IBT Staff Reporter

Don't look now but mortgage rates are really, really low -- practically at record low levels. Homeowners who still have adequate equity might want to jump on this and refinance one more time. Or start using their home equity line again. Or switch to a fixed-rate loan. Or give up on their plans to pay off their home quickly and stretch it out as long as possible.

The Bank of England left interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent for the seventh month running on Thursday and said it would keep its 175 billion pound asset buying programme in place, as expected.

More than a dozen drugs including a cancer therapy and a bowel medicine are under early scrutiny for potential side effects, U.S. regulators said in a quarterly list released on Thursday.

The Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday it is reviewing the health impacts of an herbicide known as atrazine, a widely used weed killer that recent studies have tied to birth defects, low birth weight and premature babies.

U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc said on Thursday it expects lower same-store sales for its current quarter and full year after adjusting its financial reporting period to reflect a recent acquisition.

South Korea's LG Group plans to go ahead with a long-considered merger of its three telecom units in the near future, to boost its consumer base and strengthen service offerings, LG Telecom said on Thursday.

German Herta Mueller, a Romanian-born writer who produced tales of the disenfranchised and fought for free speech, won the 2009 Nobel prize for literature Thursday.

American actor Harry Connick Jr got extremely angry when a group of contestants in the popular show Hey Hey It's Saturday! were imitating the Jackson Five- showed up with their faces painted in black.

Adam Yauch is feeling healthy, strong and hopeful that he has beaten cancer, the Beastie Boys member shared in a message to fans this week.

Home buyers in much of the United States paid thousands of dollars below the asking price, but had slightly less negotiating power in August than in July, real estate website Zillow.com said on Thursday.

The U.S. House approved $82.8 billion for federal nutrition programs ranging from food stamps to school lunch on Wednesday, including a plan to compensate poor families for lunches missed during flu epidemics.

Film star Ellen Page is adding a TV writer-producer credit to her resume.

UK fund house Threadneedle said on Thursday it has hired Campbell Fleming as its new head of distribution, with responsibility for wholesale and institutional business as well as marketing and product development.

Barbra Streisand scored her ninth No. 1 album on the U.S. pop chart on Wednesday with a jazz release that overshadowed high-profile releases by some much-younger artists.

Stocks headed for a higher open on Thursday as a surprise profit from Alcoa Inc boosted the start of the earnings season and surging commodity prices underpinned a global equity advance.

An Australian talent show skit based around late pop star Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 has backfired after U.S. guest star Harry Connick Jr called for an apology and viewers accused the program of racism.

Call it delayed reaction.

Actor Leonard Nimoy returns to U.S. television this week in his new guise as a mysterious mastermind on the show Fringe, but doubts that his Mr. Spock will head back to space, the final frontier.

Poorer countries are helping shape a broader pact to fight climate change but their efforts are being stymied by rich nations' lack of commitment on finance and tougher emissions cuts, the U.N. said on Thursday.

Marriott International posted an adjusted quarterly profit that exceeded analyst expectations on Thursday buoyed by higher leisure demand during the summer season and higher than expected revenue.

British actress Carey Mulligan plays a teen who gets seduced in An Education.

U.S. retailers, including Macy's Inc and Abercrombie & Fitch , surprised Wall Street with better-than-expected September sales, suggesting shoppers could be loosening their purse strings ahead of the crucial holiday season.

The quality of healthcare Americans receive depends largely on where they live, with insurance coverage, access to preventive medicine and disease treatment varying widely from state to state, according to a study released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Foundation.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell more-than-expected to a nine-month low last week, data showed, suggesting the labor market was healing despite a setback in September.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell more-than-expected to a nine-month low last week, data showed, suggesting the labor market was healing despite a setback in September.

A U.S. Senate Finance Committee health plan would cost $829 billion and cut the budget deficit by $81 billion over 10 years, nonpartisan budget analysts said on Wednesday in a report that could

Stock futures added to gains on Thursday following a report on weekly jobless claims that suggested some stabilization in the labor market.

Manhattan rents are expected to continue their fall until New York City's economy picks up and fortunes improve on Wall Street, according to a quarterly report issued by a New York realty firm.

The number of employees calling in sick to work with fake excuses is holding steady at one-third among U.S. workers each year but fewer are getting fired for it, according to research released on Tuesday.