IBT Staff Reporter

Google Inc, criticized for scanning books without copyright permission, has said it would open its digital library to rivals and bookstores, the search engine giant said on Thursday.

U.S. carmaker General Motors has decided to sell Opel to a group led by Canadian car parts maker Magna, signaling an end to months of uncertainty for the European unit and its 50,000 workers.

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hit back at his critics on Thursday, saying he is far and away the best leader in Italian history and has never considered resigning over scandals concerning his private life.

Nine women tricked into thinking they were reality TV show contestants and lured into an Istanbul villa were rescued by Turkish military police after two months confinement, a police spokesman said Thursday.

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres, one of the top U.S. talk show hosts, was named on Wednesday as the new fourth judge on American Idol, replacing Paula Abdul, who quit the most-watched American television show last month.

Jermaine Jackson said on Thursday he hoped R&B star Mary J. Blige would perform at the concert he planned to stage later this month in memory of his brother Michael, but the line-up was still being checked.

That will ultimately be the question asked about what kind of a future the German carmaker Opel faces.

Oil prices rose on Thursday after a U.S. government report showed a surprise decline in stockpiles in the world's largest energy consumer, and OPEC said it would maintain official output curbs.

Portuguese cable, Internet and telecoms operator Zon said its operating performance in the third quarter so far has been positive, with the company further reducing cancellations of pay-TV contracts.

Mike Duvall, a California Republican Lawmaker was caught by an open microphone in a Capitol hearing room, commenting about sexual affairs allegedly with a woman 19 years his junior. Media speculates is a female lobbyist.

Bharti Airtel Ltd stands a bigger chance of landing a proposed $24 billion cash and share swap with South Africa's MTN after sweetening the deal, two people familiar with the matter said.

PNG Ventures Inc filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Delaware bankruptcy court, becoming the second liquefied natural gas company this week to buckle under pressure from falling gas prices.

Smithfield Foods Inc, known as the largest hog and pork producer in the world, is transforming itself into a packaged-foods company that is less reliant on hogs and lower-margin fresh pork products, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Royal Bank of Canada may raise up to C$15 billion ($14 billion) through the sale of debt securities or preferred shares, an option that could set the stage for a major acquisition by Canada's largest lender.

General Motors Co will roll out a new marketing campaign next week offering consumers a 60-day, money-back guarantee on new vehicle purchases, backed by ads featuring its chairman, Ed Whitacre, sources briefed on the plans said.

The news website BigGovernment.com revealed Thursday a videotape and transcript showing officials of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)in assisting individuals how to lie to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Ford Motor Co sees no near-term North American labor cost disadvantage with rivals General Motors Co and Chrysler Group LLC, but is in talks with its unions to address longer-term concerns, its global labor chief said on Thursday.

General Motors' decision to sell Opel to a consortium of Canadian car parts maker Magna and Russia's Sberbank is an important intermediate step but not a final one, Sberbank said on Thursday.

General Motors does not plan to retake majority control of Opel at a later date, the U.S. carmaker's chief negotiator John Smith said on Thursday after GM decided to sell the unit to a group led by Canada's Magna.

Procter & Gamble Co said it expects sales to improve in the coming quarter as new products and other investments pay dividends, sending its shares up 4.3 percent.

Oil slipped below $72 a barrel on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, as large increases in U.S. fuel inventories overshadowed a drop in crude inventories and outlooks for a rise in global demand.

Japanese talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo Co Ltd plans to go private in a 52.7 billion yen ($571 million) buyout led by a consortium of about 20 firms, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Stocks rose on Thursday on brighter outlooks from Texas Instruments and Procter & Gamble that prompted investors to push market gains into a fifth straight session.

Steve Jobs stepped back into the spotlight for the first time in nearly a year on Wednesday, drawing a standing ovation before unveiling new and cheaper iPods for Apple Inc.

Google Inc's plan to digitize millions of books as part of a class action settlement wrongly creates a virtually compulsory license for books, the U.S. register of copyrights said on Thursday.

The U.S. trade gap widened dramatically in July as imports surged and dealers stocked up on cars for the cash for clunkers program, while more recent data showed improvement in the U.S. labor market.

Following Steve Jobs appearance at the Apple event held on Wednesday in San Francisco, the Apple co-founder spoke out in an interview about the new iPod lineup, his weight and health issues.

Executives from U.S. specialty truck maker Oshkosh Corp said on Thursday the company's 2010 outlook had been improved by the string of recent Pentagon contract awards.

The Opel Trust board, which controls a 65 percent stake in Opel and has the final word on who can acquire the carmaker, is split on General Motors' plan to sell the unit to a group led by Canada's Magna, a German government source said on Thursday.