IBT Staff Reporter

Vice President Joe Biden received a tumultuous welcome in Kosovo on Thursday just hours after leaving Serbia where thousands of police kept streets empty to avoid anti-American protests.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday said that a bailout for banks was steadying the financial system but care must be taken to ensure that normal market forces are allowed to operate.

Barnes & Noble Inc reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and raised its full-year outlook on Thursday, helped by cost cuts and sales that topped expectations, and its shares rose nearly 5 percent.

The U.S. administration of President Barack Obama will not force Israel to state publicly whether it has nuclear weapons, an Israeli official said on Thursday.

News reports about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, including questions about its safety, are part of a malicious campaign that is counter-productive to efforts to defeat terrorism, a Pakistani spokesman said on Thursday.

Internet search engine operator Google has decided against acquiring a newspaper, the Financial Times reported, citing the company's chief executive and chairman, Eric Schmidt.

Pakistan's allies promised $224 million in aid for about 1.5 million people displaced by an offensive against the Taliban after the government warned that the militants could exploit a failure to help.

President Barack Obama on Thursday will outline his strategy for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, hoping to defuse a revolt by lawmakers over the fate of an internationally reviled symbol of Bush-era detainee policy.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless aid fell 12,000 last week, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, while so-called continued claims rose to a fresh record as the recession battered employment.

Barnes & Noble Inc reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and raised its full-year outlook on Thursday, helped by cost cuts and sales that topped expectations, and its shares rose nearly 5 percent.

Video game retailer GameStop Corp said on Thursday its first-quarter profit rose 13 percent, driven by sales of popular titles like Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV, but same-store sales fell more than expected.

UAE ditched plans to join the proposed Gulf Cooperation Council monetary union.

Fiat SpA is convinced it has more than a 50 percent chance of succeeding in its bid for Opel because it does not think the other contenders have the expertise to revive the car maker, an Italian newspaper said.

Stocks opened lower on Thursday as signs of further labor market weakness fueled doubts about a quick economic recovery and Britain's reduced rating outlook signaled more fallout from the credit crisis.

Continuing jobless claims hit new record high at 6.7 million

Rich nations should cut their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels as part of a new global climate change pact, China said on Thursday, spelling out its stance ahead of negotiations.

Stocks headed for a slide at Thursday's opening as signs of further labor market weakness fueled doubts about a quick economic recovery and Britain's reduced rating outlook signaled more fallout from the credit crisis.

Chinese solar energy company Suntech Power Holdings Inc on Thursday reported a surprise quarterly profit and said it expects its revenues to grow in the second quarter.

U.S. lawmakers approved late on Wednesday an amendment to a controversial climate change bill that would give federal regulators greater authority to combat manipulation in natural gas and carbon markets.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on Britain to negative on Thursday, citing government debt that would be hard to rein in and political uncertainty about the policy response with an election looming.

Sony Corp will halve the number of its suppliers in the next two years and aims to slash procurement costs by 20 percent this year, it said on Thursday, stepping up restructuring efforts amid mounting losses.

Stock index futures declined on Thursday as doubts about a quick economic rebound fueled a global equity selloff, while Britain's reduced rating outlook pointed to more fallout from the credit crisis.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday as doubts about a quick economic rebound fueled a global equity sell-off, while Britain's reduced rating outlook pointed to more fallout from the credit crisis.

U.S. banks have been able to raise many billions of dollars in the past few weeks by selling shares to investors, but the jury is still out on whether this is the savviest of smart money -- or just plain dumb.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy and financial markets had improved but warned that banks faced a capital shortfall, which could stall lending and obstruct a recovery, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Oil fell more than a dollar to below $61 a barrel on Thursday, after hitting a six-month high in the previous session.

The head of Fiat SpA said it had more than a 50 percent chance of succeeding in its bid for Opel, adding that the other contenders did not have the expertise to save the struggling car maker, according to a newspaper report.

World stocks slipped from this week's six-month peak and the dollar fell to its lowest in almost five months on Thursday after the Federal Reserve lowered its forecast of U.S. economic growth for the next three years.

Oil was steady under $62 a barrel on Thursday, after rallying to a six-month high on Wednesday, as government data showed a steep drop in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles ahead of the summer driving season.