IBT Staff Reporter

Film box offices were poised on Wednesday to eclipse 2007's record $9.68 billion in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales with Hollywood eyeing more than $10 billion this year as audiences flocked to theaters during the recession.

Gurinder Chadha, the director behind the hit Bend it Like Beckham, is one of a trio of Indian-origin women directors wowing the world with their unique style. But unlike Deepa Mehta or Mira Nair, Chadha makes films with a distinctly earthy feel.

Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream held on to the No. 1 slot on the U.S. album chart Wednesday.

In the tradition of Oprah Winfrey's famous book club, the talk show host's cable channel, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, will launch a documentary film club, with a focus on films with inspirational themes.

The Bank of England left its asset purchase programme intact at 200 billion pounds ($325 billion) and held interest rates at 0.5 percent on Thursday, as widely expected.

Bruce Springsteen has come out in support of gay marriage in his home state of New Jersey, where a marriage equality bill will go to vote this week. The rocker released a statement via his official Web site Wednesday backing the legislation.

Citigroup Inc's negotiations to exit TARP are uncertain, but headed in the right direction, a U.S. Treasury official told television network CNBC.

Twelve major banks, including Citigroup Inc , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co , will participate in a White House meeting with President Barack Obama on Monday, an administration official said on Thursday.

Meet Will Schuester's new rival.

ABC News plans to announce on Thursday that George Stephanopoulos will become an anchor of Good Morning America in a long-expected change that sees Diane Sawyer step up to head the U.S. network's nightly news.

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen has given birth to her first child -- a boy -- with U.S. football star husband Tom Brady.

Rock band Velvet Underground was celebrated for its legendary influence in fusing art and music in New York of the 1960s with a rare public reunion of three of the surviving members at the New York Public Library.

General Motors's turnaround plan for its European carmaker Opel will likely be completed only in January, GM Europe President Nick Reilly wrote in a blog posting on Thursday.

Tata Motors plans to acquire Japan's Sumitomo Corp's 53.5 percent stake in truck and bus maker Swaraj Mazda in a deal worth up to $54 million to boost its commercial vehicles business, the Economic Times reported on Thursday.

Wall Street was poised to open higher on Thursday after new claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected but the number of people seeking extended benefits fell, and a separate report showed the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed.

The morning show news reader, Chris Cuomo, has announced that he will be leaving Good Morning America for another spot in the ABC network at 20/20.

The United States must uphold moral standards when waging wars that are necessary and justified, President Barack Obama said on Thursday as he accepted the Nobel Prize for Peace.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, but a surprise narrowing in the trade gap in October suggested the economic recovery was becoming entrenched.

Oil rose above $71 a barrel on Thursday, recovering after falling more than 2 percent in the previous session, supported by a weaker dollar and rising equities.

The following are prepared remarks by President Barack Obama to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Wednesday, Dec 10 , 2009.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, pushed up by layoffs in seasonal industries, according to a government report on Thursday that indicated improvement in the labor market would be only gradual.

The Bank of England left its asset purchase programme intact at 200 billion pounds ($325 billion) and held interest rates at 0.5 percent on Thursday, as widely expected.

British and Irish workers at Cadbury Plc will launch a major campaign on Tuesday to fend off a hostile bid from Kraft Foods Inc and so avoid job losses and pay cuts at the confectionery maker.

The controlling shareholder in Cool Holding has agreed to buy mobile phone operator MIRS from Motorola's (MOT.N) Israeli subsidiary for $170 million in cash, cable TV company HOT (HOT.TA) said on Thursday.

The head of the Los Angeles school system has invoked a 2001 U.S. federal law for the first time in the city, allowing him to take over a high school designated as an underperformer years.

Latin American oil and gas company GeoPark Holdings Ltd said it discovered gas in a new reservoir in a newly drilled well on the Fell Block in Chile, sending its shares up 4 percent.

Irish engineering group Kentz Corp Ltd said on Thursday it received a $25 million shutdown services and operations support contract from a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp within the Sakhalin 1 development project in Russia.

China aims to deepen energy ties with Central Asian states seeking new markets for their oil, gas and uranium, an official said on Thursday, ahead of a visit to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The U.S. House of Representatives will debate on Thursday the most sweeping changes to financial regulation proposed since the Great Depression, including broad new government powers over large banks and tighter regulation of capital markets.