IBT Staff Reporter

When Hillary Clinton made a strong showing and Sarah Palin was named to the Republican ticket in the 2008 U.S. presidential race, the election of the first female president seemed not so far off.

Iranian hardline authorities ordered their opponents on Thursday to cease anti-government protests and denied an opposition website report that troops were heading for Tehran ahead of a planned opposition rally.

A historic economic crisis has left Americans with plenty of things to worry about. But is inflation one of them? And is there a risk that fretting over higher prices may actually bring them about?

A suicide bomber penetrated a foreign army base in Afghanistan and killed eight CIA employees on Wednesday, one of the U.S. agency's largest death tolls, while four Canadian troops and a journalist died in a separate attack.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless benefits fell last week to the lowest level in about 17 months, suggesting the economy might be on the cusp of job creation.

U.S. trucking giant YRC Worldwide said on Thursday it averted bankruptcy by successfully negotiating a critical debt-for-equity exchange that wipes out $470 million in debt and gives the struggling company access to needed credit as it restructures.

Endangered species from polar bears to giant salamanders, great white sharks to beluga whales and Namibian quiver trees to Cuban crocodiles will have their day on the Internet throughout 2010.

New York City business activity expanded in December for the fifth consecutive month, though at a slower rate than November, while a gauge of business optimism was at its highest in more than three years, according to an industry report on Thursday.

Iceland's parliament approved an amended bill late on Wednesday to repay more than $5 billion lost by savers in Britain and the Netherlands when the island's banks collapsed during the financial crisis.

Wall Street was poised to open modestly higher on Thursday after data showed the number of people filing for jobless benefits fell last week, while stocks eyed their best yearly gains since 2003.

The number of workers filing new applications for jobless benefits fell last week to the lowest level in about 17 months, according to U.S. government data on Thursday.

UC RUSAL plans to raise up to $2.6 billion in a landmark Hong Kong IPO next month and is betting on aluminum price growth to repay nearly $15 billion in debt and restore profits after a miserable first half of 2009.

China on Thursday decried a U.S. decision to impose duties of 10 to 16 percent on Chinese-made steel pipe, the biggest U.S. trade case to date against China, and said it had been made a scapegoat of protectionist interests.

Stock index futures edged higher on Thursday as investors awaited data on the health of the hobbled labor market, which poses a potential hurdle for the nascent economic recovery.

China on Thursday decried a U.S. decision to impose duties of 10 to 16 percent on Chinese-made steel pipe, the biggest U.S. trade case to date against China, and said it had been made a scapegoat of protectionist interests.

Last week's failed plot to bomb a U.S. passenger jet has exposed lingering fissures within the U.S. intelligence community, which had information from interviews and clandestine intercepts but did not put the pieces together, officials said.

The dollar fell broadly on Thursday on year-end position adjustment in thin, illiquid trade which prompted exaggerated price movements.

World stocks headed toward their best annual performance on record on Thursday, albeit a year after suffering their worst.

Several cabinet members of the Japanese government want Japan Airlines Corp to withdraw completely from its international flights business and consolidate it with that of All Nippon Airways Co, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported on Thursday.

S&P 500 index futures edged higher on Thursday as investors awaited data on the health of the hobbled labor market, which poses a potential hurdle for the nascent economic recovery.

Oil rose toward $80 on Thursday, poised for the biggest annual climb in a decade, a year after posting huge losses as the global economic crisis sapped demand.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday for the last trading session of the year, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.1 percent at 3.48 a.m. ET.

Asia stocks rose on Thursday, racking up a 68 percent gain for the year, as a jump in U.S. consumer confidence reinforced views that the world's largest economy is gradually recovering.

The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) has agreed to increase the amount of its unsecured loans to Japan Airlines from 100 billion yen ($1.08 billion) at present, Jiji news agency reported on Thursday.

Is it advisable for a gold price of $ 1100 per ounce to buy? There would have been certainly better times in order of the timing. In the past the rising inflation pushed the gold price always upwards. National rescue programs for the global economy cost huge amounts and are financed on credit. The United States and Great Britain have already begun, to finance the new government debts by printing new money.

Iceland's parliament approved an amended bill on Wednesday to repay more than $5 billion lost by savers in Britain and the Netherlands when the island's banks collapsed during the financial crisis.

The U.S. is injecting another $3.8 billion into GMAC Financial Services to help cover mortgage losses, in a bailout that makes the government the majority owner of the auto and home finance company.

A U.S. trade court has agreed to investigate allegations by Samsung that Japan's Sharp has infringed its patents to make liquid crystal displays, such as those used in many televisions.

U.S. health officials proposed standards for electronic medical records on Wednesday, seeking to spur the technology in hopes of cutting health costs and reducing medical errors.