IBT Staff Reporter

Home improvement spending is expected to rise 5 percent in the United States in 2010, but the surge might not foretell an increase in sales of new homes.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance fell as expected last week, resuming a downward trend that had been interrupted by the Easter holiday, government data showed on Thursday.

A new decades-long study examining the link between the use of mobile phones and long-term health problems such as cancer and neurological diseases launched on Thursday across five European countries.

Kimberly-Clark Corp said higher costs for materials and other factors will weigh on profit this year as it posted lower first-quarter earnings.

PepsiCo Inc reported higher quarterly earnings on Thursday, helped by the recent purchase of its largest bottlers and sales gains in its snack and international beverage businesses.

Severe winter weather and higher fuel costs pinched Continental Airlines Inc's first-quarter results on Thursday and the company posted a larger-than-expected loss despite a jump in revenue.

Philip Morris International posted a quarterly profit below Wall Street estimates, pressured by weakness in markets like Turkey and Romania that have been hit by the struggling economy and excise tax increases.

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Defense contractor Raytheon Co reported higher per-share earnings on Thursday as it bought back shares and saw growth in training programs provided for the U.S. Army.

Moody's cut its credit rating on Toyota Motor Corp by one notch, predicting a long slump in profitability and potential litigation costs for a massive recall that has tarnished the Japanese automaker's brand.

Wall Street was set to drop at the open on Thursday as Greece once again soured risk appetite with more news on its deteriorating financial position.

The number of workers filing new applications for jobless aid fell last week as the labor market gradually improves, while producer price data showed inflation remained muted, despite a surge in food prices last month.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance fell as expected last week, resuming a downward trend that had been interrupted by the Easter holiday, government data showed on Thursday.

Nokia on Thursday cut the profit outlook for its key phone unit as the world's top cellphone maker struggles in the market for more expensive handsets, sending its shares sharply lower.

Sony Corp is bringing baseball to America's living rooms on its PlayStation 3 video game console, ratcheting up the competition in the race to become the digital hub of the home.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday as Greece once again soured risk appetite with more news on its deteriorating financial position.

World equity markets and the euro turned south on Thursday after the European Union said Greece's budget deficit was worse than first believed, feeding fears about the country's ability to avoid default.

Greece and Ireland had much larger budget deficits last year than expected and the Greek data may be revised further due to its unreliability, the European Union's statistics office said, sending the euro lower.

Nokia has slashed prices of its cellphones across its portfolio this week, with the deepest cuts of around 10 percent seen for some smartphone models, data seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.

Hyundai Motor Co's strong performance in emerging economies and growing U.S. market share drove it to a record net profit in the first quarter and should cushion it from a stronger won and rising input costs.

Good morning dear traders, and again one trading day went to an end. However, I was not really satisfied with it.

Financial markets ticked over hesitantly on Thursday with investors digesting mixed U.S. earnings results and waiting for the next move in Greece's debt crisis.

Asian stocks fell on Thursday as several major U.S. firms issued disappointing outlooks, casting doubts on the strength of a global recovery, and as investors grew impatient for action on Greece's debt crisis, weighing on the euro.

Hyundai Motor Co delivered an earnings surprise with quarterly profit more than quadrupling, aided by a strong performance in the fast-growing Chinese and Indian markets and growing share in the United States.

China must tackle its property bubble for the sake of economic health and social stability, even if the market feels some short-term pain in the process, an official financial newspaper said on Thursday.

The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday delayed a decision on investigating whether China's currency practices are an illegal trade subsidy that justify imposing countervailing duties.

Brazil tops the list of countries asking Google Inc to remove content from its services, the Internet search company disclosed in a new Web tool -- but it said statistics on China are secret.

A U.S. Muslim group has issued a dire Internet warning to creators of the satirical animated TV show South Park over a depiction of the Prophet Mohammad in a bear outfit.

General Motors Co believes taxpayers could recoup their entire $50 billion investment in the company although the Obama administration still expects the government to take a loss, albeit a smaller one than first thought, on the industry's 2009 bailout.