IBT Staff Reporter

Gold prices rallied on Thursday to their highest level since February on strong investment demand amid caution ahead of key U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday.

British transport group National Express is considering an improved takeover proposal worth 765 million pounds ($1.3 billion) from a consortium led by its largest investor, sending its shares up 13 percent.

G20 countries need to pre-plan for withdrawal of the monetary and fiscal stimulus that is fuelling global economic recovery but should not move on either front for much of the next year, the OECD's chief economist says.

Opel's senior labor leader threatened General Motors that the European carmaker's workforce would not pitch in to reduce some $1.2 billion in costs if Detroit retains control of Opel.

A unit of GreenHunter Energy Inc said on Thursday it signed a 20-year power sales deal for its biomass power plant in California, enabling the company to complete construction.

The global economic crisis is not over and unemployment will keep rising in the months to come, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany warned on Thursday before a meeting of G20 policymakers in London this weekend.

A Chance to Learn; Low Prices Rule; Will Probe Derail Oracle?

Shares of movie rental companies Netflix Inc and Blockbuster Inc fell on Thursday, dragged down by news that online video site YouTube is talking with several major movie studios about renting movies, analysts said.

Rihanna posed topless in a provocative photo shoot for the Italian Vogue magazine.

U.S. home prices are nearing the end of a three-year slump and should rise in 2010, though the overall economy can rebound even if the housing market does not, according to a Reuters poll.

NEW YORK - Carrie Underwood has rushed out the first single from her new album to YouTube, a day after an unfinished version of Cowboy Casanova leaked online.

Family Dollar Stores Inc saw quarterly sales grow less than expected, as store reorganizations it undertook across the country interrupted some shopping, and its shares fell nearly 9 percent.

NEW YORK - Carrie Underwood has rushed out the first single from her new album to YouTube, a day after an unfinished version of Cowboy Casanova leaked online.

Chemical shipments on U.S. railroads fell 13.4 percent last week, the Association of American Railroads said on Thursday.

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U.S. home prices are nearing the end of a three-year slump and should rise in 2010, though the overall economy can rebound even if the housing market does not, according to a Reuters poll.

Starbucks Corp named Michelle Gass on Thursday to the new role of president of its Seattle's Best Coffee chain, responsible for building out the brand and managing 550 U.S. Seattle's Best cafes.

At first glance, one might think this Buddhist shrine belongs in a science-fiction movie. Or somewhere in Las Vegas.

Oil prices slipped on Thursday, settling just under $68 a barrel as disappointing news from the labor market outweighed economic optimism from data showing that the U.S. service sector and retail sales improved.

Giuseppe Tornatore has always been a sentimental director with a love for over-the-top emotions.

The Fox business news channel of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has agreed to simulcast the radio show of Don Imus, the ratings-grabber who stirred a national controversy on race two years ago.

Sound familiar? It's the way most people travel-circling must-sees, creating air-tight itineraries, booking tours and hotels, practicing how to ask for the bathroom and haggle for souvenirs

U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday, with investors divided between hopes of recovery after stronger-than-expected retail sales and worries about the economy before Friday's key jobs report.

Hollywood actress Audrina Patridge became a U.S. television personality when she landed on MTV's hit reality series

The Toronto International Film Festival is under attack for its decision to present a series of films spotlighting the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, which a group of high-profile artists and celebrities say constitutes complicity in

The U.S. manufacturing sector's return to expansion should be music to equity investors' ears, but bankers say past experience as well as the circumstances of the current rebound suggest a good deal of caution is warranted.

The two main U.S. regulators policing the securities and futures markets were urged on Thursday to align their rules for ferreting out fraud, protecting investors and punishing wrongdoers.

Oil prices steadied on Thursday as economic optimism from data showing that the U.S. service sector and retail sales improved was tempered by disappointing news from the labor market.

Lower-priced U.S. retailers posted better-than-expected sales results in August as consumers looked to save money in the key back-to-school season, leaving luxury chains struggling.