IBT Staff Reporter

A prominent analyst on Thursday called for a merger of Comcast Corp and Time Warner Cable , saying such a blockbuster deal would offer a host of benefits for both cable giants.

Shares of Skyworks Solutions Inc rose as much as 12 percent on Thursday, a day after the cell phone chipmaker raised its fourth-quarter outlook citing improvement in demand, prompting at least two brokers to raise their price targets on the stock.

Don't pass the salt: If Americans were to cut their salt intake to recommended levels, they'd have far fewer cases of high blood pressure, and save billions of dollars in health care costs, a new study estimates.

In the currently filming sequel to Sex and the City, Kim Cattrall's Samantha will eye a new hunk in the form of Max Ryan.

U.S. copper futures lost more than 3 percent of their value Thursday morning as prices continued to correct further away from the psychological $3.00 a lb level amid a broader sell-off in the industrial metals complex.

Monsanto Co, the world's biggest seed company, forecast fiscal 2010 earnings below Wall Street estimates, due in part to a glut of herbicide supply, sending its shares down 6 percent.

Procter & Gamble Co stood by its earnings forecast for the current quarter on Thursday and said it expects sales to improve in the next quarter.

Stocks edged up on Thursday, extending a run up into a fifth trading session, with a brighter outlook from consumer products maker Procter & Gamble Co countering a dim forecast from Monsanto Co.

Childhood deaths have declined across the world, data released on Thursday showed, but mortality is increasingly concentrated in poor countries.

The struggle to pick an owner for General Motors' Opel unit was set to come to a head on Thursday after the U.S. carmaker said it had made a decision and would communicate the verdict at a news conference.

Brian de Villiers could have become famous for coaching Melanie Oudin after her admirable run at the U.S. Open, but he is instead making headlines for his involvement in an affair scandal with the player's mother Leslie Oudin.

Americans enrolled in the Medicare health insurance program would be able to get screened for HIV under a draft government proposal to pay for the tests.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew the wrath of Israel's most influential newspapers on Thursday over what they described as lies issued by his office about a secret flight to Russia.

Vaccination against bacterial infections using vaccines readily available in developed countries could save the lives of thousands of children with sickle-cell anemia in Africa, researchers said on Thursday.

A U.N. panel annulled ballots from dozens of polling stations in Afghanistan's presidential election on Thursday, kicking off a lengthy fraud investigation that could keep Afghans locked in political uncertainty for months.

The European Union will warn the de facto government of Honduras next week that it could face further sanctions unless a peaceful solution is found to a crisis triggered by the coup against President Manuel Zelaya.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.S. President Barack Obama will speak on Thursday for the first time since Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi's release and will discuss the global economy and Afghanistan.

Specialty glass maker Corning Inc said the decline in third-quarter glass output may be smaller than expected due to improving demand, but profit margins have been hurt by an earthquake in Japan.

An Iranian commander said 36 people died in unrest after June's disputed election, including three in a Tehran prison, more than the official figures but half the number claimed by the opposition.

Target Corp said on Thursday that its board of directors agreed to declassify its structure, in a move that would make directors stand for reelection each year.

The Taliban have a significant presence in almost every corner of Afghanistan, data from a policy think tank showed on Thursday, as the country lurches into political uncertainty after a disputed presidential election.

Whitney Houston returned to the U.S. pop album chart in grand style on Wednesday as her first album in seven years debuted at No. 1.

Shares of U.S. health insurers climbed on Thursday as analysts said President Barack Obama's highly anticipated speech urging Congress to act on health reform revealed no game changers.

Tucked into President Barack Obama's speech to the U.S. Congress was a new talking point -- that his aim is to get health insurance for 30 million uninsured people, instead of 46 million.

The U.S. commercial paper market expanded for a fourth straight week for the first time since December, adding to signs of an economic rebound as the global financial crisis continued to abate, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

President Barack Obama will tell Congress on Wednesday the time for bickering is over and call for quick action on a comprehensive healthcare overhaul that would dramatically transform the U.S. insurance market and health system.

President Barack Obama addressed the elephant in the room -- a government-run health insurance option -- by playing down its importance in a big speech to Congress on Wednesday, but not everyone was buying it.

Oil rose toward $72 a barrel on Thursday, supported by a report from the International Energy Agency that global demand will be higher this year and next than it previously forecast.

General Motors Co on Thursday announced it was selling a 55 percent stake in Opel to Magna and Sberbank.