IBT Staff Reporter

Package delivery giant and U.S. economic bellwether FedEx Corp reported a 53 percent drop in quarterly profit on Thursday as the worldwide economic downturn continued to weigh on shipping volumes.

There's a good chance you've been hearing more about biodiesel lately. This article, the first of several short discussions about biodiesel that will appear in the next few months, lays out some of the basic terminology and qualities associated with this fuel.

U.S. copper futures fell before steadying at slightly lower levels Thursday morning, under pressure from a steadier dollar and down even as latest labor, housing and manufacturing data provided further evidence of recovery.

World leaders will commit to keep spending to prop up their economies at a G20 summit next week, Russia said on Thursday, while France appeared to tone down its rhetoric on the issue of bank bonus caps.

Exxon Mobil Corp said Thursday operations were returning to normal at a gasoline-making fluid catalytic cracker unit at its 238,600 barrel-per-day refinery in Joliet, Illinois following a snag.

U.S. stocks rose slightly in volatile trade on Thursday as positive economic data outweighed a report from FedEx Corp that the global downturn continued to hurt its shipping business.

World leaders will commit to keep spending to prop up their economies at a G20 summit next week, Russia said on Thursday, while France appeared to tone down its rhetoric on the issue of bank bonus caps.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week, data on Thursday showed, while there was a rise in the number of those still on the benefit rolls after an initial week of aid.

Denmark on Thursday inaugurated the world's biggest offshore wind farm in time to serve as a showcase of its green technological prowess before a global climate conference in Copenhagen in December.

President Hamid Karzai defended Afghanistan's disputed presidential election on Thursday after early results showed him the winner, while a suicide bomb attack on Italian troops tested the resolve of a major NATO ally.

Oil prices hovered around $72.50 a barrel on Thursday after rising more than 5 percent this week as swollen U.S. distillate stocks such as diesel offset a weaker dollar and rallying equities.

Discover Financial Services posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday as loan losses grew less than anticipated and the sixth-largest U.S. credit card issuer trimmed costs.

The Chinese government is flooding Beijing with armed police and up to one million security volunteers to head off any unrest over October's sensitive anniversary of 60 years of Communist Party rule.

Four Uighur men were sentenced to between eight and 15 years in prison for stabbing a Han Chinese woman in the neck with a syringe in the capital of the ethnically divided Xinjiang region in China's northwest.

Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant was killed in a police shoot-out in Central Java, police said on Thursday, lifting a major security threat ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Barack Obama.

New Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama got some good news on his first full day in office as the central bank said the struggling economy was showing signs of recovery and 72 percent of voters backed his cabinet.

Deutsche Bank has backed out of talks to buy a package of assets from nationalised bank ABN AMRO under a deal mandated by the European Commission, the Dutch finance ministry said on Thursday.

Chinese photovoltaic cell maker Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd forecast sequentially higher third-quarter revenue, and said it was seeing an improvement in end market demand, sending its shares up 13 percent.

Shares of Clarcor Inc fell as much as 6 percent on Thursday, a day after the filtration products maker reported lower-than-expected third-quarter results and cut its full-year earnings forecast. We believe (the) shares will remain range bound pending the company's ability to meet and exceed expectations and are maintaining our 'hold' rating, said analyst Jeffrey Hammond of KeyBanc Capital Markets.

President Barack Obama will pledge U.S. action on financial regulatory reform at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh and underscore the need for global coordination on the issue, a senior aide said on Wednesday.

Chip technology developer Tessera Technologies Inc raised its third-quarter revenue forecast, driven by improved performance across its segments.

Men taking the antiviral drugs peginterferon and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C virus infection often experience sexual dysfunction, results of a study indicate.

Jay Leno's new prime-time chat and comedy TV show lost more than 7 million viewers on its second night after a slew of bad reviews but was still the No. 1 U.S. network show of the night, audience ratings figures showed on Wednesday.

Timberland Co said its Chief Financial Officer John Crimmins will leave effective Sept. 30 and named Sara Lee Corp's Carrie Teffner as his replacement.

Hanesbrands Inc said it agreed to sell three of its yarn manufacturing plants to privately held Parkdale, and shut a fourth plant and two warehouses.

President Barack Obama on Thursday abandoned plans for a large missile defense shield in eastern Europe, promising instead a stronger, swifter defense system to protect U.S. allies against any threat from Iran.

Johnson & Johnson and Elan Corp Plc said they have closed the deal under which J&J's newly formed unit Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy acquired all the assets and rights related to Elan's Alzheimer's Immunotherapy Program (AIP).

A third of malaria cases in African babies can be prevented by giving them regular doses of antimalarial drugs even before the children are infected, researchers said on Thursday.

Casino operator MGM Mirage said on Thursday lawsuits filed against it in recent weeks that allege securities fraud were without merit.