IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in Copenhagen on Thursday night and will join the UN climate talks on Friday, bringing hopes to finish a complicated process of reaching a political agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming.

Term prices of thermal coal for 2010 in China are expected to rise about 8 percent from this year's levels, as demand for power has been roaring back due to steady economic recovery, analysts and industry officials said.

Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry phone, said Thursday that it has fixed the problem that left BlackBerry users unable to send or receive emails on their phones.

Prospects for a strong U.N. climate pact grew more remote on Thursday at the climax of two-year talks as ministers and leaders blamed leading emitters China and the United States for deadlock on carbon cuts.

The London's High Court ruled on Tuesday that a 12-day British cabin crew strike was illegal because it included members no longer employed by the airline.

Citigroup Inc shares fell sharply on Thursday, a day after the bank's $20 billion stock and bond offering drew a cool reception on Wall Street and prompted the U.S. Treasury to delay plans to start selling off its Citi holdings.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as the dollar's rebound quelled demand for risky assets, while a soft FedEx forecast hit transportation shares and a prominent analyst cut estimates for two major banks.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday endorsed a proposed bipartisan commission to help make the tough calls needed to get the spiraling and record U.S. debt under control.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless insurance unexpectedly rose last week, but a gauge of future economic activity increased for the eighth month in a row, pointing to a slow economic recovery where employment looms as the dominant concern.

Barclays Capital, one of the banks providing $9.2 billion of loans to help fund Kraft Foods Inc's hostile bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc , has won a bigger role as one of Kraft's financial advisers.

Computer group Hewlett-Packard is looking to Africa as a potential platform for technical support for its customers elsewhere in the world, said its managing director Rainer Koch.

The Treasury will sell its stock in Citigroup to achieve the best possible price for the American public, the head of the government's financial bailout program said on Thursday.

The way Howard Stringer sees it, Sony's digital e-readers should focus on the printed word and making reading comfortable, even though the consumer electronics giant could turn it into a multimedia machine.

General Mills Inc posted a 50 percent increase in quarterly profit and raised its full-year forecast, helped by strong sales of higher-margin products such as Cheerios and Fiber One cereals.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc raised its profit outlook for 2009 and gave a 2010 forecast in line with analysts' expectations as it works on drawing consumers to its drinks despite the downturn.

Research In Motion said on Thursday that it has isolated and resolved the issue that delayed email service for some North American BlackBerry customers this morning.

(Corrects after Dubai government clarifies earlier statement which it says was meant to refer to government departments only, not to state-related entities)

Opel labour leader Klaus Franz said talks with management over an upcoming plan from General Motors for the future of its European unit Opel should be finished by mid-February.

U.S. lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc said it is forming a joint venture China's top carmaker SAIC Motor Corp to develop, make and sell battery systems for electric vehicles.

The head of Japan's auto-making lobby said on Thursday he feared that the U.S. market would remain weak and would not reach total sales of 11 million vehicles next year.

Chrysler will keep open through 2011 its Sterling Heights, Michigan, plant near Detroit that it had once planned to close at the end of 2010, a United Auto Workers vice president said on Thursday

General Motors Co said on Thursday that Brian K. Sweeney would be the new general manager of its Buick and GMC brands after his predecessor lasted nine days on the job.

German carmaker Daimler AG expects to use short working hours in response to weak demand for passenger cars in the first quarter of next year, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told Reuters on Thursday.

So, if you feel funny, you're gonna die. He repeated calmly with a closed lip half smile, a little head tilt, and a slight shoulder shrug that says, sorry about that, but there's nothing I can do. It's more

French carmaker Renault is in talks with German rival Daimler and others about partnerships to cut costs as the industry tries to become more efficient exiting the downturn.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday backed a call for creation of a bipartisan commission to make the tough calls needed to cut the record federal deficit.

Danish hosts revived climate talks on Thursday and Washington backed a $100 billion (62 billion pound) fund to aid poor countries as world leaders gathered on the eve of a U.N. deadline to reach a deal to slow global warming.

High unemployment and a fractious debate over healthcare have combined to push down President Barack Obama's job approval ratings and highlight the potential for political dangers ahead.

Trucking giant YRC Worldwide Inc said on Thursday it was changing the terms of a debt-for-equity exchange offer, including again extending the deadline for bondholder approval in a critical bid to stay afloat.