MARKETS / FINANCE

Japan's Toshiba Corp needs to consider acquisitions so as to develop sales routes and gain share overseas in the growing market for LED lights, the head of its lighting systems operations said on Thursday.

China's Huawei, one of the world's top makers of networking equipment, on Thursday denied a report it was in talks to form an alliance with Franco-American rival Alcatel-Lucent.

The Bank of England left interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent for the sixth month running on Thursday and said it would keep its 175 billion pound asset buying programme in place.

Wall Street was set for a flat to higher open on Thursday after Texas Instruments raised its earnings forecast and data showed the number of people filing claims for jobless benefits fell last week.

The board of General Motors has decided to sell its European arm Opel to Canadian auto parts group Magna , but has attached strings to the sale, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Former Morgan Stanley managing director Du Jun was found guilty of insider trading by a Hong Kong court on Thursday, in the city's highest-profile insider trading case.

Stock futures edged up on Thursday after data showed the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week.

Oil rose toward $72 a barrel on Thursday, supported by OPEC's decision to hold output steady and forecasts by the International Energy Agency that global demand will be higher this year and next than it previously forecast.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Thursday, a day after the S&P 500 benchmark index racked up its highest closing level for the year, while investors awaited data on the labor market.

Stock futures were weaker on Thursday, easing after the S&P 500 benchmark index racked up its highest closing level for the year, while investors awaited data on the labor market.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers a year ago has been likened to the 1994 crash that killed Formula One star Ayrton Senna, in the way it has spurred calls for root-and-branch review of risk in the financial sector.

General Motors was set to end months of suspense over the fate of its Opel unit on Thursday and announce whether it plans to sell the European carmaker to one of two rival bidders.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.27 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.24 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.21 percent at 4:46 a.m. EDT.

A Connecticut court ordered UBS to pledge assets or post a $35 million bond after finding probable cause that the bank committed securities fraud in a deal with Pursuit Partners, the hedge fund's lawyers said on Wednesday.

Opel workers are preparing mass protests if its parent General Motors fails to pick Canada's Magna as the buyer for the European carmaker, a labor leader said ahead of a news conference scheduled for Thursday.

The U.S. employment picture will stay bleak well into next year long after the recession ends, but the worst of the labor market crisis is over, top private economists said on Thursday.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML increased its sales outlook on Thursday thanks to improving operations in some chip markets.

Asian stocks rose on Thursday as hopes for global economic recovery prompted investors to shift into riskier assets, while oil found support above $71 a barrel following OPEC's decision to keep output steady.

Apple's new iPod lineup, unveiled by Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs on his first public appearance since his liver transplant, disappoins investors as it didn't add as many new features as some analysts predicted, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Oil prices rallied for a fourth day running on Thursday, edging above $71.50 a barrel after bullish inventory data and soothing words from OPEC whetted investor appetite for crude.

Victims of Bernard Madoff must surmount laws that shield federal workers and agencies from liability if they want to sue regulators and their staffers for not stopping Madoff years before he confessed to a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Google Inc is infusing its paid search ads with video, product images and other features as the Internet company strives to refine its money-making capabilities in a tough advertising environment.

The Aussie dollar faltered at attempts to reach 87 cents in local trade yesterday running into some strong intraday selling around 0.8650 following worse than expected economic data.

General Motors Co's board concluded a two-day meeting in Detroit on Wednesday and dispatched the automaker's negotiator on the sale of its Opel unit to Berlin ahead of announcements scheduled for Thursday in Germany, people familiar with the proceedings said.

Hewlett-Packard Co is conducting a strategic review of the information technology and business process outsourcing assets that came with its 2008 acquisition of EDS, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

The Aussie dollar faltered at attempts to reach 87 cents in local trade yesterday running into some strong intraday selling around 0.8650 following worse than expected economic data. With Retail Sales dropping 1% in July, Home Loans and Investment lending also falling the AUD traded below 86 cents to finally find support at 0.8565 during European trading. Risk sentiment once again improved in U.S trade following the Federal Reserve Banks Beige Book report taking the Australian dollar back above ...

Bank of America Corp and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday made a third attempt to persuade a skeptical judge to approve their settlement over Merrill Lynch & Co bonuses. But experts said they may not have done enough.

U.S. stocks closed higher for a fourth straight day on Wednesday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its best finish so far this year as industrial and technology companies gained from a weak dollar.

U.S. labor markets could take years to recover from the setbacks of the current recession, which have pushed the unemployment rate to a 26-year high, top Federal Reserve policy-makers said on Wednesday.