He's managed things before and has done a good job at CIA." Panetta, if nominated and confirmed, would also be the first Democrat to hold the position since Bill Perry in 1997."From the beginning, Panetta had enormous credibility with the White House," said a former senior U.S. official who helped advise the Obama campaign. Noting…

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – BHP Billiton (BHP.AX), the world's biggest miner, bowed to investors with plans to hand back $10 billion and pour money into expansions rather than chase ambitious takeovers, after nearly doubling its first-half profit to a record.The Anglo-Australian giant, flush with cash, said it plans to spend $80 billion on development and expansion…

BEIJING (AFP) – China said Tuesday its inflation rate stayed stubbornly high at 4.9 percent in January, sparking analyst predictions that the government would take further aggressive fiscal steps to cool prices.The consumer price index, the key gauge of inflation in the world's second economy, was "lower than market expectations" according to the National Bureau…

LOS ANGELES – Jay-Z laughed it up with Will Smith; Beyonce stood close to sister Solange in a DJ booth; and Charlize Theron made a late entrance.It was an ultra-exclusive affair on Saturday as Jay-Z's RocNation and Gucci threw a pre-Grammy brunch for guests including Rihanna, Adrian Brody and Ryan Phillippe at the Soho House…

President George W. Bush allegedly snubbed “No Strings Attached” actor Ashton Kutcher at last week’s Super Bowl,BBC.Kutcher sat directly behind Bush in a luxury suite at last Sunday’s Super Bowl, but the two had minimal interaction with each other.“I don’t think he’s very happy with me,” Kutcher said of Bush. “He just was not very…

(Reuters) – Joyce Kane lives with two women who pay rent, don't smoke and like her cats.Kane, a 64-year-old divorcee, has been sharing her central New Jersey home with strangers for 10 years and depends on them for both income and company.She is one of a growing number of seniors across the United States who…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Ayana Dunning scored 16 points and No. 9 West Virginia beat Marshall 78-21 Wednesday night, limiting the Thundering Herd to the fewest points in school history.Freshman Taylor Palmer added 14 points for the Mountaineers (18-1), who earned their sixth straight win against their cross-state rival and improved to 34-16 overall against Marshall…

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Robin Soderling and Andy Murray served up reminders that there are more than two contenders for the men's title at the Australian Open with dominant third-round victories on Saturday.While a Melbourne Park bathed in sunshine awaited the much-hyped encounter between world number one Rafa Nadal and local teenager Bernard Tomic, fourth seed…

WASHINGTON – The number of people applying for unemployment benefits barely rose last week, offering some hope that the job market may be improving. But claims need to fall further to bring down the 9.6 percent unemployment rate.Initial claims for jobless aid increased by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 439,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.…

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will pay an extra 713 million rupees ($15.8 million) in compensation to the victims of the world's worst industrial accident that killed thousands in 1984, the government said in a statement late on Thursday.India says about 3,500 people died when a Union Carbide plant in the central Indian city of…