UNITED STATES

The Dow and S&P were little changed on Thursday as disappointing labor market data offset strong results from Caterpillar, but a strong outlook from Qualcomm lifted the Nasdaq.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week as harsh weather conditions in some parts of the country kept workers at home and caused a backlog in the processing

AT&T Inc posted revenue that missed Wall Street estimates and its wireless subscriber growth was also slower than expected in its final quarter as the exclusive U.S. provider for the Apple Inc iPhone, sending shares down 3 percent.

AT&T Inc posted a quarterly profit slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations but its wireless subscriber growth missed analyst estimates in its final quarter as the exclusive U.S. provider for the Apple Inc iPhone.

Gold fell back from its third overnight rally in four days in London trade on Thursday, dropping 1.1% against the Dollar. We don't feel that this downward pressure can persist, given ample global liquidity and low long-term real interest rates, says Standard Bank's commodity team in a client note.

The Federal Reserve showed on Wednesday it was in no rush to cut short its rescue of the U.S. economy, saying high unemployment still justified its $600 billion bond-buying plan even though the economy has

Gold priced in yen rallied to session highs on Thursday after yen came under broad pressure following a downgrade to Japan' sovereign ratings. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut its rating on Japan's sovereign debt to AA- from AA ...

New U.S. claims for jobless benefits surged last week as snowstorms in some parts of the country kept workers at home, but the underlying trend pointed to an only gradual labor market improvement.

Shark populations continue to decline due to unregulated fishing, much of it to meet the high demand for fins. A new analysis finds that the international plan, which was approved by members of UNFAO in 2001, has yet to be fully implemented.

New York City finally takes a snow day after residents woke up to a foot of snow.

Examples set by the Tunisian protesters are being taken up strongly by several countries suffocated with steep poverty and high unemployment rates.

Barack Obama will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador early this year, the US president announced during State of the Union speech to the U.S. Congress.

A key measure of business activity strengthened again in December, a lender group told Reuters on Tuesday, as companies borrowed more money to invest in their operations and did a better job of staying

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a modestly higher opening on Thursday ahead of economic data including durable goods orders and pending home sales as well as slew of earnings reports.

The U.S. Treasury could sell all of its stock in General Motors Co. within the next year, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing an unidentified Treasury official.

America's college and university endowment funds recorded an 11.9 percent return last year, aided by big bets on alternative investments like hedge funds but helped even more by traditional stock and bond selections.

The yen fell and investors took a cautious stance on stocks and riskier assets on Thursday after Standard & Poor's cut Japan's credit rating in a forceful reminder of the fragile state of some leading countries' finances.

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama reiterated his commitment to green technologies by vowing to flood America's highways with plug-in cars and will ask Congress for new programs to support sales and development of electric vehicles.

The Silicon Valley giant will invest $100 million to support research in US universities over the next 5 years to drive innovation in computing and communications.

Mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been lobbying the Treasury to accept a lower dividend on the preferred stock issued during the government bail out, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the situation.

U.S. lawmakers plan to reintroduce China currency legislation that was overwhelmingly approved last year by the House of Representative but failed to become law, congressional aides said on Wednesday.