IBT Staff Reporter

(Reuters) - The Obama administration has urged a court to reject an attempt to block a controversial new law overhauling the U.S. healthcare system, saying it was constitutional and any challenge was premature.

SAP's planned buy of Sybase for $5.8 billion to stay in the mobile data race with arch rival Oracle is raising concerns the German software company may be paying too much.

U.S. authorities are expanding their probes of past mortgage securities deals, with New York's attorney general opening an investigation into whether eight banks misled rating agencies, a source familiar with the matter said.

Former Lehman Brothers Asia executives, who headed the bank's structured products division and its syndicate business, have launched their maiden hedge fund investing in distressed structured credit assets, said the partners in the fund firm, Oracle Capital.

UK regulators have agreed in principle to Prudential Plc's $35.5 billion purchase of AIG's Asian life insurance unit, sources familiar with the situation said, and the British insurer hopes to price its bumper rights issue within days.

British oil major BP said the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had cost it $450 million so far, an increase of $100 million on the figure reported earlier this week.

S&P 500 index futures edged higher on Thursday, reversing an earlier decline, as investors were cheered by a big technology-sector acquisition and Portugal moved to stem its sovereign debt problems.

Ford Motor and its China venture partners, Mazda Motor Corp and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co, are seeking Chinese government approval to end their three-way tie up, two sources said on Thursday.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower start on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq down 0.1-0.3 percent at 5:30 a.m. EST.

Five U.S. banks and four European lenders are being investigated by U.S. authorities, as they widen their probe of the role of banks in past mortgage securities deals, according to news reports.

U.S. stock index futures were modestly lower on Thursday with technology shares in focus after cautious comments from Cisco, as investors awaited jobless data.

The New York attorney general has begun an investigation into eight banks to determine whether they provided misleading information to agencies that rate mortgage securities, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

HTC Corp fired back on Wednesday in its legal battle with Apple Inc, asking the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban sales of iPhones, iPads and iPods in the United States.

Romantics looking for love on online classifieds site Craigslist.com or maybe just for a wheelbarrow could end up starring in a new Web-only documentary series that chronicles how people are using the website.

The makers of file-sharing software LimeWire are liable to 13 major record companies that accused the service of infringing their music copyrights, a Manhattan federal judge has ruled.

A post-EU rescue plan stock rally remained in place on Thursday with emerging market shares up more than 1 percent and global stocks in general adding to the week's gains.

Asian stocks hit highs for the week on Thursday after new austerity steps pledged by Portugal and Spain raised hopes that Europe's debt crisis can be contained, while IBM's strong profit forecast boosted tech shares.

Microsoft Corp launched an updated version of its Office software on Wednesday, aiming to keep its grip on the hugely profitable business application market while countering the challenge of free online alternatives from Google Inc.

Gold firmed near a record high reached in the previous session, while the world's largest gold-backed ETF reached an all-time high on Thursday as investors continued to worry that attempts to contain the euro zone debt crisis would either fail or stoke inflation.

Asian stocks rose on Thursday as fresh austerity measures promised by Spain and Portugal gave investors hope that Europe's debt crisis can be contained, while IBM's strong profit forecast gave a further boost to tech shares.

TORONTO - The latest trend in Canadian film: Internet sensations that land on the big screen.

Germany's SAP AG said it plans to buy smaller business software maker Sybase Inc for $5.8 billion, gaining technology that allows it to deliver accounting software and other programs to smartphones.

Sprint Nextel said on Wednesday that HTC Corp's EVO, its most advanced high-speed wireless phone so far, would go on sale on June 4 for $199, a price it hopes will win back subscribers lost in the last few years to its bigger rivals.

Sprint Nextel said on Wednesday that HTC Corp's EVO, its most advanced high-speed wireless phone so far, would go on sale on June 4 for $199, a price it hopes will win back subscribers lost in the last few years to its bigger rivals.

Cisco Systems Inc's quarterly results topped Wall Street forecasts as a global economic recovery encouraged companies to upgrade their networks, but CEO John Chambers' cautious tone prompted investors to sell the shares.

For actor Edward Norton, philanthropy and activism are practically in his genes so launching a website on Wednesday to encourage charity fundraising seemed natural to him.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. homes have abandoned land lines and use only a cellphone, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

Germany's SAP AG said it plans to buy smaller business software maker Sybase Inc for $5.8 billion, gaining technology that allows it to deliver its programs to mobile devices like the iPhone.

The United States is losing enough data in cyber attacks to fill the Library of Congress many times over, and authorities have failed to stay ahead of the threat, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday.