UNITED STATES

Technology shares dragged U.S. stocks lower on Thursday as disappointing Cisco earnings overshadowed stronger-than-expected data on weekly unemployment benefits claims.

President Barack Obama will unveil his plans to expand high-speed wireless service to at least 98 percent of Americans within five years, while reducing the U.S. deficit by about $10 billion over the next decade.

Sprint Nextel posted a 6 percent increase in quarterly revenue, and it added mobile subscribers for the first quarter in more than three years, sending its shares up nearly 4 percent in early trade.

Saudi teenager Abdulrahman Saeed lives in one of the richest countries in the world, but his prospects are poor, he blames his education, and it's not a situation that looks like changing soon. There is not enough in our curriculum, says Saeed, 16, who goes to an all-male state school in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. It is just theoretical teaching, and there is no practice or guidance to prepare us for the job market.

Amid music game sales increases, the company closes Guitar Hero developer Vicarious Visions.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, now in the midst of a widening federal crackdown on its undocumented work force, warned investors a year ago that it was subject to immigration audits and that it may have been employing workers in the country illegally.

Hackers working in China broke into the computer systems of five multinational oil and gas companies to steal bidding plans and other critical proprietary information, the computer security firm McAfee Inc said in a report.

The number of identity fraud incidents decreased by more than a quarter in the US last year, recording the lowest levels since 2007, said a survey by Javelin Strategy & Research.

Verizon Wireless began selling Apple's iPhone at long last, ending AT&T Inc's more than three-year stranglehold on the device in the United States.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday on disappointing earnings from Cisco and Credit Suisse before weekly jobless claims data.

AT&T, which is losing its hold on the iPhone to Verizon, has introduced a new feature to its customers that offers unlimited calling to any mobile number in the United States. AT&T's new offer is an attempt to counter an impending switch of iPhone customers to Verizon, which will be debuting iPhone 4 starting today.

Pakistan International Airlines’ staff strike seeking the airline’s managing director’s resignation and termination of a passenger-sharing MoU signed with Turkish Airlines, took a complete toll on air travel in Pakistan when the country’s national airline had to cancel dozens of flights on Thursday.

Wall Street was set for a lower start on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq futures were down 0.4 to 1 percent at 1010 GMT.

Catholics cannot confess via iPhone and technology is not a substitute for being present when admitting sins to a priest, the Vatican spokesman said on Wednesday.

Disappointing corporate earnings weighed on global stock markets on Thursday, pushing major indexes lower, while shifting interest rate expectations lifted the dollar and put Britain's pound on edge.

A group of 100 faculty members has written to the Orange County district attorney requesting him to drop the charges against the students, saying that they have already been sufficiently penalized and disciplined by the University administration for their misdemeanor.

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent struck an upbeat tone for 2011, keeping an ambitious free cash flow target and reassuring investors on its profitability as it nears the end of its turnaround plan.

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent struck an upbeat tone for 2011, keeping an ambitious free cash flow target and reassuring investors on its profitability as it nears the end of its turnaround plan.

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent set an adjusted operating target of 5 percent of 2011 sales, the lower end of what it had previously told investors it would achieve.

NEW YORK - Freddie Mac said its Chief Operating Offier is resigning on Wednesday, effective immediately.

Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> is set to expand operations in Russia, partnering with Russian automaker Sollers to help build Toyota-brand cars in the far east of the country as it pushes further into emerging markets, the Nikkei newspaper said.