IBT Staff Reporter

President Barack Obama's budget outline calls for eliminating substantial tax breaks and increasing fees for the oil and natural gas industry.

Finnish authorities should monitor the Internet more effectively and tighten licensing of firearms to prevent more gun massacres in schools, a government commission said on Thursday. The inquiry was set up after 18-year-old Pekka-Eric Auvinen shot 8 people and himself in November 2007 in Jokela high school near Helsinki. Less than a year later, Matti Saari, 22, killed 10 people and himself at a vo...

General Motors Corp said on Thursday it expects auditors to cast doubt on the automaker's ability to remain viable as it endures the worst market in decades. GM posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss as revenue plunged by more than a third. The automaker also warned its pension plans for hourly and salaried workers were underfunded by about $12.4 billion as of the end of 2008. ...

General Motors Corp said on Thursday it expects auditors to cast doubt on the automaker's ability to remain viable as it endures the worst market in decades. GM posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss as revenue plunged by more than a third. The automaker also warned its pension plans for hourly and salaried workers were underfunded by about $12.4 billion as of the end of 2008. ...

Bank Sarasin is adding U.S. stocks to its New Power Fund following the signing of a $787 billion stimulus package by President Obama, of which 13.5 percent has been earmarked for climate change initiatives.

Retailer Sears Holdings Corp posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday as it cut costs during the recession, and said it was closing 24 additional stores. The company controlled by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert reported net income of $190 million, or $1.55 a diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended January 31, compared with $426 million, or $3.17 a share, a ...

all with the click of your thumb. Dogs have not only had star billing in Hollywood recently due to string of canine movies like Hotel for Dogs, Marley and Me, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua, but are also becoming more prevalent in videogames with a list of new doggy games. Ubisoft has worked with dog behavior specialist Cesar Millan, host of National Geographic Channel's The Dog Whispere...

General Motors Corp said on Thursday it expects auditors to cast doubt on the automaker's ability to remain viable as it endures the worst market in decades. GM posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss as revenue plunged by more than a third. The automaker also warned its pension plans for hourly and salaried workers were underfunded by about $12.4 billion as of the end of 2008. ...

U.S. President Barack Obama's call for sweeping investment in clean energy and for carbon cap-and-trade legislation won praise from analysts and the renewables industry, saying it is a rallying call for other nations.

Royal Bank of Scotland reported the biggest loss in British history on Thursday and said the government's stake could rise as high as 95 percent after it stumped up billions to insure the bank's risky assets. RBS also unveiled plans to cut 2.5 billion pounds ($3.56 billion) in costs as part of a restructuring plan which will see it exit or reduce its presence in 36 of the 54 countries it operate...

President Barack Obama will forecast a 2009 deficit of $1.75 trillion in a budget proposal on Thursday that sets goals of overhauling the healthcare system and shoring up the U.S. economy.

Oil rose above $43 a barrel on Thursday after the United Arab Emirates announced deeper cuts in crude supply to Asia for April in a possible signal that OPEC will cut output further at its next meeting in March.

Retailer Sears Holdings Corp posted a lower quarterly profit on Thursday as sales fell and it took charges for store closures. The company controlled by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert reported net income of $190 million, or $1.55 a diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended on January 31, compared with $426 million, or $3.17 a share, a year earlier. The results included charges ...

Oil rose to $43 a barrel on Thursday after the United Arab Emirates announced deeper cuts in crude supply to Asia for April in a possible signal that OPEC will cut output further at its next meeting in March. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co , the main oil supplier in the UAE, said it will sell customers less of its flagship Murban crude oil and three other main grades in April than in March. The move ca...

Beleaguered U.S. insurance giant American International Group may allow the U.S. government to take control of certain assets should the sale of stakes in various units fail to produce attractive offers, according to a source close to the matter.

whether Obama's package is able to put a floor to the slide in the broader economy.

whether Obama's package is able to put a floor to the slide in the broader economy.

Deutsche Post said it was still in talks over a possible cooperation with United Parcel Service , providing a sought-for update on its drawn-out negotiations. But a tie-up with other providers was also a viable option, Europe's biggest mail and express delivery company said in presentation slides on Thursday. In 2008, Deutsche Post and UPS agreed to cooperate on air ...

Asian stocks edged lower on Thursday after an early rally fizzled and investors found few incentives to make long-term bets with economic and corporate profit prospects worsening.

U.S. banking regulators are not pursuing nationalization of troubled institutions struggling to shed toxic assets from their balance sheets, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said on Wednesday. Nationalization means different things for different people but nationalization is not the route we're pursuing now, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair told reporters after speaking to a group ...

U.S. banking regulators are not pursuing nationalization of troubled institutions struggling to shed toxic assets from their balance sheets, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said on Wednesday.

Asian stocks edged up on Thursday as investors bet government stress tests of U.S. banks will bring the ailing industry closer to a fix, while the dollar extended its rally against the yen. Mounting economic damage and prolonged political uncertainty in Japan have tarnished the yen's safe haven reputation, sending investors back into the dollar despite America's own economic troubles. An upw...

whether Obama's package is able to put a floor to the slide in the broader economy.

American International Group and U.S. authorities are in advanced discussions over a radical restructuring that would split the insurer into at least three government-controlled divisions in an attempt to keep it afloat, the Financial Times reported on its website, citing people close to the situation.

Bank of America is looking to sell a private bank it inherited from Merrill Lynch & Co, a banker familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Citigroup Inc is closing in on an agreement to boost the U.S. government's stake in it to as much as 40 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website, citing people familiar with the situation.

Recently, Flaws were discovered in version 10.0.12.36 of Adobe Systems Inc. flash Player that could enable an attacker to take control of an affected system or execute arbitrary code.

US Treasuries fell in Wednesday's session, after the results of the government's sale of $32 billion of five year notes, the debt instruments considered to be on the long end of the recession /recovery curve

On January 9, Microsoft had previously released a patch via Windows comprehensive update for Internet Explorer 8 for the beta operating systems that aimed at plugging numerous compatibility and reliability holes in Internet Explorer 8.