IBT Staff Reporter

The world faces a surge in energy costs, as well as an increase in planet-warming carbon emissions, unless it agrees a climate change deal soon, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

U.S. consumer confidence edged only slightly lower in November after a sharp drop in October, indicating that the upcoming holiday shopping season could see better consumer spending, a research group said on Tuesday.

Madonna, who has promoted school building in the African country Malawi, is now turning her star power onto projects to improve the notorious slums of Rio de Janeiro.

China said on Tuesday it was dissatisfied that India had allowed the Dalai Lama to visit a disputed border region also claimed by Beijing, while also directing its ire at the exiled Tibetan leader.

Sgt. Rock, a long-gestating movie project based on the DC Comics World War II hero, is moving forward -- by going into the future.

Fox Searchlight is going to the ballet.

Pakistani Taliban militants vowed to fight a tough, protracted guerrilla war against the army on Tuesday as a suicide car-bomber killed up to 20 people in a northwestern town, police said.

Fox is feeling apocalyptic. The studio has bought an untitled pitch about the end of the world, with Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman in talks to direct and produce.

American International Group Inc has made tangible progress on its restructuring plan and will likely be able to repay the government's loan and much of its preferred equity stake, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday.

Terrorist Carlos the Jackal is coming to the Sundance Channel and then to U.S. theaters via IFC Films.

A government task force working on a revival plan for Japan Airlines Corp is considering using a debt restructuring mediation scheme to help ease the airline's financing woes, two sources familiar with the matter said.

If you rolled every disaster movie into one spectacular package, you would wind up with something close to 2012, Roland Emmerich's latest apocalyptic fantasy.

InterContinental Hotels, the world's biggest hotelier, said it was too early to forecast a recovery as trading conditions remained challenging after posting a 19 percent fall in third-quarter operating profit.

It seems almost strange to recall now, but when Precious premiered at Sundance in January, it not only wasn't the biggest movie of the festival, it wasn't even the biggest movie of the night.

The Swiss government has commissioned two independent experts to investigate the failings of financial regulation during the recent crisis, it said on Tuesday.

Who wants to become the new singer for Aerosmith?

Michael Buble plans to give fans another dose of Crazy Love in 2010.

Junior bondholders are readying a lawsuit to challenge a restructuring deal for Greek mobile operator Wind Hellas that wipes out their investment, sources familiar with the process said.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Tuesday it agreed to pay $85 million for the rights to an experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug being developed by privately held biotechnolgy company Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc.

As the buzz on a best-picture nomination for WALL-E hit a fever pitch last year, one Pixar confided: This is it. This is our last chance. After this year, we're out of the awards game.

The German government has banned hard rock group Rammstein's latest hit album from public display in stores because of its depictions of sado-masochism.

Sri Lanka's shares hit a two month low on Tuesday, as investor appetite declined due to economic woes and protests ahead of polls, while the central bank's cautious flexibility drove the rupee to a six-month high.

A judge on Monday blocked singer-actress Jennifer Lopez's first husband from distributing a tell-all movie with video of the former couple's sex life.

Britain's top two banks, HSBC and Barclays , signaled bad debts may be past their peak, with HSBC declaring on Tuesday the first improvement for three years in losses on U.S. consumer credit.

After much delay, rapper Lil Wayne's rock-inspired album, Rebirth, is now slated for a December 15 release date according to Universal Music Group.

Its characters may feel like a bunch of unloved high-school misfits, but the quirky musical TV comedy Glee is putting smiles on the faces of music industry executives searching for new revenue in an era of plunging album sales.

Navies from the rival Koreas exchanged gunfire for the first time in seven years on Tuesday, damaging vessels on both sides and raising tension just days before President Barack Obama travels to Asia.

The world will have to spend an extra $500 billion to cut carbon emissions for each year it delays implementing a major assault on global warming, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

Barack Obama this week makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems with a visit that recognizes the region's economic and diplomatic importance to the United States.