MARKETS / FINANCE

After spending a week in jail, Texas financier Allen Stanford on Thursday will face a U.S. judge who will decide whether the he must remain behind bars while he awaits trial for an alleged $7 billion swindle.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday pushed back hard against accusations the Fed threatened Bank of America executives if they halted a merger with Merrill Lynch or pressured them to withhold bad news about the troubled investment bank.

Stocks rose on Thursday as investors held out hope the economic deterioration was receding and positive news boosted consumer and home builder shares.

The U.S. economy shrank slightly less in early 2009 than previously thought, the government reported on Thursday, though there was widespread weakness in activity and demand was soft.

Stocks rose on Thursday as investors held out hope the economic deterioration was receding, boosting the consumer, technology and home builder sectors.

Apple has ushered in pornography to its iPhone when an application called 'Hottest Girls' was seen on its iTunes App Store. The app costs $1.99 only and includes more than 2200 images of attractive topless women and sexy babes.

After spending a week in jail, Texas financier Allen Stanford on Thursday will face a U.S. judge who will decide whether the he must remain behind bars while he awaits trial for an alleged $7 billion swindle.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday again denied threatening Bank of America executives if they halted a merger with Merrill Lynch or pressuring them to withhold bad news about Merrill.

Stocks rose on Thursday, reversing early losses, as gains in consumer shares offset jitters about an economic recovery after data showed more workers filed new jobless claims.

Oil rose above $69 a barrel on Thursday after Nigeria's main militant group shut down one of Royal Dutch Shell's pipeline junction points, heightening concerns about supplies from the region.

The U.S. economy shrank slightly less in early 2009 than previously thought, the government reported on Thursday, though there was widespread weakness in activity and demand was soft.

Wall Street was set for a weak open on Thursday after the number of workers filing new jobless claims rose unexpectedly, as jitters continued to nag that an economic recovery could be tepid.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week and the number staying on the rolls after collecting an initial week of aid also edged higher, government data on Thursday showed.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week and the number staying on the rolls after collecting an initial week of aid also edged higher, government data on Thursday showed.

The Australian Dollar opens marginally higher from this time yesterday at 0.7965 after another 24-hour session in which most of the action happened offshore.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday after government data showed the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week.

American International Group Inc , which received $180 billion of taxpayer bailouts, said it will give the government stakes in two big life insurance units that it plans to spin off.

Oil rose above $69 a barrel on Thursday after Nigeria's main militant group shut down one of Royal Dutch Shell's pipeline junction points, heightening concerns about supplies from the region.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Thursday ahead of key data on jobless claims and economic growth.

Oil rose toward $69 a barrel on Thursday after Nigeria's main militant group shut down one of Royal Dutch Shell's pipeline junction points, heightening concerns about supplies from the region.

World stocks slipped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve cautioned that the U.S. economy would remain weak for a time, adding to concerns about the sustainability of a recent recovery.

Asian stocks rallied for a second day on Thursday after the Federal Reserve reinforced that interest rates will be kept at a record low for a while, but Treasuries extended losses as the Fed shied away from boosting debt purchases.

Oil rose toward $69 on Thursday, after Nigeria's main militant group raided a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline and disrupted a major export terminal, recouping losses caused by hefty builds in U.S. fuel stocks.

The Federal Reserve sought to hide its involvement in Bank of America Corp's acquisition of Merrill Lynch as Merrill's financial condition worsened, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said on Wednesday.

Asian stocks rallied for a second day on Thursday after the Federal Reserve reinforced that interest rates will be kept at a record low for a while, but Treasuries extended losses as the Fed shied away from boosting its debt purchases.

The world's leading provider of open source solutions, Red Hat Inc on Wednesday said its continues rising first quarter drove by its open source products amid the economic downturn has bought back $47 million of its common stock in the quarter.

Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke is expected to testify on Thursday about allegations made by Bank of America CEO that the government put pressure on him to go forward with the Merril Lynch acquisition.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday stuck to its huge program of buying government and mortgage debt, which is designed to keep borrowing costs low and boost recovery, and said it saw signs that the deep U.S. recession was easing.

The new overseer of the U.S. government's $700 billion bank bailout fund said on Wednesday an intently awaited program to cleanse toxic assets from banks' balance sheets should soon be ready to roll out.