IBT Staff Reporter

Mylan Inc. manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical products said on Thursday an extended first quarter loss and a large increase on its revenue triggered by the purchase of Merck KGaA in October.

American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer by assets, announced plans to raise $12.5 billion in capital as it posted its second straight big quarterly loss.

The Internet's most popular social networking site MySpace will soon allow their members to share their public profile information on other online services.

Copper prices fell on Thursday as inventories of the metal rose, easing supply concerns.

Japan stocks declined Thursday as investors sold issues which gained recently for profit-taking. Also strong yen led investors sell export-oriented issues such as Toyota and Honda.

Wheat rallied on speculations that low grain prices will increase buying by flour millers and cereal makers.

China's stocks rose the most in a week, led by energy companies and China Unicom, which will benefit from the coming restructuring of the telecom industry.

Gold futures ended with strong gains on Thursday as record energy costs and weakness in the U.S. dollar boosted the demand for a hedge against inflation.

Microsoft is set to place more emphasis on making mobile phones as one of its strategies to develop the Information Technology infrastructure in developing nations, based partly on a prototype that was developed for Fone+.

Crude futures climbed past $124 a barrel in electronic trading late afternoon, recovering from earlier weakness as traders continued to have concerns over global supplies, while OPEC commented the market is well supplied.

Since Wednesday, April 30, natural gas spot prices increased at most markets in the Lower 48 States. Prices at the Henry Hub rose 27 cents per million Btu (MMBtu), or about 2.5 percent, to $11.08 per MMBtu.

Microsoft's satellite imagery project was sued over the TerraServer name, by a small North Carolina company alleging that the firm was using its name which is already registered.

Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics retailer, will open its first stores in Europe by paying $2.1 billion for a 50 percent stake in Europe's largest cell phone retailer, the companies announced Thursday.

Coffee posted record gains on Thursday amid concerns that frost will harm Brazil's crops, the world's largest coffee grower.

Warner Music on Thursday posted a higher than expected net loss in its second quarter and suspended a quarterly dividend in order to raise cash and lower its debt.

Toyota Motor Corp said its profit declined in the first three months of the year and expects a profit drop for the current year due to a weak U.S. market, a stronger yen, and rising raw materials and energy costs.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday in the wake of higher gold prices and sales from retailers and media companies were higher than expected.

Agrium Inc's chief executive says the company is looking into possible new development of potash mines in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, according to a report.

Expeditors International of Washington Inc. provider of global logistic services, reported on Wednesday its first-quarter net earnings increased to $66.47 million or 31 cents a share from $59.29 million or 28 cents a year ago.

Copper futures fell for a second straight day on Wednesday as a labor strike in Chile ended and speculation that higher prices will reduce demand from China rose.

Corn and soybeans rallied for the second day amid concerns that planting delays caused by cold, wet weather will reduce crop yields in the U.S.

Dollar rose against the euro yesterday as weak economic data from the Euro zone put pressure on the euro helping the counterpart.

The dollar gained versus the euro on Thursday as members of the European Central Bank gather today for a meeting to decide on economic policy.

Sterling fell against the dollar yesterday with weak consumer morale output and jobs figures keeping investors focused on a sharply slowing UK economy and the prospect of further interest rate cuts.

ZymoGenetics Inc., developer and manufacturer of therapeutic proteins, was told by the Food and Drugs Administration that its promotion of the treatment Recothrom had false and misleading material according to a letter released today.

AMD Inc, the world's second largest chipmaker, announced updated plans for new computer server processors on Wednesday, including versions with six and twelve processing cores.

Medtronic Inc., a medical device maker, reported late Wednesday it was recalling certain devices coated with contaminated blood-thinner, Heparin.

China's Xinjiang Land and Resources Office said today that the province discovered new natural resources, among which, coal reserves totaled 18.98 billion tons.

News Corp., the owner of the MySpace Web site and Fox television, said on Wednesday its quarterly net profit rose three-fold on higher advertising sales and on a gain from the sale of its stake in DirecTV Group Inc.