IBT Staff Reporter

Cell phone maker Motorola Inc posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss thanks to cost cuts that helped offset a sharp drop in cellphone sales.

Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy on Thursday after talks to restructure its debt with lenders broke down.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday he would tell his family to stay off planes or subways to avoid swine flu, prompting his office to go into damage control and the travel industry to complain.

Stocks pared gains on Thursday after an Obama administration official said beleaguered U.S. automaker Chrysler LLC will file for bankruptcy protection in New York almost immediately.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday pressed Congress to quickly approve $83.4 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for aid to Pakistan.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment aid fell unexpectedly last week, suggesting the pace of layoffs was easing, even as benefit rolls in mid-April swelled to another record high.

Industrial conglomerate Tyco International Ltd posted a net $2.57 billion quarterly net loss as it wrote down assets in light of the weak economy, but earnings before special items beat Wall Street expectations.

Chrysler LLC is expected to file for bankruptcy on Thursday after talks to restructure its debt with lenders broke down, a U.S. government official said.

North Korea on Wednesday threatened a new nuclear test unless the U.N. Security Council apologized for tightening sanctions, confirming some analysts' fears that Pyongyang is determined to build an atomic arsenal.

China said on Thursday the possibility of North Korea conducting a second nuclear test was hypothetical, so it could not say how it would affect relations.

Walt Disney Co has reached a deal to become a partner in the popular Hulu video website founded by NBC Universal and News Corp, the media company said on Thursday.

The death toll from twin car bomb blasts in a crowded Baghdad market rose to 51 Thursday, police said, and the country's main Sunni political party condemned the attack on a heavily Shi'ite Muslim area.

Russia took formal control over the de-facto borders of Georgia's rebel regions on Thursday a week before NATO military exercises in Georgia that President Dmitry Medvedev said amounted to a challenge from the West.

Oil retreated toward $50 a barrel on Thursday, erasing earlier gains after weak U.S. employment data and news that U.S. automaker Chrysler will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress Wednesday approved a $3.4 trillion compromise budget plan for the 2010 fiscal year, clinching a big victory for President Barack Obama on his 100th day in office but with no Republican support.

A vacant five story building located on 69 Reade Street TriBeCa collapsed partially just after 6:15am this morning; there were no reported casualties from the collapse

The Pakistan army battled through mountain passes on Thursday in a third day of fighting to evict Taliban fighters from a strategic valley, after U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed its newfound resolve.

Stocks climbed on Thursday as better-than-expected company profits and a decline in initial jobless claims stoked optimism that the economic slump is showing signs of abating.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon told his people to stay home from Friday for a five-day partial shutdown of the economy, after the World Health Organization said a swine flu pandemic was imminent.

Procter & Gamble Co posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, but trimmed its fiscal 2009 outlook and did not offer a 2010 forecast at a time when investors are searching for clarity amid the recession.

President Barack Obama sought to reassure Americans on Wednesday he was making progress tackling the economic crisis and in fixing the U.S. image abroad, but urged patience.

Apple Inc is hiring new employees from the semiconductor industry and is building the capability to design its own chips, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

With the recession impacting college students, MTV's college network mtvU is turning to one medium it knows will get attention to help teach students to cope with tough financial times -- a video game.

Motorola Inc said its second-quarter loss will narrow after first quarter results came in stronger than expected thanks to deep cost cuts, sending shares up 1 percent.

Chrysler LLC will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reorganize the troubled carmaker after talks with debt holders broke down, an Obama administration official said, according to reports.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, but the weak job market continued to pressure incomes and spending in March, government data showed on Thursday.

Wall Street was set for a gain of more than 1 percent on Thursday as better-than-expected company profits in the first quarter and a surprise total of new jobless claims stoked optimism the recession is showing signs of easing.

Exxon Mobil Corp , the world's largest publicly traded company, posted a 58 percent drop in quarterly profit, missing Wall Street estimates, as the global recession sliced into demand for crude oil and depressed prices.

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson posted weaker-than-expected underlying earnings, hit by a slumping global mobile phone market and cutbacks in investments by operators.