IBT Staff Reporter

Caterpillar Inc reported a 58 percent rise in quarterly earnings on Thursday that blew away Wall Street expectations and it projected strong growth for 2012 despite global economic uncertainly.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has a problem, a $98 billion problem.

Nintendo Co Ltd posted a sharp drop in quarterly profit and forecast a bigger-than-expected full-year loss, its first at an operating level, as it battles a strong yen and its games devices lose ground to gadgets such as Apple's iPhone.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said President Barack Obama's decision to expand investigations into home lending and sales of mortgage securities could stop settlement talks with the states over foreclosure practices.

Wall Street rose modestly on Thursday on a combination of an extended easy monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, strong earnings from Caterpillar Inc and 3M Corp, as well as solid U.S. economic data.

Greece's tortuous negotiations over a debt swap with private creditors entered a new phase on Thursday with focus on how much the European Central Bank and other public creditors may need to contribute.

New orders for manufactured goods rose in December and a gauge of future business investment rebounded, while new claims for jobless benefits rose only moderately last week, suggesting the labor market was still healing.

Caterpillar Inc reported a 58 percent rise in quarterly earnings that far exceeded Wall Street expectations on Thursday due to increased global demand for construction machinery and mining equipment.

AT&T Inc posted a massive quarterly loss due to a break-up fee for its failed T-Mobile USA merger and a pension-related charge on top of costly subsidies for smartphones such as Apple Inc's popular iPhone.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday, adding to gains from the previous session when the Federal Reserve boosted equities by saying it was likely to keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014.

Nokia reported a 73 percent fall in fourth-quarter earnings as sales of its new Windows Phones failed to dent the dominance of Apple's iPhone or to compensate for diving sales of its own old smartphones.

Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon's largest supplier, forecast broadly flat sales and operating profit for 2012, with a record high order backlog helping it to cope with cuts in U.S. defense spending.

Italy's borrowing costs dropped sharply as it sold the maximum amount of 5 billion euros at an auction of short-term debt on Thursday, helping drive down yields on its longer-dated bonds ahead of a crucial sale of five- and 10-year paper on Monday.

Nokia, the world's largest cellphone maker by volume, reported better-than-expected quarterly core earnings, although they still fell 73 percent as its new Windows Phones failed to compensate for diving sales of its old smartphones.

The world is likely to have more oil, not less, this summer even as Europe imposes sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Logitech, the world's largest computer mouse maker, cut its full-year outlook for the third time after third quarter sales and profit were hit by euro weakness and as computer systems require become less dependent on peripheral components.

Italy sold the top planned amount of 5 billion euros at a bond auction on Thursday, meeting sound demand ahead of a crucial sale of five- and 10-year paper on Monday.

Italy could turn out to be the investment bet of the decade if European Union leaders manage to contain the euro zone crisis.

Greece resumes tortuous negotiations on a debt swap with private creditors in Athens on Thursday, with all eyes on the European Central Bank after IMF chief Christine Lagarde said public sector holders of Greek debt may need to take a haircut too.

NEC Corp said Thursday it will slash 10,000 jobs, almost one in 10 of its workers, in a bid to cut costs as competition from foreign rivals including Apple Inc pushes it deep into the red.

Three years after the demise of Lehman Brothers exposed problems in how brokers handle client funds, trading firms are still using lax rules to withhold cash owed to clients of failed brokerages, fuelling calls for reforms.

NEC Corp said on Thursday it aims to shed 10,000 jobs by the end of September, and would fail to reach a target to raise sales to 4 trillion yen ($51.13 billion) by March 2013.

NEC Corp said Thursday it will slash 10,000 jobs, almost one in 10 of its workers, to trim costs after the electronics maker announced a loss of 87 billion yen ($1.11 billion) for the three months to December 31.

NEC Corp said Thursday it will slash 10,000 jobs, almost one in 10 of its workers, to trim costs after the electronics maker announced a loss of 87 billion yen ($1.11 billion) for the three months to December 31.

German consumer morale rose unexpectedly to a 10-month high going into February, a survey showed on Thursday, in the latest sign that consumption may support Europe's biggest economy through uncertain times.

The euro held firm against the dollar, while European shares and gold moved higher on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve set out an unambiguously easier policy stance, but fears of a messy Greek debt default still haunt the markets.

Tablet computers using Google's Android software narrowed the lead of Apple's iPad on the global market in the fourth quarter, research firm Strategy Analytics said on Thursday.

Equities, commodities and the euro extended gains on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates low for a much longer-than-expected period, providing ample liquidity to help spur growth.

Greece's private creditors are willing to improve their final offer of a four percent interest rate on new Greek bonds in order to clinch a deal in time to avert a messy default, Greek media said on Thursday without quoting any sources.