IBT Staff Reporter

J.D. Power and Associates raised its forecast for 2010 U.S. light-vehicles sales to 11.8 million from 11.7 million based on stronger fleet sales, it said on Thursday.

A proposal from Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln to force banks to separate swap trading desks from core operations as part of the financial regulation overhaul is a very strong proposal, a White House official said on Thursday.

The overall health of the U.S. banking industry improved in the first quarter with two-year-high net income of $18 billion, but the gains were disproportionately enjoyed by the largest firms.

Google Inc said more than 100,000 smartphones running on its Android mobile operating system are now activated daily and its library of applications has grown to 50,000, underscoring rapid adoption of the devices.

An index meant to gauge the future strength of the U.S. economy fell slightly in April, marking its first decline in more than a year, a private industry group said on Thursday.

PNH Support Association of Australia (PNHSSA) says, a group of Australians living with an extremely rare disease are in an unfortunate place due to the recent government's decision not to fund for its treatments.

Based on the study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the number of Australians over 45 dying due to asthma has risen within the last five years.

Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate, has reached a deal to restructure $23.5 billion in debt with its core lenders, addressing the most immediate of a string of problems facing investors in Dubai.

Hewlett-Packard Co is preparing a broad push to make it easier to print images and information from the Internet, building an iPhone-style apps market in the process, the head of the company's imaging group said on Wednesday.

Stocks fell sharply on Thursday, sending the S&P 500 index into correction territory on growing fears the euro-zone's handling of its sovereign debt crises could put the global economic recovery in jeopardy.

As political tensions rise in Thailand, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised non-transit passengers not to travel to Bangkok.

Sears Holdings Corp's quarterly profit plunged 38 percent as sales lost momentum late in the quarter and higher costs and markdowns weighed on margins, pushing its shares down 7.3 percent.

Ever wonder why overhearing a cellphone conversation is so annoying? American researchers think they have found the answer.

Opera Software has seen daily downloads of its browsers in European countries as much as triple after Microsoft started to give consumers greater access to rival browsers.

A federal appeals court in New York has put on hold a ban on the financial news service Theflyonthewall.com Inc from quickly reporting hot news' about analyst research from three Wall Street banks.

Germany said restoring confidence in the euro was its top priority, demanding tougher regulation and oversight on Thursday to protect the single currency, and joint EU action on withdrawing support for its economies.

(Reuters) - Health ministers on Thursday agreed to try to curb binge drinking and other growing forms of excessive alcohol use through higher taxes on alcoholic drinks and tighter marketing regulations.

(Reuters) - One in five people in the United States visit an emergency room every year, and most of them have health insurance of some kind, according to a U.S. government survey released on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - The United States does not produce or import anywhere near enough fruits and vegetables to provide Americans the right kind of diet to prevent cancer, government researchers said on Wednesday.

As many as 20 bidders are interested in buying software company Novell Inc , which has put itself up for sale and is this week accepting bids, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Global shipments of smartphones may grow 50 percent this year and drive explosive expansion in high-end OLED display sales over the next five years, a Samsung Mobile Display executive said on Thursday.

A senior euro zone official said on Thursday financial markets were acting irrationally over the euro area's debt problems and while he was concerned about the fall in the euro, immediate action was not needed.

Steven Barg, UBS's head of global capital markets for Asia, has resigned from his post, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, marking a blow to the bank's regional ECM franchise.

The number of workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose last week for the first time since early April, government data showed on Thursday, dealing a blow to the labor market recovery.

All U.S. stocks will probably be subject to so-called circuit breakers by the end of this year, Duncan Niederauer, chief executive officer of stock exchange operator NYSE Euronext, said on Thursday.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday as concerns grew that recent share declines caused by euro-zone turmoil in the handling of the sovereign debt crises could lead to a wider correction.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday as concerns grew that recent share declines caused by euro-zone turmoil in the handling of the sovereign debt crises could lead to a wider correction.

World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 122 million metric tons (mmt) in April. This is 35.7% higher than April 2009.China's crude steel production for April 2010 was 55.4 mmt, an increase of 27% compared to April 2009. It is the highest amount of crude steel China has ever produced in a single month.

Amid widespread speculation over future gold prices, experts in the industry are of the opinion that the gold price bubble will soon scale down to significantly lower levels in the short to medium term. Giving the gold price outlook for the short to medium term, Rajesh Mehta, Chairman of India's largest gold jewellery maker and exporter, Rajesh Exports Ltd (BOM:531500) maintained that the bull-run in the bullion metal will come to a halt and prices will soothe somewhat in near term.