IBT Staff Reporter

Three big private equity firms have teamed up to bid for Fidelity National Information Services Inc , sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday, a deal that, if completed, would rank as the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis hit.

U.S. communications regulators sought to calm fears they will heavily regulate Internet services, but shares in major U.S. cable companies fell and industry analysts predicted a prolonged legal battle.

As Goldman Sachs prepares for its annual shareholder meeting on Friday, it has more to worry about than anti-corporate gadflies like Evelyn Y Davis.

Citigroup is investigating a rumor that one of its traders entered a trade that helped precipitate a drop of almost 1,000 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a spokesman for the bank said on Thursday.

Kraft Foods Inc posted a higher quarterly profit, helped by sales and income from newly acquired chocolate maker Cadbury Plc.

The biggest intraday point drop ever in the Dow Jones Industrial Average may have been caused by an erroneous trade entered by a person at a big Wall Street bank, multiple market sources said on Thursday.

Most top retail chains reported weaker-than-expected April same-store sales on Thursday, suggesting that Wall Street's hopes for a consumer rebound have gotten ahead of the actual pace of recovery.

Disappointing Retail Sales data saw the AUD move lower in Asia yesterday falling from 0.9090 to enter offshore exchange hovering on the precipice of the psychological 90 cent level.

Three big private equity firms are in talks to buy Fidelity National Information Services Inc , sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday, a deal that, if completed, would rank as the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis hit.

Frank Stronach, the colorful founder of Magna International Inc, will release his grip on the world's No. 3 auto parts maker in a deal that will pay him nearly $900 million and encourage outside investment in the company.

The top U.S. auto safety regulator welcomed on Thursday proposals in Congress to sharply boost government powers for forcing vehicle recalls.

U.S. stocks were down more than 3 percent on Thursday afternoon after briefly nosediving, with the Nasdaq at one point down more than 9 percent and the S&P 500 and Dow briefly falling into negative territory for the year, as worries about contagion from Greece's debt problems mounted.

A surge in productivity slowed in the first quarter, hinting that employers may soon need to step up hiring after months of squeezing more output from a smaller pool of workers.

The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring financial turbulence in Europe as it could have repercussions for the United States and its markets, policymakers at the central bank said on Thursday.

The United States was unprepared for the 2007-2008 financial crisis, underestimated its seriousness and lagged in coming to grips with the damage, past and current Treasury chiefs said on Thursday.

Genzyme Corp , trying to restore investor confidence, said on Thursday it will look into selling three non-core businesses -- genetic testing, diagnostic products and its pharmaceutical materials unit.

Steven's original résumé did little to present him for his career of choice-historian or history teacher-and instead simply presented descriptions of tasks performed.

Phone lines at the command center where teams are directing clean-up of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are often jammed, but media-savvy fishermen, residents and others can find the latest updates on Twitter and Facebook.

BP engineers prepared to start lowering a 98-ton metal chamber over a ruptured undersea oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday as officials confirmed the first oil landfall from the spill on a Louisiana island beach.

It's axiomatic on Wall Street that summer is a bummer. Stocks tend to do well in the winter and spring, and then go cold when the weather gets hot.

Warner Music Group posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday as growth of digital sales helped compensate for declining CD revenue, sending its shares up nearly 10 percent.

A surge in U.S. productivity slowed in the first quarter, hinting that employers may soon need to step up hiring after months of squeezing more output from a small pool of workers.

Yahoo Inc will spend up to $85 million on the second phase of its $100 million ad campaign, as the Internet portal seeks to revive its growth and reconnect with consumers.

Greek lawmakers approved the government's 30 billion euro ($40 billion) austerity bill in a vote in parliament on Thursday, paving the way for a record bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance fell slightly less than expected last week, government data showed on Thursday, implying a measured job market recovery.

Nokia's chairman said the board fully supported management's current strategy, while small shareholders in the world's top cellphone maker criticised management at the annual meeting.

U.S. stocks extended losses on Thursday afternoon, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell more than 3 percent.

We have been informed by sources in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Florida Department of Environmental Protection that the Obama White House and British Petroleum (BP), which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign -- more than John McCain or Hillary Clinton, are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic-level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and working together to limit BP's liability for damage caused by what can be call...

(Reuters) - Americans are being bombarded with chemicals, gases and radiation that can cause cancer, and the federal government must do far more to protect them, presidential cancer advisers said on Thursday.