IBT Staff Reporter

An unexpected drop in new claims for U.S. jobless aid hinted that the country's battered labor market might be steadying, government data showed on Thursday, although employment conditions remain very weak.

U.S. regulators told top banks on Thursday to raise $74.6 billion to build a capital cushion officials hope will restore faith in financial firms and set a course out of the deepest recession in decades.

Activision Blizzard Inc.'s first-quarter profit beat expectations on strong sales of the videogame maker's most popular titles like Guitar Hero and Call of Duty.

U.S. regulators told top banks on Thursday to raise $74.6 billion to build a capital cushion officials hope will restore faith in financial firms and set a course out of the deepest recession in decades.

President Barack Obama on Thursday proposed to wring $17 billion in savings from the fiscal 2010 budget as he sought to allay worries about soaring deficits and build support for a hefty domestic agenda.

The Obama administration has proposed cutting billions of dollars in big tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies on Thursday.

Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Officer, Jereoen van der Veer mocked electric vehicles, saying the cars' technology is a thing of the past and requires too much infrastructure.

The European Central Bank (ECB) Thursday cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points to 1% and is likely to unveil more measures to boost the economy of the euro area.

Search engine operator Google Inc. said Thursday it has eliminated over half its greenhouse gas emissions over the last 5 years and has compensated for the emissions it cannot eliminate with carbon offsets.

Xerox unveils its top of the line ColorQube series printer, a ground-breaking high-speed solid ink multifunction printer that can reduce cost and energy

Hedge fund manager Doug Kass said he is selectively shorting U.S. financial stocks, which have more than doubled since bottoming in early March, on the belief that they have been priced to perfection ahead of the banks' stress test results later on Thursday.

Wells Fargo & Co , the fourth-largest U.S. bank, announced on Thursday a $6 billion common stock offering, as the bank faces regulatory stress tests to determine whether it needs to strengthen its capital.

The U.S. government was preparing on Thursday to draw a line separating the weak from the strong in the banking sector in an attempt to put the worst of the financial crisis behind it.

U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as investors took profits from the technology sector's recent surge, while analyst downgrades hurt telecoms and a tepid response to a government bond auction raised fears about public finances.

European governments, employers and trade unions agreed on a plan Thursday to fight fast- rising unemployment.

Jordanian Islamist leaders on Thursday condemned Pope Benedict's visit to the Middle East, saying it was provocative because he has not apologized for offending comments implying Islam was violent and irrational.

Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers’ All-Star outfielder, was suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games on Thursday for violating its performance-enhancing drug testing program, the Major League Baseball said.

Outbreaks of the new H1N1 swine flu continue to spread across the United States, with 896 confirmed cases and more to come, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday.

U.S. special envoy Scott Gration called on Sudan on Thursday to carry out credible elections, due next year, and pledged Washington's support for a referendum on southern independence set for 2011.

At least two-thirds of the $410 billion of U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities loans that mature from this year through 2018 are not likely to qualify for refinancing, according to a report by Deutsche Bank.

Pirates have fired small arms weapons at a U.S. Navy supply ship off the coast of Eastern Somalia, the first attack of this kind since last year's surge in pirate attacks, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday.

President Obama and Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston both have employed the same “commonsensical” idea, one that more businesses would do well to emulate if they want to get better business results, especially in these difficult times.

Oil prices closed at a near six-month high on Thursday amid simmering hopes for an economic recovery that could lift ailing world energy demand.

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it will buy computer game designer BigPark Inc for an undisclosed amount, as it pushes its strategy of producing exclusive games for its Xbox entertainment system.

The European Central Bank said it will buy up bonds for the first time and trimmed its main interest rate to a record low on Thursday in a bid to stem the euro zone's economic decline and shore up shaky markets.

NEW YORK, May 7 - Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N) floated a plan to spin off of its Madison Square Garden business, which includes its New York Knicks basketball team and Radio City Music Hall, and it posted a first-quarter profit.

The biggest regulatory changes since the 1930s are bearing down on the U.S. securities and investment industry and many firms are ill-prepared, says a new study by research firm TowerGroup .

Stocks slid on Thursday as investors booked profits in the hard-charging technology sector, while analyst downgrades hurt the telecom sector and a tepid response to a government bond auction undercut sentiment.

The greenback was mixed on the Thursday session, initially sharply lower against the euro before recovering by afternoon trading.