IBT Staff Reporter

Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, the largest shareholder of MGM Mirage , has acquired more shares of the casino operator, but his overall stake in the company has fallen, according to a securities filing on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday the U.S. economy was beginning to stabilize, but cautioned that consumers will still feel the pain of the current downturn for some time.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment jumped to its highest level in eight months in May, a private survey showed on Monday, supporting views that the three-year housing slump might be close to an end.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched their first White House talks on Monday grappling with rare U.S.-Israeli differences over Middle East peacemaking and how to deal with Iran.

The highly anticipated Wolfram Alpha computational knowledge engine underwent public testing over the weekend to see how well it will respond to a mainstream audience.

Moody's Investors Service stripped the Japanese government of its last triple-A foreign currency credit rating on Monday in a move that could revive market speculation about the creditworthiness of other rich nations, especially the United States.

The wireless chip firms ARM and ST-Ericsson said they expect market to improve in the second quarter, helped by clients restocking, but said the rest of 2009 looked uncertain.

U.S. stocks rose on light volume on Monday as a better-than-expected quarterly profit and upbeat outlook from Lowe's Cos Inc , the No. 2 U.S. home improvement retailer, fueled hopes the economic slump was easing and spending was stabilizing.

Lowe's Cos Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as it saw some strength in outdoor projects like gardens and lawns in the spring, even as consumers still shunned big home renovations.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday for AT&T Inc in a dispute over how retirement benefits should be calculated for women who took maternity leaves before the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act took effect in 1979.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said on Friday it had modestly raised its stakes in Wells Fargo and US Bancorp , two banks whose market values have fallen dramatically.

Deletes reference in paragraph 12 to having sold out of positions in Ingersoll Rand and Iron Mountain

World number two truck maker Volvo said on Monday its Powertrain unit had agreed with unions on cutting working hours and wages at its operations in Koping, in central Sweden.

Now that the semester is just about over, we thought we'd take a look back and see what makes some college students successful. Sometimes, it's a question of intelligence or insight. And sometimes, it's sheer good luck.

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc will continue to sell the Ferrlecit iron deficiency treatment in the United States for the rest of the year following an arbitrator's ruling, the company said on Monday, giving Watson a victory for its closely watched product.

Patriot Coal Corp has been striving to allay investor concerns over a potential covenant breach and contract deferrals in the wake of dwindling demand that sent its stock crashing to a life-low in March.

India's Congress party was expected to appoint key reformers to the new cabinet as financial markets soared on Monday on hopes its sweeping election win would herald a strong coalition government.

General Motors Corp faces a government-imposed June 1 deadline to reach sweeping cost-cutting deals with bondholders and its union and has said it is probable it will follow rival Chrysler into bankruptcy.

Stocks extended gains on Monday as a solid quarterly profit and raised forecast from Lowe's Cos Inc , the No. 2 U.S. home improvement retailer, heightened hopes the economic slump was easing and spending was stabilizing.

South Korea's top technology university has developed a plan to power electric cars through recharging strips embedded in roadways that use a technology to transfer energy found in some electric toothbrushes.

Australia's Antarctic research stations, cut off for nine months of the year, are taking lessons learned from space to try to improve the diagnosis and treatment of staff remotely.

Volkswagen froze talks over a merger that could bail out its majority owner Porsche SE , leaving the luxury carmaker scrambling to reassure investors a deal to unite the two was still alive.

The United Auto Workers union expects a crucial round of restructuring talks with General Motors Corp to intensify this coming week ahead of an end-of-May deadline set by the Obama administration.

Nymex crude climbed back above $58 Monday after militant attacks on Nigerian energy infrastructure raised fears about supply.

Kingsway Financial Services Inc said its Chief Financial Officer Shelly Gobin has left the company in the latest top-management reshuffle by the insurer seeking to cut costs and divest non-core businesses.

Stocks rose on Monday as a solid quarterly profit and raised forecast from Lowe's Cos Inc , the No. 2 U.S. home improvement retailer, fueled hopes the economic slump was easing and spending was stabilizing.

Nokia unveiled three new cell phone models on Monday, including the cheapest 3G phone to date from the world's top handset maker.

McAfee Inc, the No. 2 computer security company, plans to team up with EMC Corp to offer online PC backup services, and announced the acquisition of a company that protects ATMs against hackers.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for root and branch reform on Monday to defuse an expenses scandal that has damaged the main political parties and put pressure on parliament's most senior figure to quit.