified, hardening a widespread verdict that the conference had been a failure.

The Senate approved President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare overhaul on Thursday, backing sweeping changes in the medical insurance market and new coverage for tens of millions of uninsured Americans.

The central United States is expected to see a white but slick and blustery Christmas as snow will be coupled with blinding winds in western areas and freezing rain in the east, a forecaster predicted Thursday.

When Warren Buffett said last month that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc was buying Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp for $26 billion, he characterized the deal as an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States.

U.S. stocks rallied in a brief pre-holiday session on Thursday, closing at 2009 highs, after data showing a drop in initial jobless claims and growth in durable goods orders suggested an economic recovery was picking up steam.

U.S. and European stocks hit more than one-year closing highs on Thursday after better-than-expected U.S. jobless claims and durable goods orders drove optimism that the economic recovery is gaining hold, while the dollar slipped after a recent rally.

The top U.S. housing regulator said on Thursday it approved 2009 pay packages of up to $6 million each for the chief executives of government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .

Apple Inc shares reached their all-time high on Thursday as excitement builds over the expected release of its tablet computer.

Lyondell Chemical Co asked a bankruptcy court on Thursday to approve a proposed settlement among warring creditors and said its secured lenders committed to support its plan of reorganization.

The Northern American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is partnering with Google to track Santa, so all the world's good boys and girls can follow along online.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods, excluding transportation items, surged in November and new applications for jobless aid hit the lowest level in 15 months last week, pointing to a firmly entrenched economic recovery.

General Motors Co is pressing ahead with plans to shut down Saab as chances of a deal to sell the Swedish brand to Dutch sports car builder Spyker Cars remain remote, a person familiar with the planning said on Thursday.

(James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)

U.S. stocks rallied in a brief pre-holiday session on Thursday after data showing a drop in initial jobless claims and growth in durable goods orders suggested an economic recovery was picking up steam.

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was hospitalized late last week and treated for facial fractures, broken ribs and a collapsed lung, a Raleigh, North Carolina television station reported on its Web site on Thursday.

Brittany Murphy's father will not pay his final respects to his daughter on her funeral according to reports from perezhilton.com

In the annals of tall skyscrapers, there is no doubt that the soon-to-open Burj Dubai will be the world's tallest. But how tall is known to only a few.