IBT Staff Reporter

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold media briefings four times a year in a historic shift to greater openness at the traditionally secretive U.S. central bank.

The U.S. Postal Service said on Thursday it would cut 7,500 jobs and close seven district offices and 2,000 post offices as it handles less mail and faces greater staff costs and competition from FedEx and United Parcel Service .

Research In Motion's net profit jumped 32 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, boosted by strong global BlackBerry smartphone sales as it readies next month's North American launch of its PlayBook tablet computer.

Barry Minkow, an audacious former Ponzi scheme swindler who claimed to have cleaned up his act, was charged on Thursday with insider trading in shares of Miami-based Lennar Corp , a leading U.S. homebuilder.

The battle of the tablet market is becoming fierce. Samsung has introduced its newest Galaxy Tab at the CTIA 2011, rolling out a 8.9 version and a 10.1 version to challenge iPad2.

Best Buy Co Inc gave a fiscal year profit outlook that could miss Wall Street estimates as budget-conscious U.S. shoppers show little interest in buying big-ticket items like televisions, and its shares fell nearly 6 percent.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev spoke by phone on Thursday morning, discussing developments in the Middle East at length, with a particular focus on Libya, the White House said.

The Brazilian unit of Ford Motor Co filed a criminal lawsuit against the local management of rival Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> for airing a TV commercial that says the U.S. automaker charges customers too much for hatchback models.

GameStop Corp, the world's largest retailer of video game products, forecast stronger 2011 profits that signaled a rebound in the traditional video game industry.

A political crisis in Portugal that has forced the resignation of its prime minister dominated the start of an EU summit on Thursday, further complicating efforts to solve the euro zone's debt problems.

Using a special API, developers would easily be able to port existing Android apps to the Playbook tablet, RIM said.

Here are five situations that could work well with the new app.

Media veterans Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz sold their company Journalism Online, which helps publishers charge for content, to RR Donnelley & Sons Co, the printing services company said on Thursday.

Research In Motion's net profit jumped 32 percent in quarterly profit, but it issued a weaker-than-expected outlook as it pumped money into the launch of its PlayBook tablet computer.

U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday as optimism about upcoming earnings and investor buying of the quarter's top performers lifted the S&P 500 above a key technical level.

Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell in February as companies scaled back investment plans for a second month in a row, suggesting a cooling off in business spending.

(Corrects Lou Crandall comment to say the Fed's policy views since the beginning, and not since the Beijing.)

FedEx Corp said shipment volume from Japan is light but is expected to pick up as factories there return to business, Chief Financial Officer Alan Graf said.

Oracle Corp beat Wall Street forecasts and raised its dividend 20 percent on Thursday, as the business software maker capitalized on resurgent spending on technology.

A portrait of the late actress Elizabeth Taylor by famous artist Andy Warhol will be auctioned in New York. The portrait is expected to go for as much as $30 million, according to auctioneers Phillips de Pury.

A political crisis in Portugal that has forced the resignation of its prime minister dominated the start of a summit of EU leaders on Thursday, with Lisbon rejecting intense pressure to seek a bailout package.

NVIDIA says its GeForce GTX 590 is its fastest, quietest product yet.

U.S. oil prices steadied on Thursday after spiking in early trade on supply worries amid fighting in Libya and growing unrest in the Middle East.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Wednesday that he was 100 percent certain members of the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will face charges of crimes against humanity.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will break nearly 100 years of tradition at the U.S. central bank next month when he begins talking to the media after policy meetings.

Apple has decreased iPad 2 shipping estimates to 3-4 weeks, down from 4-5.

Barry Minkow, a former Ponzi scheme swindler who claimed to have cleaned up his act, was charged on Thursday with insider trading in shares of Miami-based Lennar Corp , a leading U.S. homebuilder.

Researchers have found proof the earlier North Americans lived 15,500 years ago, rather than the previously thought 12,000-13,000 years ago.

The first major update to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, dubbed ‘NoDo’, only adds a handful of new updates, but if a report from Winrumors is any indication, Microsoft is taking the update very seriously.