IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. foreclosure activity fell in November for the fourth month running, but improvement from July's record high came from loan modification programs that may fail to permanently remedy many failing mortgages, real estate data company RealyTrac said on Thursday.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday as investors awaited weekly data that will provide a measure of the health of the jobs market.

Taming Hedge Funds; Citi's Bailout Exit Takes Shape; Barbie-Bratz Case Reconsidered

Citigroup Inc's negotiations to exit TARP are uncertain, but headed in the right direction, a Treasury official told television network CNBC.

U.S. securities regulators are investigating at least nine mergers, including Pfizer Inc's takeover of Wyeth and Merck & Co Inc's acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp, for possible insider-trading violations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday as investors awaited weekly data that will provide a measure of the health of the jobs market.

Craigslist executives were well aware that eBay Inc could compete in online classifieds when they negotiated a deal to sell it a minority stake, a former eBay executive testified in court on Wednesday.

Japan's Panasonic Corp said on Thursday it acquired 50.2 percent of Sanyo Electric Co Ltd, the world's largest rechargeable battery maker, completing a long-delayed 403.8 billion yen ($4.6 billion) deal.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.3 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.2 percent.

Costco Wholesale Corp posted a slight increase in first-quarter profit on higher revenue.

Japan's Panasonic Corp said it acquired 50.2 percent of Sanyo Electric Co Ltd , the world's largest rechargeable battery maker, for 403.8 billion yen ($4.6 billion), as shares of Sanyo jumped the most in six months on the completion of the deal.

A new email client unveiled by Mozilla this week contains code from an unusual source -- the French military, which decided the open source product was more secure than Microsoft's rival Outlook.

Nokia will close its two flagship stores in the United States, saving costs on a market where the world's top cellphone maker is struggling to gain ground.

World equities were generally weaker on Thursday, adding to five sessions of losses, although Europe rebounded after recent hits over some of the region's more vulnerable economies.

Japan's Panasonic Corp , which closed its tender offer for Sanyo Electric Co Ltd on Wednesday, said it has acquired 50.19 percent of the world's largest rechargeable battery maker in a deal worth 403.8 billion yen ($4.6 billion).

Government bonds in Australia and South Korea fell on Thursday as investors pushed forward expectations for interest rate rises in 2010 because of bullish growth views, while Asian stocks slid on year-end profit taking.

The Australian dollar surged on Thursday after November jobs growth blew away expectations, while Asian stocks posted small gains ahead of a slew of Chinese economic data on Friday expected to reflect robust growth.

Citigroup Inc plans to pay back TARP by raising money in an equity offering that could be announced as early as Thursday and could be some $20 billion, television network CNBC reported, citing sources.

It wasn't too long ago big-time hedge fund managers like James Pallotta were erecting monuments to themselves. In Pallotta's case, it was a $21 million Georgian-style mansion he built in 2007 in Weston, a leafy Boston suburb uncomfortable with such displays of wealth.

The U.S. House of Representatives will debate on Thursday the most sweeping changes to financial regulation proposed since the Great Depression, including broad new government powers over large banks and tighter regulation of capital markets.

U.S. appeals judges on Wednesday questioned whether a California trial judge went overboard by awarding MGA Entertainment Inc's Bratz doll franchise to Mattel Inc after MGA lost a copyright infringement trial to its rival in 2008.

Mongolia may eventually list state-owned mineral assets in international stock markets so that the country can convert more of its natural resource wealth into cash, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a procedural rule on Wednesday that cleared the way for floor debate to begin on legislation that would give the government broad new powers over large financial firms and tighten bank and capital market regulation.

As the name implies an Umbrella Line is a candle that looks like an umbrella with a small real body and a long lower shadow. In such candles the upper shadow does not exist or is very small. The real body is also very small comparing to the lower shadow.

U.S. appeals judges on Wednesday questioned whether a California trial judge went overboard by awarding MGA Entertainment Inc's Bratz doll franchise to Mattel Inc after MGA lost a copyright infringement trial to its rival in 2008.

Facebook, the world's No.1 Internet social network, took a step toward opening up parts of its site to outsiders on Wednesday by introducing a broad revision of its users' privacy settings.

Facebook, the world's No.1 Internet social network, took a step toward opening up parts of its site to outsiders on Wednesday by introducing a broad revision of its users' privacy settings.

A former senior IBM Corp executive denied being involved in a sprawling hedge fund insider trading case and asked a court on Wednesday to dismiss civil charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, has fired or will sack a number of its real estate portfolio managers amid steep losses for its property assets, according to a report on its web site.