IBT Staff Reporter

Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit on Thursday voiced support for key Obama administration financial reform goals, including a consumer protection authority, but government watchdogs questioned his earnestness.

Students at California's public universities rallied across the state Thursday to protest massive budget cuts and fee hikes they say has damaged a system of higher education long the envy of the nation.

Congressional Democrats made headway on Thursday on their top legislative priority -- job creation -- when the House of Representatives approved a $15 billion package of tax credits and highway construction.

Worldwide PC shipments are projected to total 366.1 million units in 2010, a 19.7 percent increase from 305.8 million units shipped in 2009, according to new research.

By pushing Congress for final passage of U.S. healthcare reform, President Barack Obama is gambling voters will reward Democrats for the accomplishment rather than punish them in November congressional elections.

In a highly divided vote, the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday voted 23 to 22 to recommend that the United States recognize the killing of Armenians in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey as genocide.

Stocks rose on Thursday as better-than-expected monthly sales from retailers and a drop in the number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits pointed to stabilization in the economy.

Pay czar Kenneth Feinberg believes the compensation paid to Wells Fargo & Co's chief executive for 2009 raises serious questions, he told CNBC on Thursday.

Skype and Nokia have released a new Skype client for the Symbian mobile OS.

With the economy's recovery likely to be slow and hampered by tight credit and a cautious consumer, the Federal Reserve is still far from needing to tighten its extraordinarily loose monetary policy, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said Thursday.

The Department of Education said on Thursday that 15 states and the District of Columbia are in the final running for new stimulus grants to be distributed this spring.

Four top executives of Thornburg Mortgage improperly paid themselves handsome bonuses just before the mortgage lender filed for bankruptcy last year, and stole money and ideas from Thornburg to secretly launch a new firm, the bankruptcy trustee in charge of liquidating the lender alleged in a lawsuit.

After digesting several economic data releases in the morning session, the U.S. stock market rallied to close at a modest gain.

Microsoft plans to spend $9.5 billion on research and development this year, which a senior executive said Thursday is more than any competitor.

Stocks rose on Thursday as better-than-expected monthly sales from retailers and a fall in the number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits pointed to stabilization in the economy.

The deadly El Nino weather anomaly should dissipate by early summer in the northern hemisphere, but there is a chance a weak version will linger for the rest of 2010, according to a U.S. government report issued Thursday.

The Arctic Ocean seabed is leaking methane scientists said, stoking fears that the green house gas could promote global warming.

The debate about fixing the financial crisis seems to be missing a key factor -- a broad ethical discussion of what is the right and wrong thing to do in a modern economy.

A federal appeals court affirmed a contempt finding against Dish Network Corp and EchoStar Corp in their long-running patent case against digital video recorder maker TiVo Inc , sending TiVo shares soaring 56 percent.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will seek to bring Internet speeds of 1 gigabit per second by 2020 to community institutions such as schools and government buildings, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said on Thursday.

Two AIG units settled federal charges that they discriminated against blacks in providing home loans and will pay at least $7.1 million for restitution and education efforts, according to court documents filed on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve should shift quantitative easing policies based on the U.S. economy's evolution, in the same way those changes guide interest rate policy, a top Fed official said on Thursday.

Stocks clung to tiny gains in afternoon trading on Thursday, retreating from an earlier advance as lower energy prices and an unexpected fall in home sales offset optimism stirred by retailers' better-than-expected monthly sales.

After digesting a slew of economic data, the stock market edges higher in the afternoon session as big banks and apparel retailers emerge as market leaders.

Microsoft is still seeing a lot of interest in its Windows 7 computer software launched last year and a new budget cycle will help a gradual recovery in business spending, its chief operating officer said.

YouTube announced Thursday plans to offer automatic close captioning service to all videos uploaded to their video-sharing site.

U.S. retailers posted their best monthly sales performance since just before the recession started in 2007, as lean inventories meant they did not need to resort to steep discounts.

Researchers have made a new material that can be used to guide waves of light, a breakthrough that could lead to ultra-fast computing.

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will come out with a new book that is a celebration of American virtues and strengths, publisher HarperCollins announced on Thursday.