IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday, cutting the morning's modest losses as surprisingly strong March retail sales helped offset worries over the latest twist in Greece's fiscal crisis.

Merger talks between United Airlines and US Airways Group could run into strong headwinds from unhappy pilots and tougher antitrust enforcement, industry experts said.

British Airways and Spain's Iberia signed an $8 billion merger to create the world's third-largest airline on Thursday, bringing a three-way tie-up with American Airlines a step closer.

Scion unveiled two new production vehicles - the all-new 2011 iQ premium micro-subcompact and the second-generation 2011 tC sports coupe.

An unpopular plan to tax British fixed-line phone users to help roll-out a high-speed broadband network and other controversial proposals have been dropped in the final push to get the Digital Economy bill passed into law.

The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has welcomed the Brazilian government decision to unilaterally eliminate its tariff on imported ethanol. This is a major step forward in building a global biofuels marketplace for Brazil, UNICA said. UNICA believes that free trade is a two way street and Brazil, as the largest producer of cane ethanol and largest exporter of ethanol in the world, with 60% of the global market, will lead by example and eliminate barriers to renewable, clean fu...

(Reuters) - Madonna has initiated her 13-year-old daughter Lourdes into life as a Material Girl, with the pair collaborating on a fashion line for juniors to be launched in July.

The sub-prime crisis, recession, Dubai World disaster and now the Greek debt tragedy. What is the common link to all these incidents which happened during the past two years? Even as the world has been grappling with all these tragedies, there has been one market which was thriving on all these disasters. That is bullion. Gold always celebrates tragedies. And during these past two years there has been no dearth of tragedies in the world. And, gold has been on a high all through these catastrophe...

Mineral rich, but impoverished Zimbabwe produced 661.8 kg gold in March with small scale miners contributing 17% to the country's total production. According to country's Chamber of Mines, the March figure is a marked increase compared to the previous month's figure of 487.7 kg´s. The mining body attributed the increase to continued investment into the sector by the various producers of the precious metal.

Top U.S. retail chains posted a record rise in monthly same-store sales in March, helped by an early Easter holiday and an improving job market, in the strongest sign yet of revived consumer demand.

How can US citizens know whether US gold reserves of 8,133.5 tonnes really exist in their vaults? The last audit of the U.S. gold reserves was supposed to have taken place in 2005, but according to KPMG LLP, they only audited the mint's fiscal year 2005 financial statements and they never saw any physical gold or even went to Fort Knox. The last real audit of the U.S. gold reserves took place in 1954, according to National Inflation Association, (NIA).

(Reuters) - Five more states are joining a Florida-led group of states in a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, Florida's attorney general said on Wednesday.

Volkswagen's premium carmaker Audi expects to post further year-on-year growth in the second quarter after recording a 25.9 percent jump in first-quarter vehicle sales to a record high.

In late February 2010, Romania, Azerbaijan, and Georgia finalized an agreement on the direct export of Azerbaijani natural gas to Romania. This has profound ramifications for halting Turkey's ability to hold the EU hostage to energy supplies via Turkey, and offers far more rapid easing of European energy pressures.

(Reuters) - Large amounts of vitamins C and E do not prevent preeclampsia, blood pressure problems in pregnant women, researchers reported on Wednesday.

SAIC Motor, China's largest automaker, plans to roll out its first self-developed hybrid car this year, followed by a plug-in hybrid car in 2012, a senior executive said on Thursday.

Shares of UAL Corp and US Airways Group rose on Thursday in the wake of news that the two airlines were in merger talks.

Pier 1 Imports posted a substantial rise in quarterly merchandise margins, helped by stronger pricing, and reported strong March sales.

Euro interbank lending rates were steady on Thursday as the European Central Bank held interest rates at record lows and gave some details on how new lending rules would work. Benchmark sterling rates were also unchanged as the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5 percent ahead of next month's general election.

(Reuters) - Researchers have identified a group of genes that are especially active in lung cancer patients -- even in healthy tissue -- and said they may be used to predict which smokers will eventually develop lung cancer.

Wall Street fell on Thursday as an unexpected rise in jobless claims disappointed investors hoping for a steady labor market recovery and on persistent fears that Greece's debt crisis would spread through Europe.

An early Easter holiday helped top U.S. retailers beat Wall Street's sales expectations as a pickup in consumer spending expanded from discounters to department stores and teen clothing chains.

The yuan and other Asian currencies rose briskly on Thursday as speculation intensified that China might soon revalue the yuan and unveil a long-awaited shift in its exchange-rate regime.

Former Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Charles Prince apologized on Thursday for Citi's failure to better prepare for the financial crisis, at the same time as he defended the third-largest U.S. bank's size and conglomerate nature.

Charles Prince and Robert Rubin, often blamed for bringing down Citigroup , expressed deep regrets for Wall Street's meltdown in 2008 but did not take responsibility for the firm's massive losses and the eventual taxpayer bailout at a hearing on Thursday.

UAL Corp's United Airlines is in merger talks with US Airways in a deal that could create the second-largest carrier in the United States, two sources familiar with the matter said.

(Corrects reference in 7th paragraph to US Airways from Continental)

Wall Street was set for a lower open on Thursday, following global stocks lower, on persistent fears that Greece's debt crisis would spread through Europe.

The Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent for the 13th month running on Thursday and made no increase to its 200 billion pounds asset-buying scheme to boost the economy.