IBT Staff Reporter

China cheered Australian investors with its undimmed appetite for resources assets as one state-owned firm, Minmetals, clinched a $1.4 billion deal and another, Chinalco, vowed to bounce back from the shock of its failed $19.5 billion Rio Tinto tie-up.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co's deal to sell IPO stocks through Fidelity Investments suggests it might be gearing up to take public some of the companies in its portfolio, despite a market that remains inhospitable to deals backed by private equity.

Emails from Federal Reserve officials appear to back assertions by Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis that he was under pressure, to the point of losing his job, to complete the purchase of Merrill Lynch, despite worries about its financial condition.

The Venezuelan government of U.S.-critic President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday ordered Coca-Cola Co to withdraw its Coke Zero beverage from the South American nation, citing unspecified dangers to health.

Oil firmed to $72 a barrel on Thursday after the International Energy Agency raised its estimate for 2009 oil demand, adding to signs the fall in consumption may have bottomed out.

Asian stocks edged higher, powered by a sharp rise in commodity-related shares as oil prices extended gains on Thursday, keeping a rising trend in raw materials prices intact and boosting the Australian dollar.

The World Health Organization was poised on Thursday to declare that the new H1N1 virus has caused the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years, health sources said on Thursday.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, government data showed on Thursday, pointing to an easing of labor market weakness.

Retailers who scoffed at the web during the flush days of consumer spending are now diving head first into online initiatives, lured by that channel's resilience in the downturn.

Facing the worst job market in a generation, students graduating from America's universities say they are willing to do just about anything for work.

Real Madrid on Thursday closed the most expensive football deal in history after paying a $130 million dollars to Manchester United for player Cristiano Ronaldo.

American couples expect to retire later and have less leisure when they do, according to a study released on Wednesday by mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments.

Toyota Motor Corp expects to sell about 25,000 of its all-new dedicated hybrid car for the Lexus premium brand in the United States in the first 12 months of its sale, an executive said on Wednesday.

Financial players who abandoned U.S. solar energy projects last year during the throes of the banking crisis are beginning to return, potentially setting up a boom of new deals by the end of the year, several solar investors said on Wednesday.

The United States should pass a comprehensive energy plan to ensure the number of jobs in environmental fields, such as renewable energy and cutting air pollution, will keep rising as they did in the decade to 2007, a Pew report said on Wednesday.

Solar stocks rallied on Wednesday as investors bet that increased Chinese interest in solar power, higher oil prices and signs of improvement in lending and financing will help spur demand for the clean energy source.

The head of oil company Chevron Corp said efforts to cut U.S. carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 were unrealistic because so much current energy infrastructure would have to be replaced.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose in May and the number of workers filing new applications for jobless benefits fell for a fourth straight week last week, according to official data on Thursday that suggested the recession was abating.

Stocks headed for a flat open on Thursday after data on weekly jobless claims and May retail sales raised worries that the pace of recovery would be sluggish.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose in May and the number of workers filing new applications for jobless benefits fell for a fourth straight week last week, according to official data on Thursday that suggested the recession was abating.

Barack Obama has presented a fresh understanding of Islam not shown by predecessors, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in his first interview since the U.S. president addressed the Muslim world from Cairo.

The Australian Dollar opens largely unchanged from this time yesterday at 0.8015. The Aussie received a boost on Wednesday from a 12.7 per cent rise in May consumer sentiment – the largest monthly increase in 22 years.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose for the first time in three months in May as expected, lifted by strong gasoline and building material receipts, according to a government report on Thursday that bolstered views the recession was abating.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose for the first time in three months in May as expected, lifted by strong gasoline and building material receipts, according to a government report on Thursday that bolstered views the recession was abating.

Chinese investment surged in May, fanning hopes the world's third-largest economy may lead a global recovery, although a record slump in Japan's first quarter GDP reinforced expectations any rebound would be slow.

Wall Street was set to open flat to higher on Thursday, with investors eyeing retail sales and weekly jobless data for fresh insight into the state of the recession-hit economy.

U.S. car sharing company Zipcar is planning to launch a initial public offering of its shares next year, the New York Post reported.

World oil demand will contract by less than previously expected in 2009, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday in a further sign the economic outlook may have stopped deteriorating.

Wall Street was set to open flat on Thursday, with investors eyeing retail sales and weekly jobless data for fresh insight into the state of the recession-hit economy.