IBT Staff Reporter

Personal income and expenditure in the U.S. rose for the fifth month during November, according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department, indicating that the average consumer is growing more confident about the economic recovery and their financial situation.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto offered $3.9 billion to buy African-focused coal miner Riversdale in an agreed deal that is likely to be challenged by rivals seeking to secure coking coal reserves.

South Korea's Samsung Group targets 50 trillion won ($43.3 billion) in sales in 2020 from new growth businesses, the chief executive of its core unit Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday.

The Federal Communications Commission's top official has given his approval to Comcast Corp's purchase of NBC Universal with a number of tough and narrowly tailored conditions on the deal.

General Motors Co is recalling 109,000 Cadillac CTS cars worldwide for the model years 2005 to 2007 because a mat under the seat that senses the front passenger could break and disable the front air bag.

Verigy Ltd received a $908 million cash offer from Advantest, its rival and No. 2 chip tester, as the Tokyo-based firm looks to unseat Teradyne as the global leader.

New research from iSuppli says the mobile communications industry will soon reach $250 billion.

Copper's climb to all-time records will spur substitution in some applications, but the metal's unrivalled conductivity and a dearth of alternative technologies will ultimately limit this trend.

Micron Technology said it expects lower pricing for NAND memory chips but pointed to signs of improvement as demand for the chips used in smartphones, tablets and solid-state hard drives grows.

Buying apps for Android devices just got easier, as now app purchases on Android Market can be charged on AT&T Direct Carrier Billing.

Ireland's government said on Thursday it would pump 3.7 billion euros into Allied Irish Banks setting it on course for nearly 93 percent ownership of what was once the country's largest publicly traded lender.

Verigy received a sweetened buyout offer of $907.5 million in cash from Tokyo-based Advantest, but the semiconductor testing firm said its board is not making any recommendation on the proposal as yet.

Crucial facts about social media positions that aspirants should be aware of:

Facebook revamps News Feed feature to enable users to select from a slew of options on a drop-down menu in the Most Recent category.

Stocks were little changed on Thursday despite a preholiday flurry of data that reinforced views of a solid economic growth as Wall Street sought to notch a fourth straight week of gains.

General Electric Co plans to put aside another $500 million to dredge toxic chemicals it dumped into New York's Hudson River more than 30 years ago, bringing the clean-up bill to $1.33 billion over two decades.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto offered $3.9 billion to buy African-focused coal miner Riversdale in an agreed deal that is likely to be challenged by rivals seeking to secure coking coal reserves.

New U.S. claims for jobless benefits dipped last week and consumer spending increased in November for a fifth straight month, reinforcing views of a solid economic growth pace in the fourth quarter.

Confidence among consumers rose in December to its highest level since June, on improved job prospects and larger discounts from retailers, a survey released on Thursday showed.

German retailers expect the strong growth in sales during the Christmas shopping season to be extended into 2011 because underlying conditions are good, a leader of the HDE retail industry association said on Thursday.

Rovi Corp will pay $720 million in cash and stock to buy Sonic Solutions, which owns the popular digital video player software DivX, in a bid to broaden its footprint across the digital entertainment space.

Shares surged in Scandinavian carrier SAS on Thursday after a report that Lufthansa planned a takeover, giving new buzz to a long talked-of match.

Bailed-out insurer American International Group will pay $100 million in fines in a settlement with all 50 states over reporting errors for premiums on workers' compensation insurance.

German Luxury carmaker BMW on Thursday launched a new sports utility vehicle, X1, in India. Priced at 2.2- 2.9 million rupees (ex-showroom Delhi), X1 is the company's a cheapest model in the country.

SkyFire is here to set iPad on fire as it is due to launch its app that translates Flash code into HTML5 to run Flash videos.

First-time claims for jobless benefits barely budged last week, government data showed on Thursday, suggesting the labor market is healing too slowly to drag down the unemployment rate.

Consumer spending rose for a fifth straight month in November and incomes rose slightly more than expected, government data showed on Thursday, reinforcing views of a solid economic growth pace in the fourth quarter.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, called on the country's military to strike with strong 'counter-attacks' on the North. Lee visited the front-line army units in Yanggu of Gangwon Province on Thursday. Despite domestic opposition, Seoul's hard-line government is holding the one of its largest-ever military at Pocheon, 20km south of the North Korean border. The country so far conducted 47 drills in the past year.

Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage of Soligenix Inc. (OTC: SNGX) with a Market Outperform rating and a $0.90 price target, saying shares of the late-stage biopharmaceutical company are poised to run higher on outlook for its orBec (oral beclomethasone) lead product.