After more than five months of going it alone, Iran's opposition Green Movement is reaching out to the United States for help. Via public and private channels, the Obama Administration has received several appeals in recent weeks to take a stronger stand against human-rights abuses in Iran, avoid military action and impose more aggressive and rapid-fire sanctions against the Revolutionary Guards and its vast business interests. The opposition's outreach comes as the Administration weighs the next move ...

As the chairwoman of South Korea's Hyundai group, Jeong-eun Hyun faces business challenges few other executives can imagine. Subsidiary Hyundai Asan has led efforts to build economic ties between the North and South, so Hyun is not only managing a multinational through a recession but also through global tensions over the North's nuclear program. Hyundai Asan has invested $272 million in North Korea, in projects like the Kaesong Industrial Park and tours to Mount Kumgang. Hyun traveled to North Korea ...

Technologies that let employees work remotely have given rise to a growing phenomenon -- virtual internships. Businesses are realizing that commonplace Internet technologies like email, instant messaging -- which can also enable video chats -- and social media can be used to free interns from the confines of the office. For students, new graduates and career switchers looking to work in a different industry, working as an intern can be a valuable way of gaining work experience, and the flexibility ...

The wisdom of business professors, once only available to MBAs and business students, can now be accessed by anybody with an Internet connection. Hundreds of universities, and a growing number of business schools, are making recordings of lectures, seminars and conferences available to the general public via Web sites such as iTunes and YouTube. Leading business schools including University of Cambridge Judge Business School, Fuqua School of Business, and Yale School of Management make course content available for ...

Garth Brooks, one of the biggest country stars of all time, said Thursday he was coming out of retirement after nine years away from the music business. Brooks made the announcement at a press conference at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. A larger press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET Thursday from a different, undisclosed location, to which Brooks was transporting a number of members of the news media. However, the singer will not be announcing a ...

Economic reform arrived at Mexico's electrical utility on Saturday night wearing black body armor, crash helmets and ski masks. Flabbergasted workers arriving for early morning shifts on Sunday found thousands of Federal police deployed to enforce a government decree shutting down the company. A special edition of the government gazette decreed that because of inefficiency and unacceptable losses, the state-run utility that provides power to 25 million people in the heart of Mexico had ceased to exist. Its ...

The economic might of India may bring to mind technological savvy and overseas call centers. But to understand Indian economy, a visit to a roadside dentist like Raj Kishore is more illuminating. "I can extract, I can fill up, I can scale, I can make dentures, I can make bridge metal or non-metal." Kishore said as he fitted dentures for a customer. One thing he can't do is show a license to practice -- like many roadside dentists sitting on ...

The bank that never sleeps is holding an all-night sale. Citigroup, in an effort to improve its bottom line and repay the government, has put a "for sale" sign on numerous pieces of its business, downsizing what once was the nation's largest bank. Citi's executives are taking a decidedly different tack in trying to rescue their firm than their competitors, and some analysts question whether the downsizing alone will be enough to turn around the bank. "The winding down ...

He's gone from being a backup dancer to the biggest thing in Asian pop culture, an actor and singer who has sold millions of albums. The 27-year-old South Korean has even faced down U.S. comedian Steven Colbert in a spoof dance-off after Rain placed higher than him in Time Magazine's 2008 online poll of the 100 Most Influential People. As well as a sense of humor and dance moves that shook Colbert out of his satirical posture ...

Business confidence in Japan improved for a second quarter running, but the outlook for spending and profitability remains weak, according to a survey by the Bank of Japan on Thursday.