IBT Staff Reporter

New York's Empire State Building is doing it, Chicago's Willis Tower is about to start and many more landlords and companies are expected to undertake building retrofits to reduce energy costs.

EcoSecurities Group Plc said it was in ongoing talks with another party for the possibility of a takeover offer after Swedish firm Tricorona decided not to bid for the Irish carbon offset company.

Dutch financial group ING has up to five bids for some or all of its for-sale private bank assets, a source familiar with the process said on Thursday, with offers for the full package running close to $2 billion.

Online video site YouTube is in talks with several major movie studios about renting movies to users by streaming the movies over the Internet according to a person familiar with the talks on Wednesday.

Who says you can't buy friends? An Australian online marketing company is selling friends and fans to Facebook members after offering a similar service to Twitter users.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, but the prior period's figure was revised up, according to a government report on Thursday that highlighted the fragility of the labor market.

Chrysler Group LLC said on Wednesday it is increasing production of the Dodge Caliber hatchback by 10,000 units this year in response to increased demand for small, fuel-efficient models.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Thursday for swifter work on a climate treaty, saying inaction could spell economic disaster and a rise in sea levels of up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) by 2100.

NEW YORK - The U.S. commercial paper market expanded for a third straight week in another sign that the economy may be growing again as a two-year credit crunch eases, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis launched a difficult election campaign on Thursday after calling an early parliamentary vote for October 4 to seek a new mandate and deal with a sharp economic crisis.

The global recession is coming to an end faster than thought a few months ago and may already be over, but recovery will rely on massive government spending and low interest rates for some time, the OECD said on Thursday.

Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Canadian subsidiary, seeking to maintain sales momentum, said on Wednesday it will offer up to C$3,000 ($2,700) toward the purchase of a new Ford to customers who turn in a vehicle 15 years or older.

Some members of insurer AIG's board are concerned about recent strong comments from their new chief executive Robert Benmosche, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter.

Thermal coal oversupply in the Atlantic market and logistics costs have led to very poor performance at Brazilian miner Vale's Colombian coal mines, a Vale official said on Wednesday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed on Thursday any threat of new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, a day after world powers pressed Tehran to meet them this month for talks on the nuclear dispute.

Costco Wholesale Corp on Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected 2 percent fall in August same-store sales, in a sign that the impact of the financial crisis is waning on U.S. consumer spending.

Thursday, UK's Financial Services Authority Chairman Adair Turner backed proposals to make banks plan for their own collapse.

Watch-maker Movado Group Inc posted a 94 percent slump in quarterly profit as margins fell and it recorded an interest expense charge.

New vehicle sales in Australia slipped for a second month in August, though the annual pace of decline almost halved, industry data showed on Thursday.

Indonesian villagers continued a frantic search on Thursday for people buried in the rubble, after a powerful quake killed at least 57 and destroyed thousands of homes in the hills of West Java.

Family Dollar Stores Inc's fourth-quarter sales growth fell short of expectations, leading its shares to fall 9 percent in premarket trading even though the retailer stood by its fourth-quarter profit forecast.

Support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives has dipped to a three-month low of 34 percent in a new poll, a level which leaves them short of a parliamentary majority with their preferred coalition partners.

Del Monte Foods Co's quarterly profit handily beat Wall Street estimates on price increases and lower costs, prompting it to raise its full-year forecast for earnings from continuing operations.

Oil prices rose toward $69 a barrel on Thursday, drawing support from a sharp fall in U.S. gasoline inventories that revived hopes of a demand recovery in the world's largest fuel consumer.

Japan's new leader and Washington's envoy bonded over a football helmet on Thursday as they sought to allay concerns about their alliance after an election win by Yukio Hatoyama's party, which has pledged a more independent diplomatic course.

Fiat Group Purchasing, a part of Fiat (FIA.MI), plans to source $1 billion of parts from India in 2010, a senior executive said on Thursday.

China rejected on Thursday claims by two U.S. journalists that they were seized on Chinese territory before being dragged into North Korea and jailed there for illegal entry into the reclusive state.

The global recession is coming to an end faster than thought a few months ago and may already be over, but recovery will rely on massive government spending and low interest rates for some time, the OECD said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama will seek to boost flagging support for healthcare reform next week with a rare speech to Congress after a rocky summer raised questions both about his leadership and legislative program.