IBT Staff Reporter

As the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas winds down to lackluster reviews, Apple is expected to grab the spotlight with an ultra-slim laptop computer and online movie rentals at its biggest annual show next week.

Here is the cold, hard reality of the 65th annual Golden Globe Awards that will be handed out Sunday at the Beverly Hilton: A lot of people are going to lose a lot of money.

With tears, smiles and long hugs, two women hostages were freed by Colombia's Marxist rebels on Thursday after years in the jungle, raising hopes for dozens more languishing in secret camps. In a Venezuela-brokered deal, a helicopter flew deep into Colombia to pick up former vice-presidential candidate Clara Rojas and ex-congresswoman Consuelo Gonzalez, and ferried them back across the border where a plane took them to Caracas.

Sending a symbolic message to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, U.S. President George W. Bush visited on Friday the site where Jesus is believed to have intoned blessed are the peacemakers.

Amazon said on Thursday that it will begin offering music from Sony BMG without digital rights management, allowing purchases to freely distribute the downloads.

New York's attorney-general launched an antitrust investigation into the world's largest chipmaker on Thursday, following similar action in Japan, South Korea, and Europe.

Copper futures ended Thursday recovering losses early in the session to settle down slightly after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that interest rates may need to be lowered to boost the economy.

In its second executive shuffle of the year, Microsoft Corp. announced on Thursday that the head of the unit which produces its valued Office software suite, plans to retire in September to be replaced by Stephen Elop, the former chief operating officer at Juniper Networks.

Oil fell on Thursday amid fears that crude demand will be threatened by a possible economic recession in the U.S. and in other important global oil consumers.

Shares of Countrywide Financial shot up more than 50 percent on Thursday after a report that Bank of America may buy the troubled leading U.S. mortgage lender. The reported pending talks, come amid rumors earlier this week that Countrywide needed cash to avoid bankruptcy, speculation that the company denied.

Gold futures rallied on Thursday reaching a record-breaking high with silver also rising after the dollar slumped on news of a further interest rate cut by the central bank.

U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged to further cut interest rates and on news that Bank of America is reported to buy struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.

The dollar tumbled against the euro, breaching the 1.48-level in the face of sharply divergent comments from each respective central bank’s chief. ECB President Trichet hinted at further tightening on the back of Eurozone economic

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged Thursday to cut interest rates this month in a bid to prevent housing and credit problems from plunging the nation's economy into a recession. We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks, Bernanke said

Retailers reported weaker than expected December sales results on Thursday, reflecting a 2007 holiday shopping season that is turning out to be one of the weakest in years due to a weakening job market and the ongoing housing slump.

Gold gained in choppy European trade on Thursday as a weaker dollar and bargain hunting lifted the metal closer to record highs.

The willow-thin high school student is one of 34 Chinese girls training to be an Olympic medal presenter at the Beijing Foreign Affairs School (BFAS), one of several state-run colleges charged with producing camera-friendly girls for awards ceremonies.

Those online retirement calculators are handy and dandy. Pop in a few numbers and they tell you whether you're on track for the retirement of your dreams... or, more likely, that there's been a serious derailment.

For Johnny Depp, there are films and there are Tim Burton films. The Hollywood actor has teamed up with director Burton for the sixth time in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a blood-spattered adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical that has impressed the critics.

The de-glitzing of the Golden Globes has been a blow to everyone from movie marketers to caterers. But could it lift award shows that aren't hit by the Hollywood writers strike?

Citigroup, Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co., U.S. banks which have seen heavy losses due to bad bets on the mortgage market, are in discussions to get up to $10 billion and $4 billion in capital respectively primarily from foreign governments, according to a report on Wednesday.

From tiny music players that dance as they play tunes to smarter toothbrushes and curvy computer screens, U.S. consumers can count on being wowed by another year of cool digital gadgets in the coming year.

Hillary Clinton's surprise comeback in the presidential race this week sparked national soul-searching. Did women rally out of guilt? Or did a glimpse of tears win the senator a bit of sympathy?

President George W. Bush told Palestinians on Thursday he believed they would sign a peace treaty with Israel within a year that would give them their own state.

U.S. wheat dropped on Wednesday as traders awaited agricultural reports due this week that will update the status of the U.S. and global crop production and stockpiles.

Apple on Wednesday announced its move to reduce prices for music on its U.K. iTunes store so as to match the pricing in other European countries after an inquiry by a European Union on a pricing complaint from a British consumer group.

Comcast Corp on Wednesday denied interfering with file-sharing services and promised to cooperate with the U.S. regulators to settle concerns about how it manages its internet traffic.

Copper Futures fell on Wednesday after a two month high on market has uncertainty over the U.S. economy which may reduce copper demand.

Oil fell on Wednesday after results from the weekly inventory report showed U.S. crude oil supplies fell.