IBT Staff Reporter

(Corrects the number that initial jobless claims are expected to fall to 10,000 from 15,000 in 3rd paragraph. The incorrect number was mentioned in an earlier stock market report)

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

Banks probed on risky securities; Citi's payback; Most pirated film of '09

U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday as the dollar weakened and investors awaited data expected to show improvement in durable good orders and the labor market.

Memory chips for computers are likely to be in short supply by the second half of next year as consumers demand more capacity and companies embark on a delayed drive to replace PCs, industry tracker DRAMeXchange believes.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.22 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.15 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.23 percent at 3:33 a.m.

Paramount's worst fears are confirmed: Star Trek was the most pirated film of 2009, according to a new report.

Asian stocks gained on Thursday, with Tokyo shares hitting their highest in three months, while the dollar edged away from recent peaks on weak U.S. housing data.

Iran's Defense Minister said Wednesday the country will launch a new-generation military satellite in early February next year.

U.S. regulators and legislators are investigating whether Wall Street investment banks deliberately sold risky structured securities to clients, and then bet on the securities failing, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Asian stocks rose on Thursday led by gains in technology shares, while the U.S. dollar edged further away from recent peaks after an unexpected drop in U.S. home sales cooled optimism about the economic recovery.

Apple Inc has reserved space in late January at a venue in San Francisco in advance of a planned product announcement, the Financial Times reported on its blog on Wednesday.

As the recovering U.S. asset-backed market heads toward the new year, concerns remain that overregulation may deliver a setback to a full recovery.

Oscar winning actors Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have split up after more than two decades together, Sarandon's representative said on Wednesday.

There's just no stopping Susan Boyle on the U.S. pop chart.

To hear veteran actor Jeff Bridges tell it, he had the time of his life in his new movie Crazy Heart playing a drunk -- and so far, no bad hangover.

It takes guts to stage an opera in a working man's pub in an Irish part of London, but the Cock Tavern Theater Company's production of Puccini's La Boheme, in English and updated for modern audiences, has audiences mesmerized.

Walt Disney Co nominated Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg to its board on Wednesday, a move by the 86-year-old media company to tap into the younger, popular world of online social networks.

Citigroup Inc repaid $20 billion to the United States, as the bank works to reduce government involvement in its compensation practices.

U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg on Wednesday approved compensation plans for several executives and top-paid employees at three firms that have received taxpayer aid.

Pop newcomer Ke$ha took her first solo chart single TiK ToK to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart Wednesday.

British singer Amy Winehouse has been charged in connection with an assault on Saturday night at a theater in Milton Keynes, police said on Wednesday.

Alicia Keys' album The Element of Freedom topped the R&B chart in its first week of sales, but fell short of Susan Boyle to land at No. 2 on the Top 200 Albums chart, her label said on Wednesday.

Veteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday has been released from a Los Angeles hospital where he underwent a back operation earlier this month, his publicists said on Wednesday.

Grammy-winning Cuban band Los Van Van are celebrating 40 years of salsa revolution with a long-awaited return to the United States.

Apple Inc. has reportedly scheduled a media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Tuesday Jan. 26, next year, for a major product announcement, according to media reports.

Google Inc (GOOG.O) said its $750 million purchase of AdMob won't close right away as antitrust regulators seek more information about its competitive impact on the nascent mobile advertising market.

Apple Inc. has reportedly scheduled a media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Tuesday Jan. 26, next year, for a major product announcement, according to media reports.

The body of actress Brittany Murphy was on Wednesday transferred to the cemetery where she will be laid to rest on Thursday according to reports from TMZ.