IBT Staff Reporter

The chance that developing countries would accept firm emissions-cutting targets receded on Friday, as U.N.-led talks to launch negotiations on a climate pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol inched forwards.

A female suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 16 people in Iraq on Friday in an attack on former Sunni Arab insurgents who have joined the security forces to fight al Qaeda, police said.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore urged governments on Friday to advance by two years a new treaty to curb greenhouse gas emissions instead of waiting until the Kyoto pact expires in 2012.

A U.S. intelligence report claiming Iran halted a nuclear weapons program in 2003 has caught Washington's Gulf Arab allies off guard, analysts say, raising concern that U.S. pressure against Tehran could slacken.

The CIA acknowledged making videotapes to document interrogations of terrorism suspects that used techniques critics have denounced as torture, and said on Thursday it had destroyed the recordings.

The government's intervention to streamline the mortgage industry's process for evaluating struggling borrowers was a necessary step, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson says. No one should lose their home just because a complex, cumbersome process simply couldn't get to them in time to determine if there is another potential solution.

Jetblue Airways will provide email and instant-messaging services, as it tests the new products one of its flights this coming Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Major League Baseball suspended two players for 15 days on Thursday over violations of the league’s drug policies.

A key product delay will mean lower sales for device maker Palm this holiday season during its second fiscal quarter of 2008, the company said Thursday.

UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s former CEO William W. McGuire agreed on Thursday to repay over $400 million in compensation -- in addition to $200 million he previously gave up -- as part of a settlement deal with the company and government regulators over an options backdating scandal.

Copper rose on Thursday on investor speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will decrease borrowing costs next week to give a boost to the economy and in turn, raise demand for the metal.

Dell Inc. announced on Thursday it will begin selling PCs at more than 900 Best Buy Co. Inc. stores in an attempt to gain more of the U.S. consumer market.

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg apologized to users on Wednesday for their controversial web-based advertising system, Beacon, which publishes information about members' off-site purchases to users’ friends.

The price of the oil rose more than $3 on Thursday after OPEC’s decision to keep its output unchanged and as a weaker dollar pushed up commodities.

Hong Kong stocks on Thursday increased for a seventh straight session after a U.S. jobs report indicated growth in the jobs market, easing worries about a recession.

A spokesman from the troubled Northern Rock bank announced today that the company had borrowed a total of around £25 billion from the Bank of England since the run on the bank caused by the credit crunch, reports Reuters.

Treasuries fell on Thursday after President George W. Bush announced a plan to help some homeowners with subprime mortgages by freezing their interest rates, discouraging investors from buying U.S. debt.

Gold futures slipped on Thursday as crude oil prices recovered and the dollar continued its recent rally which boosted demand for the precious metal.

Air France-KLM said it would make an offer for loss-making Italian carrier Alitalia, a long-awaited move that faces a serious challenge only from tiny Italian airline Air One.

The euro rose against the yen and dollar on Thursday after the head of the European Central Bank, Jean Claude Trichet, reduced speculation of a rate cut, warning about inflationary pressure.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met top advisers on Thursday to prepare for his first meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since the two leaders launched formal peace talks last week.

Some retailers reported stronger-than-expected November sales on Thursday, helped by a post-Thanksgiving rush and holiday discounts, but notable misses by others and a shift in the retail calendar left an unclear picture of the strength of the key holiday season.

Coca-Cola Co said on Thursday Chief Operating Officer Muhtar Kent will succeed Neville Isdell as chief executive of the world's largest soft drink company on July 1, 2008.

U.S. stocks rose steadily for a second day on Thursday, with financial shares climbing on expectations that government plan to be unveiled today may help banks’ profits by limiting subprime mortgage defaults.

Some retailers reported stronger-than-expected November sales on Thursday, helped by a post-Thanksgiving rush and holiday discounts, but notable misses by others and a shift in the retail calendar left an unclear picture of the strength of the key holiday season.

Three out of four buyers of the trendy iPhone in Britain will be new O2 customers won from rival mobile networks, according to the new head of O2 which won an exclusive deal to sell the iPhone in Britain.

Franklin Perry used to spend hours performing video game feats with his thumbs but lately he has been using the Nintendo Wii, and the rest of his body, to regain his strength after suffering a stroke.

The euro rose against the dollar and the yen on Thursday after the European Central Bank left interest rates on hold but President Jean-Claude Trichet warned of strong upward pressure on inflation.

Oil prices climbed above $88 a barrel on Thursday, recovering from six-week lows amid concern over tight inventories following OPEC's output rollover and as weakness in the U.S. dollar propped up commodities.