BUSINESS

Disillusioned by the unfulfilled promise of the cities and feeling stifled by tough austerity measures aimed at coping with an economic downturn, some Portuguese are opting out and returning to the land.

DuPont's first-quarter profit and sales beat Wall Street's expectations, helped by price hikes and strong sales of herbicides and genetically modified seeds.

Spain managed to sell 2.5 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of bonds at auction on Thursday, as much as it wanted, but at a cost of rising yields as the country struggles to tame its deficit.

Advertisers are going for Facebook as athletes go for the gold, in the first Olympic Games where marketers are placing such high hopes on social media to create a buzz for their brands.

The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday it had raised $320 billion so far in a bid to boost its firepower to deal with the euro zone debt crisis, with Poland and Switzerland joining the effort.

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed claims against Goldman Sachs Group Inc , JPMorgan Chase & Co and 40 other defendants that they helped mislead investors in General Electric Co's $12.2 billion stock offering in 2008.

Japan's exports rose in March from a year earlier for the first time in six months, mainly on the strength of U.S. sales, but high fuel imports pushed the trade balance back into deficit and manufacturers remain cautious about business in months ahead.

Hong Kong's financial market watchdog will launch a public consultation in the next couple of weeks that seeks to toughen rules for banks sponsoring initial public offerings, including holding them liable for faulty deal documents.

Asian shares and the euro traded in tight ranges on Thursday ahead of a Spanish bond sale seen as a key test of investors' risk appetite amid renewed concerns over the euro zone's debt crisis.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa stressed on Wednesday the central bank is fully committed to continuing powerful monetary easing, but warned that central banks can only buy time for governments to pursue structural reforms.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Wednesday the central bank is fully committed to continuing powerful monetary easing through various measures, such as keeping interest rates practically at zero and purchasing financial assets until 1 percent inflation is in sight.

Activist shareholder William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management plans to raise $4 billion by listing a new fund in January 2013, the Financial Times reported.

The United States on Wednesday threw its support behind a bid to boost the International Monetary Fund's financial resources, signaling greater satisfaction among Group of 20 nations with Europe's efforts to resolve its debt crisis.

Institutional investors are increasingly pressing boards to rein in outsized executive pay, and after Citigroup shareholders rejected a compensation plan on Tuesday, more directors may start listening.

U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday, a day after Wall Street's best gains in a month, as uninspiring earnings from tech bellwethers IBM and Intel gave investors a reason to take profits.

Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp dropped more than 5 percent on Wednesday and one investor called for the company to clean up its leadership after a Reuters report that Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon borrowed as much as $1.1 billion against his stake in thousands of company wells.

More than half of local and state employees continue to work under pay freezes, while others are accelerating their retirements or facing the prospects of layoffs as the effects of the recession linger on the public sector, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Starbucks Corp wants to make its mainland China expansion a family affair.

Apple may make its next iPhone considerably thinner and lighter thanks to some recently-licensed patents for liquid metal, which the company acquired in 2010 from Delaware-based Liquidmetal Technologies. The same report also says the iPhone will release and launch date is June 2012.

Swedish retailer IKEA unveiled its interpetation of an integrated television on Monday, called the UPPLEVA, which means to experience. Even though Apple's late founder Steve Jobs had envisioned such a TV for his own company, it looks like IKEA will be the first to ship such an experience.

Shares in Chesapeake Energy Corp fell nearly 10 percent on Wednesday after a Reuters report that Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon had borrowed as much as $1.1 billion over the last three years against his stake in thousands of company wells.

The Seaside, N.J., home that houses the Jersey Shore gang has been vandalized! While it might not come as a surprise since the inside of the house was frequently vandalized by its famous reality star tenants, but on the outside has been tagged by hoards of fans.

Stocks declined on Wednesday after uninspiring earnings from IBM and Intel, while Chesapeake Energy sank after a Reuters report highlighted that its CEO has taken out large and unusual personal loans.

Commodities trader Glencore signed a $6 billion syndicated loan backing its $90 billion merger with miner Xstrata on Tuesday after raising nearly $11 billion in syndication, banking sources said on Wednesday.

The Android smartphone operating system is a very important asset for Google, but it is not critical, Google's chief executive said in courtroom testimony.

Halliburton Co , the world's second-largest oilfield services company, reported a higher quarterly profit as North American sales hit a record high despite major challenges, and its shares rose more than 4 percent.

BlackRock Inc , the world's largest asset manager, said first-quarter profits were steady, bolstered by strong inflows into its popular iShares exchange-traded fund business.

The government will face a major test on whether it has the capacity to govern when it faces big tax and budget decisions at the end of the year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chief Executive Warren Buffett said he has stage 1 prostate cancer but his condition is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way.