IBT Staff Reporter

President Barack Obama knew it was not going to be easy to overhaul U.S. healthcare.

The Canadian government, struggling to stay ahead of fast-moving technological developments, will launch consultations next week to help it craft new copyright legislation.

CIT Group Inc is in talks with JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc about short-term financing as it looks for ways to avoid bankruptcy, a source close to the company said on Friday, sending the lender's shares and bonds up.

China's mainland and Hong Kong are transferring key personnel of its central bank, State Administration of Foreign Exchanges(SAFE) and Hong Kong Money Athority (HKMA), an effort to promote the cross-border yuan trade and accelerate the process of yuan's internationalization.

A film documenting a group of clandestine reporters secretly filming the 2007 street protests in Myanmar and crackdown by the military junta hit cinemas in Britain this week to warm applause from the critics.

Starbucks plans to add beer and wine to its menu at a test store, USA Today reported Friday.

France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, will sing in New York on Saturday to celebrate South African icon, Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler, in a joking mood amid rumors that he and American actress Jennifer Aniston are in a relationship, said the pair was ready to tie the knot.

Police said on Friday a third bomb was found and defused in a laptop computer bag on the 18th floor in Marriott Hotel, Jakarta in Indonesia.

Hong Kong's third critical case of H1N1 has been detected among the increased 1640 cases, involving a 39-year-old woman, the Hospital Authority (HA) said on Friday.

Bank of America Inc. posted better than expected second quarter earnings of $3.2 billion on Friday. The bank's CEO, Kenneth Lewis, admitted it will be much tougher to make money in the second half of 2009 after the bank's current profits relied on one-time gains. Lewis anticipates more loan losses as the unemployment rate continues to rise.

U.S. stocks closed out their best week in four months on Friday on a flat note as strong earnings from IBM softened the blow of disappointing results from General Electric Co .

Expectations are high for Apple Inc's quarterly results next week, in the wake of strong early sales for its new iPhone and improved sentiment on the personal computer market after Intel Corp's earnings.

Verizon Wireless is dialing back on its exclusivity agreements with handset makers after pressure from U.S. lawmakers and smaller carriers.

President Barack Obama's far-reaching plan to guarantee all Americans healthcare coverage faced trouble on Friday over its more than $1 trillion price tag, so Democrats looked for ways to reduce healthcare costs as they moved the bill forward.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday that North Korea's famine has reduced the threat posed by its armed forces.

Wall Street, where hundreds of commodity traders lost jobs last year as the recession set in, is on a new hiring phase where banks and hedge funds want to pay top dollar but only to a few, highly productive people.

The World Health Organization issued the following guidelines on Saturday about ways to prevent and fight flu, especially in poor areas where medical facilities may lack staff, beds and drugs:

U.S. administration officials Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Energy Secretary Steven Chu concluded a four-day trip to China.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has quietly reached an agreement to end a legal dispute with a blogger who will be allowed to keep running a website critical of the investment bank.

U.S. stocks closed out their best week in four months on Friday on a flat note as strong earnings from IBM softened the blow of disappointing results from General Electric Co .

The Los Angeles County coroner's office said the release of Michael Jackson's autopsy results will take at least another two weeks to be released.

European Union antitrust authorities cleared U.S. drugmaker Pfizer's $68 billion takeover of rival Wyeth on Friday subject to conditions, notably the divestment of animal vaccines.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday, with the Dow and Nasdaq up and the S&P 500 down. Upbeat earnings results from IBM offset disappointing numbers from General Electric Co .

A U.S. court decided on Friday against tinkering with regulations governing telephone lines largely controlled by AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc .

President Barack Obama had a tough-love message for fellow African-Americans on Thursday, urging black parents to push their children to think beyond dreams of being sports stars or rap music performers.

Verizon Wireless is dialing back on its exclusivity agreements with handset makers after pressure from U.S. lawmakers and smaller carriers.

The Jakarta hotel bombings confront security experts with an increasingly familiar dilemma: How do you give fortress-like protection to businesses whose very existence depends on the gentle art of welcoming people?

Oil prices rose 2.5 percent on Friday, staging their first weekly gain in a month, after U.S. housing data sparked optimism that a battered sector of the economy may be primed for recovery.