IBT Staff Reporter

Research in Motion (RIM) has hired Don Lindsay, fromer Apple designer, as its new vice president of user experience, according to Moconews, which saw a change in his Linked In profile

ING Groep NV said Thursday it plans to sell operations worth about 8 billion euros ($10.6 billion), taking ING back to basics on all levels, CEO designate Jan Hommen said.

Southeast Asian nations finalized their contributions Thursday to increase the size of planned foreign exchange pool from $80 billion to $120 billion in order to fight the global financial crisis.

French politicians have rejected a bill that would have cut off the internet service of anyone found to be three times repeatedly illegally downloading music or videos.

China has denied a report issued yesterday stating that it had penetrated the U.S. electrical grid.

Textron Inc shares rose more than 48 percent on Thursday after a report that a consortium of companies were offering to buy the world's largest Helicopter and private jets maker.

The U.S. Treasury Department is asking banks not to mention the regulatory stress tests as part of their first-quarter earnings results, according to a source familiar with government discussions.

China Merchants Bank the country's sixth-largest lender, said its net profit in 2008 rose 38.27 percent to 21.08 billion yuan ($3.08 billion).

The U.S. Treasury Department is asking banks not to mention the regulatory stress tests as part of their first-quarter earnings results, according to a source familiar with government discussions.

Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) is looking at the possibility of adding electric vehicles to its lineup, U.S. Chief Executive John Krafcik said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama, saying he was committed to a strong U.S. auto industry, announced on Thursday the government would buy 17,600 new fuel-efficient vehicles from ailing American automakers by June 1.

A year ago, General Motors Corp rolled out rapper 50 Cent to launch a new sport truck at the New York Auto Show. This year it sent executives in suits with a PowerPoint presentation.

The trustee liquidating Bernard Madoff's brokerage is seeking the return of $150 million that an offshore investor withdrew less than two months before the jailed swindler's arrest, saying the money should be returned to other customers.

If Wells Fargo's upbeat first-quarter performance is any sign, Wall Street could rally further next week on any reassuring news from three other big banks due to post quarterly results.

Google's YouTube and Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, said on Thursday they will launch a premium music video website as they bid to increase revenue from YouTube's huge usage.

Chevron Corp warned that first-quarter earnings would be sharply lower than the previous quarter as lower oil and gas prices took a toll and refined-product margins shrank significantly.

Somali pirates are on the run and the international community must do more to trace the money trail to find their backers, the U.N. envoy to Somalia said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama, saying he was committed to a strong U.S. auto industry, announced on Thursday the government would buy 17,600 new fuel-efficient vehicles from ailing American automakers by June 1.

Boeing Co warned on Thursday first-quarter profit would be slashed by lower-than-expected airplane prices and production cuts on its lucrative widebody planes as cash-strapped airlines defer purchases, sending its shares down 3.6 percent in after-hours trading.

North Korea re-elected Kim Jong-il as its supreme military leader at its newly seated parliament on Thursday, marking his return to center stage as the country celebrates what it calls a triumphant satellite launch.

Maritime experts reacting on Thursday to the stirring tale of 20 unarmed U.S. crew members wresting back control of their hijacked freighter from armed pirates off Somalia agreed on one thing: they were lucky.

President Evo Morales went on a hunger strike on Thursday to demand Bolivia's Congress pass an electoral law that could make it easier for him to win control of the legislature in December's general election.

Diversified healthcare company Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it was eliminating 900 positions from its Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceutical unit in the latest downsizing move in the drug industry.

The Obama administration is seeking $83.4 billion in funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, including $75.8 billion for the Pentagon, for the rest of the 2009 fiscal year, a government official said Thursday.

The United States economy will skid more deeply into recession in coming months, Federal Reserve policy-makers warned on Thursday, but it is time to start planning how to wind down spending to avert an inflationary surge.

Stocks jumped on Thursday after Wells Fargo said it expects to report a record quarterly profit, fueling a month-long rally prompted by hopes that deterioration in the financial sector was abating.

ESPN will launch a website dedicated to the Chicago market on Monday in an effort to reach more fans and generate more revenue from local advertisers, after more than ten years on the radio in the Windy City.

Boeing Co said on Thursday that it would cut airplane production in 2010, citing weak business conditions for commercial customers such as airlines and cargo operators, sending its shares down 3 percent in extended trading.

Google Inc's YouTube and Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, said on Thursday they will launch a premium music video website as they bid to increase revenue from YouTube's huge usage.