IBT Staff Reporter

Ireland's extensive support for its banks has been vital to maintaining financial stability, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, as ratings agencies praised decisions taken by the country's bad bank this week.

Seven of the world's top hedge fund managers earned 10-figure paychecks and one set a record for the highest-ever payout last year due to a stock market rally that pushed returns to their highest levels in a decade.

When was the last time you had a frank discussion about money with your friends? How aggressively did you negotiate your salary last time you got a new job or had a good review?

Apple Inc's iPad scored very well on ease of use and battery life in its first reviews, but it will not obliterate the laptop computer market just yet, according to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Stocks rose on Thursday, buoyed by optimism about the economic recovery after stronger-than-expected manufacturing and jobs data.

Vaccinations for equine influenza will increase the widespread of the disease throughout Australia in the future.

General Motors posted a 43 percent jump in U.S. sales for March from a year earlier in its continuing brands, the first of expected sharp gains by automakers driven by incentives and better weather.

The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in March at its fastest pace in more than five years, marking the eighth straight month of growth, according to an industry report released on Thursday.

Mothers who just gave birth to their child should have regular exercise in order to reduce the risk of developing postnatal depression.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell as expected last week and a measure of underlying job market trends hit a 1-1/2 year low, strengthening views the labor market was close to turning.

The world's largest mobile phone maker Nokia said on Thursday it had won handset deals with distributors in China worth over $2 billion.

Queensland Health officials are now tracking down those people who may have contacted the measles virus on one Brisbane train trip last weekend.

New payment system in Queensland left heavy blunders to doctors and nurses.

Fund group Gartmore's suspension of a top hedge fund manager on suspicion of directing trades to favored brokers shines a light on a murky business where tales of lavish hospitality, nepotism and kickbacks abound. On Tuesday, Gartmore said it had suspended Guillaume Rambourg pending the outcome of an internal investigation into whether he had breached internal procedures on directing trades.

Stocks rose on Thursday as positive jobs and manufacturing data fueled optimism that a sustained recovery was on track, prompting investors to snap up riskier assets like equities and commodities.

Factories in the United States, Europe and Asia cranked up production last month, suggesting recovery from a deep recession was taking root in economies around the globe.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell as expected last week and a measure of underlying job market trends hit a 1-1/2 year low, strengthening views the labor market was close to turning.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless aid fell last week and factory activity in March hit its highest level in more than 5-1/2 years, pointing to a continued expansion in the economy.

In a bid to corner more profits for cash-scarce oil companies, the US president Barack Obama has today announced that his administration would consider offshore drilling in the mid and south Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico. The move is expected to help increase employment and ease gas prices in the country. However, Obama, who needs bipartisan support to pass a bill that would set limits on US greenhouse gas emissions, cautioned that expanding drilling was not a catch-all answer to US energy ...

Pakistan has increased fuel prices again with effect from April 1. Country's Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) announced the new petroleum product prices with Pak Rs 2.57 per litre increase in petrol price, Pak Rs 1.50 per litre increase in HOBC, Pak Rs 2.73 per litre increase in light diesel and Pak Rs 3.31 per litre increase in kerosene oil from April 1.

A few months ago I had written about the gold's love for tragedies. Gold always thrived on disasters like recession and rising inflation rates. So when the world is looking rosy and there are no immediate financial dangers lurking in the backyard of countries, what will the much-sought-after yellow metal do? If you want to know this, just have a look at the movements of gold prices in the recent past when World Bank and International Monetary Fund predicted that the global economy is back on tra...

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance fell as expected last week and a measure of underlying labor market trends hit a 1-1/2 year low, a government report showed on Thursday.

(Reuters) - The week after passing landmark healthcare reform and handing President Barack Obama an important victory, members of the U.S. Congress returned to their home districts for a recess to face constituents and justify their votes after the bruising legislative battle.

(Reuters) - A genetic mutation linked to schizophrenia appears to rupture communication between the two areas of the brain believed to be responsible for memory and may be an underlying cause of the brain disorder, U.S. researchers suggested in a study published on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - Exposure to certain chemicals and pollutants before a woman reaches her mid-30s could treble her risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause, Canadian scientists said on Thursday.

Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc reported a fourth-quarter profit that missed Wall Street expectations by a cent, hurt by lower selling prices for business jets, and said it expects to deliver less of its aircraft in 2011.

(Reuters) - Scientists have cracked the genetic code of a songbird for the first time, identifying more than 800 genes linked to song learning in a finding that may shed light on human speech disorders.

Wall Street was poised for a higher open on Thursday as U.S. weekly jobless claims fell last week and upbeat data from China and Europe fueled optimism the global economy is on track for growth.

A monthly gauge of online labor demand in the United States edged up in March and is near 6 percent above the reading from a year ago, a private research group said on Thursday.