UNITED STATES

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday defended the costly bailout of insurer AIG and urged swift regulatory reform to safeguard the economy from the failure of big financial firms.

Apparel retailer Gap Inc said on Thursday that quarterly net income rose by 25 percent, meeting Wall Street estimates, helped by improved profit margins and rebounding sales at its Old Navy chain.

An American International Group Inc's board meeting is expected next week against the backdrop of Chief Executive Robert Benmosche's frustration with the U.S. government's involvement in the insurer's affairs, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

General Growth Properties , the giant mall operator that filed for bankruptcy in April, said on Thursday it reached an agreement with lenders that extends maturities on 70 loans and enables the lenders to get their money back.

An American International Group Inc's board meeting is expected next week against the backdrop of Chief Executive Robert Benmosche's frustration with the U.S. government's involvement in the insurer's affairs, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

In a company town where the street lamps are shaped like chocolate Kisses and orphans are cared for with corporate largesse, the prospect that America's biggest chocolate maker may merge with a foreign entity has unnerved some people.

Executives from two major oil companies told Congress on Thursday that the U.S. government should open more offshore areas to oil and natural gas drilling so America can rely less on foreign suppliers.

An American International Group Inc's board meeting is expected next week against the backdrop of Chief Executive Robert Benmosche's frustration with the U.S. government's involvement in the insurer's affairs, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

U.S. carmaker General Motors will present a new viability plan for Opel in mid-December as it aims to reduce capacity across Europe by about 20 percent, a top executive said on Thursday.

U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as another batch of economic data pointed to the fragility of the recovery and a brokerage's dim view on the semiconductor sector hit technology shares.

Australian Dollar: Average weekly wages increased by 5.2% in August and 0.9% for the year to date, down from 6.1% the previous month and 1.2% for the year to July. The news was enough to tip the AUD/USD below intraday technical support at 0.9270 to a low of 0.9220 in Asia yesterday. The Aussie dollar followed the Euro lower in early trade to revisit the 0.9130 level before bouncing back in late U.S trade following some relatively upbeat North American economic data. This morning sees the AUD ope...

Technology stocks drove a broad-based U.S. sell-off on Thursday as a brokerage took a dim view of demand prospects for the semiconductor sector, while economic data underscored the fragility of the recovery.

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region hit a two-year high in November, indicating the economic recovery was gaining momentum, while the trend in claims for jobless aid continued downward.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Thursday said inflation is not an imminent threat and downplayed the consequences of the falling U.S. dollar.

U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as a brokerage's bearish view of the semiconductor industry hit technology shares and a key economic report raised concerns about the recovery, curbing the appetite for riskier assets.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply after BofA Merrill Lynch turned bearish on the industry and downgraded several chipmakers, including Intel Corp , citing a modest rise in inventories.

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region hit a two-year high in November, indicating the economic recovery was gaining momentum, while the trend in claims for jobless aid continued downward.

Any tax imposed on financial transactions would have to take effect internationally to prevent Wall Street jobs and related business moving overseas, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday.

The U.S. dollar will remain the world's primary reserve currency for many years or decades, an International Monetary Fund official said on Thursday.

GameStop Corp's quarterly profit beat expectations helped by price cuts that stoked video game console demand and as used-game sales boosted margins -- signs a months-long period of gloom may be easing.

Technology and basic materials shares led Wall Street's broad decline on Thursday, as bearish analyst comments on the semiconductor sector and a stronger U.S. dollar dented recent gains.