IBT Staff Reporter

Citigroup Inc is at no disadvantage when it comes to paying employees, the bank's chief financial officer said on Thursday.

Lawmakers in the Senate unveiled a long-awaited bipartisan jobs bill on Thursday that relies on business tax breaks and construction projects to bring down the unemployment rate.

Dear Sam: Previously, I worked for several years in the financial services field with a company that eventually shut its doors. I was also in the middle of finishing up my degree in a course of study that was somewhat related to the industry.

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found dead after committing suicide on Thursday. The 40-year-old, also known as Lee, was found dead in his apartment in London on Thursday morning, according the British newspaper The Guardian.

PepsiCo Inc posted a higher quarterly profit that met Wall Street expectations, helped by brisk sales in international markets such as India, while drinks volumes declined in North America.

A judge in Haiti is likely to make a decision on Thursday on whether to release the group of U.S. missionaries arrested in connection with allegedly attempting to kidnap Haitian children.

Stocks rose in choppy trading on Thursday as uncertainty over details of a deal European leaders struck to aid debt-ridden Greece was offset by an improving U.S. labor market picture.

Drugmakers are starting to get into bed with information technology companies as they struggle to prove the value of their medicines to governments and insurers.

Marriott International Inc posted higher-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and lifted its 2010 outlook on Thursday as business improved, especially at its international hotels.

Global oil demand will grow by more than previously expected in 2010, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, with all the growth coming from emerging markets.

Australia urged China to deal transparently with the trials of four Rio Tinto staff accused of bribery and stealing commercial secrets, as the firm's CEO said the Asian country remained a key part of its long-term plans.

Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd voiced optimism on Thursday that his committee could craft a bipartisan financial reform bill.

Group 1 Automotive Inc posted a quarterly operating profit and its first increase in same-store sales in years, the U.S. auto dealership group said on Thursday.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc took its $5.1 billion bid for rival Airgas Inc hostile on Thursday by launching a tender offer for Airgas shares.

NASA launched its Solar Dynamics Observatory on Thursday morning after a one day delay due to high winds.

Iran is experiencing surprising setbacks in its efforts to enrich uranium, and assessments suggest equipment failures and other difficulties could undermine its effort to ramp up its nuclear program, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be resisted and finished off if it launched military action in the region, state broadcaster IRIB reported on Thursday.

Viacom Inc's quarterly profit blazed past expectations, as holiday sales of hit DVDs like Star Trek and Transformers 2 helped make up for another three months of depressed advertising revenue.

U.S. stocks edged lower in morning trading on Thursday as European leaders today still have not yet confirmed a specific plan to bailout Greece.

Stocks slipped on Thursday as details remained murky of a deal to provide financial aid to debt-laden Greece, but declines were offset by a tumble in first-time claims for jobless benefits.

Facebook has agreed to remove 30 pages from its social networking site after prisoners used them to taunt their victims, British Justice Minister Jack Straw said on Thursday.

Bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp said it was expecting about $1 billion more from the sale of some of its remaining businesses, including the Optical Networking and Carrier Ethernet service.

Nelson Mandela celebrates the 20th anniversary of his release from prison on Thursday. Here are key dates in his life.

There was one prerequisite for journalists reporting on Nelson Mandela in the heady and chaotic days after his release from 27 years in South African jails.

PepsiCo Inc said quarterly profit nearly doubled, helped by strong growth in Asia, but drinks volumes declined in North America.

French carmaker Renault posted a wider-than-expected net loss and said on Thursday it would focus on generating positive free cash flow in a tough 2010 market.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless benefits tumbled last week, a government report showed on Thursday, reversing a recent spike that had raised concerns about renewed labor market weakness.

Wall Street was set to open higher on Thursday as key euro zone officials struck a deal to help Greece with its debt crisis, and U.S. data showed claims for first-time jobless benefits fell more than expected last week.

Chances of success for a NATO offensive in the last big Taliban bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand province may depend on ensuring the operation doesn't repeat the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.