IBT Staff Reporter

The top U.S. military officer warned on Monday the first U.S. troops headed to Afghanistan as part of President Barack Obama's surge can expect more fighting and casualties, hours after 15 Afghan police were killed.

New Moon actor Taylor Lautner hosted Saturday Night Live and showed his karate skills to reenact a scene at the MTV Video Music Awards 09 when singer Taylor Swift was infamously interrupted by rapper Kanye West.

Perhaps it's not surprising, but in the Air Force, combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan increases the risk of depression, according to a new study.

China's vaccination campaign against the H1N1 flu strain is not proceeding as fast as it should be partly because people are needlessly worried about the safety of the vaccine, officials said on Friday.

Three U.S. citizens detained in Iran and charged with espionage will stand trial, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Monday, in a case that could further strain relations between Tehran and Washington.

Democrats scrambled on Friday to resolve a stalemate over whether to permit imports of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and elsewhere as part of a larger effort to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.

People who want to maintain a healthy weight over time shouldn't obsess about their fat intake, new research shows.

JP Morgan Securities raised its price target on Apple Inc by 4.5 percent, citing better-than-expected growth momentum for Mac, iPhone and iPod.

U.S. healthcare spending would rise by about $234 billion over the next decade under the Senate Democrats' overhaul bill and some of the proposed savings might never be achieved, a U.S. agency said in a report released Friday.

U.S. drug firm Endo Pharmaceuticals' gel designed to prevent infection with the AIDS virus has proved ineffective in trials in Africa, Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) said on Monday.

Lloyds has completed a record 13.5 billion pound ($21.9 billion) rights issue, ending a turbulent period for the British bank and shifting investor focus to a potential government stake sale in 2010.

Citigroup said on Monday that it had reached a deal with U.S. regulators to repay $20 billion of shares held by the government by issuing $17 billion of stock and allowing it to exit the TARP program in 2010.

Wall Street was set to rise at the open on Monday as Abu Dhabi moved to bail out neighboring Dubai, winding down fears of a potential default that had rattled markets, and as Citigroup Inc reached a deal to pay back $20 billion of U.S. government funds.

Corrects second bullet point, fifth paragraph to make clear premium is pence not percent

Bailout for Dubai; Citi Seeks Independence; CadburyBid Battle

A photo of the Google phone, or the Nexus One - which Google employees are currently testing out and will go on sale in January - has been released on Twitter. The phone will be sold online by Google and it will be unlocked, allowing Google to have more control over the hardware and software without having too much network carrier interference.

Corrects 4th paragraph to show Citigroup Chairman Dick Parsons, not CEO Vikram Pandit, is due to met Obama

Toyota Motor Corp will begin selling affordable plug-in hybrid cars in 2011, upping the ante on General Motors and Nissan Motor as they aim to take the lead in the field of rechargeable cars.

British energy regulator Ofgem has announced a shortlist of six bidders competing to connect nine offshore wind projects to the grid in the first stage of a programme to connect up some 33 gigawatts (GW) by 2020.

The euro rose against the dollar on Monday after Dubai's announcement it had received help from Abu Dhabi to repay its debts warmed risk appetite.

The Canadian dollar fell on Monday morning as the price of oil, a key export that often influences the unit's price movements, dropped for a ninth straight session on concerns over weak fuel demand.

Exxon Mobil Corp will buy XTO Energy Inc, one of the largest U.S. natural gas producers, in an all-stock transaction valued at $41 billion including debt, the companies said on Monday.

The interbank cost of borrowing dollars and euros held near record lows on Monday as the market prepared for a U.S. policy decision and the final chance to get cheap one-year money from the ECB.

Citigroup today announced it will raise $20.5 billion in capital, mostly in common stock, after reaching an agreement with the U.S. to pay back a $20 billion bailout investment.

Brazilian Finance, controlled by Ourinvest Real Estate Holding and hedge fund firm TPG-Axon Capital Management, will issue new common and preferred stock to Coyote Trail LLC, a unit of Equity International, for an undisclosed sum.

Falling output of consumer goods pulled down euro zone industrial production in October and third-quarter employment shrank, data showed on Monday, indicating weak private demand and a fragile recovery ahead.

The dollar slipped on Monday after Dubai's announcement it had received help from Abu Dhabi to repay its debts bolstered risk appetite and eroded some of the U.S. currency's safe-haven appeal.

Privately-held real estate company Fairfield Residential LLC filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, saying that the collapse of the U.S. real estate and capital markets has made it difficult to continue without restructuring.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday as Abu Dhabi moved to bail out neighboring Dubai, winding down fears of a potential default that had rattled markets, and as Citigroup Inc reached a deal to pay back $20 billion of U.S. government funds.