IBT Staff Reporter

Plans by the United States to tackle climate change through a cap and trade scheme must learn from the mistakes of Europe if they are to avoid giving away multi-billion-dollar windfalls to industry.

General Motors Corp said Friday it will drop about 1,600 U.S. dealers as it struggles to slash billions of dollars in operating costs and debt ahead of an anticipated bankruptcy filing by the end of the month.

Yet another “Laptop Hunter” ad from Microsoft has been rolled out that attacks Apple on its higher-end price tag.

The U.S. economy has pulled back from the edge of the abyss but the recovery will be very slow as Americans' find an equilibrium between the often voracious consumption of past years and a new-found focus on savings, Federal Reserve policy-makers said on Friday..

The United Nations took a step toward a new climate treaty on Friday by publishing the first draft negotiating texts to help bridge a great gulf between options for rich nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp disputed on Friday a report that said Chairman Sheila Bair believes some U.S. bank chief executives will be replaced in the next couple of months as regulators assess lenders' financial strength.

Stocks stumbled in choppy trading on Friday as energy shares dropped on worries about weak demand, offsetting stronger-than-expected economic data.

Europe Union Industrial greenhouse-gas emission fell 3 percent on Friday, in line with the emission cuts and high demand in oil prices.

Oil refiners would be given 2 percent of greenhouse gas emission permits under a proposed climate change bill that Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are writing, according to a document describing that legislation.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp chairman Sheila Bair said some U.S. bank chief executives will be replaced in the next couple of months as regulators assess lenders' financial strength, Bloomberg News said on Friday, citing a television interview to be broadcast this weekend.

Every now and then, someone will ask me the age-old question: “Is it OK to lie on my resume?”

General Motors Corp said Friday it will drop about 1,600 U.S. dealers as it struggles to slash billions of dollars in operating costs and debt ahead of an anticipated bankruptcy filing by the end of the month.

GMAC LLC, stung by billions of dollars in losses at its auto finance and mortgage units, on Friday scrapped its own name from its banking unit, which it will now call Ally Bank in an effort to gain customers.

Words matter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.That's why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to say two-state solution could make for a rocky start in U.S. President Barack Obama's first major foray into Middle East diplomacy.

A British government minister stepped down on Friday pending an investigation of allegations that he paid below-market rent for a house, the highest profile casualty so far of a growing expenses scandal.

The European Central Bank (ECB) said Thursday the recession in the EU member states would be twice as bad as it projected.

The European Union joined international criticism of Myanmar's military rulers on Friday for pressing new charges against detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Japan's Toshiba Corp said it sued Imation Corp and several recordable DVD manufacturers and distributors, claiming they are infringing on its patents.

Shares of several life insurers, including Hartford Financial and Lincoln Financial Group , rose on Friday after the companies got a preliminary green light to participate in a U.S. funding program.

Struggling No. 1 U.S. trucking company YRC Worldwide Inc plans to seek $1 billion in bailout money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to help it cover pension obligations, a move analysts say is unlikely to succeed as the company has no financial charter.

Retailers J.C. Penney Co Inc and Abercrombie & Fitch Co posted results that showed consumers were still wary about buying non-essential items.

Stocks slipped in choppy trading on Friday, as sliding crude oil prices prompted some selling in the energy sector and bank shares fell following a two-month run-up.

The video game, once considered recession-resistant, and console manufacturing sector are beginning to show signs from the economic strain.

U.S. consumer confidence rose in early May to its strongest since the September failure of Lehman Brothers, with rising expectations the economy may be in the last stages of the recession, a survey showed on Friday.

The global renewable energy sector grew in 2008 as power capacity and new investments both jumped 16 percent last year and for the first time ever, more renewable energy than conventional power capacity was added in the European Union and United States, two of the world’s major economies.

Regular readers know that American Idol is my guilty pleasure and last night, the show provided a rare surprise - despite the fact that producers and judges had been hyping a finale between Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert all season, a dark horse contestant sneaked in under the wire, beat one of the two the judge’s favorites and made it into the finale.

General Motors Corp plans to drop about 1,600 U.S. dealers as it struggles to slash billions of dollars in operating costs and debt ahead of an anticipated bankruptcy filing by the end of the month.

First Data Corp., an international electronic payments processor, said its sales were steady in the first quarter, but generated a loss overall.

Stocks rose on Friday as unchanged consumer prices, a slower pace in the decline in industrial output and stronger-than-expected data on consumer sentiment reinforced hopes the recession is easing.