IBT Staff Reporter

The resignation of Portugal's prime minister will dominate a summit of EU leaders on the European economy on Thursday and Friday, with pressure intense on Lisbon to seek a bailout package.

U.S. stocks were expected to open little changed on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 trading flat to 0.1 percent higher.

Political turmoil in Portugal and looming elections in other countries are expected to prevent a summit of European Union leaders this week from taking tough decisions to address the region's debt crisis.

U.S. regulators have asked Citigroup , Deutsche Bank , Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase to make employees available as witnesses in a Libor probe, Bloomberg said, citing two people briefed on the plans.

Japan, which is grappling with the impact of March 11 earthquake and the resultant tsunami, may be pushed towards a recession, an expert told IBTimes.

(Corrects 11th paragraph to state that Fukushima factory assembles digital cameras and audio equipment and Sendai plant makes optical pick-ups, not vice-versa.)

China still sees risks from euro-zone debt problems and has increased its holdings of European government bonds to help the region, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Baidu Inc, China's largest search engine, said on Thursday it would introduce anti-piracy technology for its document and books product in May, countering criticism that the firm has been lax in dealing with copyright-infringing material.

As the world closely watches the latest developments at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant in earthquake-torn Japan, work to prevent meltdown resumes, workers are hospitalized after radiation exposure, while IAEA said serious concerns remain.

Brent crude fell for a second day on Thursday, shedding as much as 0.4 percent toward $115, after the resignation of Portugal's prime minister rekindled euro-zone concerns, prompting oil traders to unwind long positions and take profits.

Corrects story from March 22 to make fourth paragraph read “on a free on board basis” instead of “including the cost of insurance and freight”

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) will conduct a recruitment drive across ten universities in the country to hire scientists who can conduct scientific studies, complete National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews, and fill important positions in environmental compliance.

Brent crude fell for a second day on Thursday, shedding as much as 0.4 percent toward $115, after the resignation of Portugal's prime minister rekindled euro-zone concerns, prompting oil traders to unwind long positions and take profits.

Radiation from the damaged Japan nuclear plant reaches U.S.. EPA, which is monitoring the radioactive substances and isotopes, assures that it is far below levels of concerns.

Internet telephone service Skype said it named Jonathan Chadwick, a former McAfee financial executive, as its chief financial officer.

A Manhattan federal judge dismissed part of a lawsuit by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp against Carl Icahn that accused the activist investor of plotting to merge the studio with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Oracle Corp is poised to provide fresh evidence of the upward curve of technology spending on Thursday, and to detail its battle plan against emerging competitor Hewlett-Packard Co as the two tech giants vie to lead the datacenter revolution.

Best Buy Co Inc is poised to report its third straight quarter of same-store sales declines on weak demand for televisions and entertainment software in the all-important holiday season.

Brent crude fell for a second day on Thursday, shedding as much as 0.5 percent toward $115, after the resignation of Portugal's prime minister rekindled euro-zone concerns, prompting oil traders to unwind long positions and take profits.

Social media service GetGlue has reached a new broadcast partnership with Comcast Corp's NBC Universal's cable networks, including USA Network, SyFy and MSNBC, to reward users for alerting friends on Facebook whenever they are watching TV shows.

It was a brief, surprising, handshake between two men at opposite sides of the biggest Wall Street insider trading trial in decades.

Bill Nguyen, the serial entrepreneur who sold his last company to Apple Inc in 2009, is launching a new cellphone-based social network which aims to challenge Facebook's dominance in social communications beyond the personal computer.

With a route length of 57 km and a total of 151.84 km of tunnels, shafts and passages, the Gotthard Base Tunnel beneath the Alps in Switzerland is the world's longest rail tunnel.

Gameloft SA , a French video game publisher, sees its growth coming from the just-launched Amazon AppStore and from games played on televisions without consoles, the top executive told Reuters.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc chief Lloyd Blankfein testified that a former director at Wall Street's most powerful bank violated confidentiality by leaking boardroom secrets to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam.

Wireless broadband network company LightSquared has won a deal to help Best Buy Co Inc instead of looking to LightSquared to expand its access to wireless airwaves.

Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> will slow some North American production because of supply disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Social media service GetGlue has reached a new broadcast partnership with Comcast Corp's NBC Universal's cable networks, including USA Network, SyFy and MSNBC, to reward users for alerting friends on Facebook whenever they are watching TV shows.

Starbucks Corp wants to make sales of its coffee and other products in the grocery aisle rival its traditional cafe business, according to Chief Executive Howard Schultz.