IBT Staff Reporter

Chocolate maker Hershey Co posted a higher-than-expected rise in quarterly profit, helped by price increases and market share gains.

Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, bolstered by strong sales of its digital converter boxes, postpaid wireless and flat-panel televisions.

Apple Inc's quarterly profit soared past Wall Street expectations on strong sales of iPhones and iPods, underscoring the popularity of the company's relatively expensive products even in the midst of a weak economy.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday with Apple Inc set to boost technology shares after it reported strong sales even as consumers tightened their belts.

Fiat will sign on Tuesday a letter of intent to buy a majority stake in General Motors' struggling Opel unit, the website of German magazine Spiegel said on Thursday, citing sources.

Investors generally put aside recent worries about the world economy and banking industry woes on Thursday, sending global stocks higher and reversing safety flows into the Japanese yen.

Credit Suisse's first-quarter net profit far exceeded forecasts thanks to surprisingly robust trading gains and healthy rich client inflows, making it upbeat about its future while other banks still struggle.

The European Commission, taking a major step toward fining and imposing sanctions on Intel Corp for violating antitrust law, has sent a draft decision ruling against the chip maker to EU member states, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Stocks staged a comeback across most of Asia on Thursday as a larger-than-expected profit from Korea's Hyundai fed optimism that the auto sector could be nearing a turnaround and tech shares found strength on the back of buoyant earnings from Apple .

If any of the big three U.S. automakers is forced to sell assets in a liquidation, their brands and patents may attract the most interest, while the manufacturing assets could be a tough sell.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street on Thursday, after iPhones maker Apple beat forecasts with its quarterly profit overnight.

Credit Suisse on Thursday posted a net profit of 2 billion Swiss francs ($1.71 billion) for the first quarter, twice as much as expected by analysts, and said it remained optimistic about its prospects.

U.S. online auctioneer eBay Inc won final approval from South Korea's antitrust watchdog for its planned acquisition of Gmarket Inc, subject to conditions such as a commission freeze for the next three years.

LOS ANGELES - The hit family feature Marley & Me regained the No. 1 slot on the national home video sales chart during the week ended April 19, while The Day the Earth Stood Still held on to the top spot on the national video rental chart for a second consecutive week.

Japanese shares fell on Thursday as worries about the health of the global financial sector flared again after a larger-than-expected loss from Morgan Stanley and a report that top Japanese broker Nomura had also fallen deeply into the red.

President Barack Obama will weigh in on Thursday on the lending practices of U.S. credit card companies, an issue that has triggered an outcry from consumers hit with high fees and interest rates.

Logitech International S A , the world's largest computer mouse maker, reported a fourth-quarter loss on Wednesday, saying sales were hurt by weak consumer demand and the economic downturn.

Smart power grid company Echelon Corp and T-Mobile USA said on Thursday they had formed an alliance to use T-Mobile's wireless network to link smart meters to utilities.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday its group-wide sales fell 27 percent to 1.767 million vehicles in the first quarter of 2009, keeping it ahead of Volkswagen AG as the world's top-selling carmaker.

Legislation to curb credit card fees and limit consumer penalties cleared a congressional panel on Wednesday, a day ahead of a meeting between industry executives and President Barack Obama at the White House.

Police are investigating the death of Freddie Mac official after he was found dead in his house on Wednesday morning in an apparent suicide.

New legislation to control and cut credit fees and limiting consumer penalties was on Wednesday cleared by the House Financial Services Committee.

General Electric Co expects its smart grid electricity monitoring business to grow to represent $3 billion to $4 billion in annual revenue over the next three to four years, the head of its Energy Infrastructure unit said on Wednesday.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, said Wednesday it plans to nearly double the amount of solar power generated from rooftop panels on its California stores.

Gov. Phil Bredesen from Tennessee made a test-drive of Nissan's electric car on Wednesday at the automaker's headquarters in Franklin, a suburb in Nashville urging the construction of chargins stations.

The intelligence expert who prepared a still-secret study on cybersecurity for President Obama said on Wednesday the danger of attacks on U.S. computer networks cannot be fixed easily or quickly.

Political allies of the U.S. auto industry expressed serious concern on Wednesday to senior White House officials about possible carmaker bankruptcies with Chrysler LLC facing an April 30 deadline to cement an alliance to avert probable insolvency.

Business software maker VMware Inc warned that its revenue would dramatically miss Wall Street forecasts due to the weak economy and a new product launch, sending its shares down 14 percent.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has harshly criticized Pakistan's government for ceding more territory to Taliban, saying it has abdicated to the Taliban.