IBT Staff Reporter

The Michael Jackson movie This Is It earned $20.1 million at worldwide box offices on its first day in theaters as fans around the globe turned out in strong numbers, Columbia Pictures said on Thursday.

The London film festival closes on Thursday with the world premiere of Nowhere Boy, about John Lennon's rebellious teenage years and his torrid relationship with his aunt and mother before the Beatles were formed.

Comedian George Lopez is about to enter a world in turmoil by competing for American TV viewers against the likes of Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien with his own nightly talk show.

Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, said that even though her husband's battle with cancer lasted nearly two years, that did not prepare her for his death in September.

The soundtrack to the upcoming Twilight movie sequel grabbed the No. 1 spot on the U.S. pop chart Wednesday, while Tim McGraw followed at No. 2 with his lowest debut sales week for a studio set.

Lilith Fair, the women's music festival that ran for three years during the 1990s, will re-launch with an 18-city tour in 2010, organizers said Wednesday.

The U.S. economy grew in the third quarter for the first time in more than a year as government stimulus helped lift consumer spending and home building, fueling an unexpectedly strong advance.

Filmmaker Lee Daniels had modest aims when he brought his new drama, then called Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, to the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA dashed hopes for an imminent turnaround for the oil industry, saying sluggish economic recovery was weighing on energy demand and prices.

The Obama administration's new proposal for tackling financial risk in the U.S. economy, unveiled just two days ago, came under attack on Thursday from all sides, with critics targeting its funding and scope.

The Wall Street Journal will close its Boston bureau to save money, and shift coverage of the mutual fund industry to its money and investing reporting team, the newspaper's editor said on Thursday.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, helping the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq halt a four-day rout, as data showing that the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter buoyed hopes of a recovery in profits.

Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen said business remained tough after third-quarter earnings plunged on Thursday, while Japan's Mazda predicted a smaller full-year operating loss.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law a $33.5 billion spending bill to fund government energy and water programs for the 2010 budget year that began October 1.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc is now catering to its shoppers' needs from cradle to grave.

Sprint Nextel Corp reported a wider quarterly loss and a 9 percent revenue decline, but its success in slowing the loss of the most valuable wireless subscribers took some of the sting out of the results.

Procter & Gamble Co blew past profit forecasts on Thursday as sales started to rebound, pleasing investors who were eager to see whether the new chief executive's efforts to win back shoppers were paying off.

More than 5,500 children across Africa have been given an experimental new malaria vaccine and the British drugmaker behind it, GlaxoSmithKline, promised on Wednesday that price would be no hurdle if it works.

Motorola Inc forecast a higher-than-expected profit for the current quarter, when it will start selling two new Google Android phones in hopes of regaining ground lost to iPhone.

People on the brink of developing diabetes who get a lot of support and encouragement to diet and exercise can turn things around and avoid the disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

People who have a compulsive urge to collect and clutter their homes with junk can partly attribute their problem to genes, a new study confirms.

Drugmakers say they are on track to deliver as much H1N1 swine flu vaccine to the United States as they promised, despite concerns over production.

Men with larger foreskins are more likely to become infected with the AIDS virus, researchers said Wednesday in a finding that helps explain why circumcision can protect men.

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives released a healthcare reform bill on Thursday that includes a government-run insurance plan and imposes a tax on the wealthiest Americans to help pay for it.

U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday following four losing sessions as data showed the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter after more than a year of contraction.

India is withdrawing about 15,000 soldiers from Jammu and Kashmir, a military official said Thursday, in a move aimed at boosting prospects of peace talks with the disputed region's separatist groups.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has invited reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il for a visit as Pyongyang has reached out to its foes and signalled it could return to dormant nuclear talks hosted by Beijing.

Somali pirates holding two Britons captive in the Indian Ocean have transferred them to another vessel and said on Thursday that they planned to keep them onboard off the Somali mainland.

The U.S. economy grew in the third quarter for the first time in more than a year as government stimulus helped lift consumer spending and home building, fuelling an unexpectedly strong advance.