IBT Staff Reporter

CV Therapeutics Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. said on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. approved their new drug regadenoson or Lexiscan.

Verizon Communications Inc filed a complaint against Time Warner Cable Inc. alleging that the cable company is airing a misleading ad about its fiber-optic service.

China Coal Energy, the country's No. 2 coal producer, said its 2007 net profit rose 90.35 percent to 5.17 billion yuan due to higher coal prices and increased output.

Citigroup downgrades PetroChina from Hold to Sell, saying an earnings disappointment is coming. Citi reduced PetroChina's earnings per share estimate for 2008 by 15.4 percent and for 2009 by 5.5 percent.

Both Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets closed a bit higher Thursday,the mining and metal companies support the rebound depite Sinopec's trumble.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd.(ICBC),China's biggest bank by market value,said Thursday its first-quarter net profit expects up to more than 50% from the same year earlier.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Qatar Liquefied Natural Gas Company and Shell Group signed an LNG Sale and purchase agreement at SGT April 10.

The FTSE 100 share index fell marginally on Thursday, dropping 18.8 points to 5,965.1 (down 0.3 per cent) after the Bank of England cut interest rates from 5.25 to 5 per cent.

Morgan McKinley has released its London Employment Monitor for March 2008 and has said that the number of new job opportunities in the City fell by 2 per cent compared to February 2008, and fell 23 per cent compared with March 2007.

The High Court gave a ruling on Thursday that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted unlawfully when it dropped a corruption inquiry into an arms deal involving BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia.

Travel operator Thomas Cook has said that it expects to meet its expectations during the current financial year.

Shares in Birmingham City have been suspended at the request of officials from the club.

Reports say that German utility company RWE has made a takeover offer of £11 billion for nuclear power company British Energy. The deal values the company at 700 pence per share and would be worth £4 billion to the government who own 35 per cent of British Energy.

DSG International Plc, owner of Currys and PC World, has issued a profit warning for the second time this year.

Microsoft is the most likely suitor to merge with Yahoo, analysts contend, as several deals now vie for the Internet giant's future. Sending a clear signal that it intends to pursue all options, the search leader has solicited alternate deals, including a possible merger with AOL, or partnership with arch-rival Google.

Wal-Mart stores and Sears Holding Corp. are among the retailers in hot water with the federal regulators, after they failed to warn consumers from buying some sets may not work after next year's transition to digital broadcasts.

Treasuries fell on Thursdays as stronger earnings sent investors looking for riskier stocks, weakening demand for relatively safe, but low yielding government debt.

The dollar declined against the euro ahead of the Group of Seven nations meeting in Washington on Friday.

Yahoo is about to close a deal for combining its operations with Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit in effort to contend Microsoft's $44.6 billion takeover offer.

PDL BioPharma Inc. said on Thursday it plans to spin off its biotechnology assets into a separate entity and pay shareholders a special $500 million or $4.25 a share dividend.

Delta Air Lines gave the green light on a tentative agreement for a merger with Northwest Airlines, which will ultimately create the world's largest carrier, according to news reports.

While most companies are warning they will likely miss their profit forecasts, chemical giant DuPont upped its first-quarter profit expectations Thursday morning for the second time this year.

The second largest biotechnology company Genentech Inc. reported an increase of 12 percent in its first-quarter profits helped by more sells of its cancer drug Avastin.

Copper fell from its record on Wednesday of $4 a pound on profit-taking sell and as the dollar rallied against the euro reducing demand for commodities.

Crude futures declined on Thursday from a record high after profit-taking moves and OPEC signs of keeping output steady.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said on Thursday that the global credit crisis is in its latter stages probably approaching an end.

- Since Wednesday, April 2, natural gas spot prices increased at most markets in the Lower 48 States. Prices at the Henry Hub rose 30 cents per million Btu (MMBtu), or about 3 percent, to $9.89 per ...

Japan stocks showed continual decline Thursday because of strong yen and high fuel prices. Also investors began to fear upcoming Japanese and U.S. earnings reports that may be worse-than expected.

Gold futures ended lower Thursday, as the dollar gained against the euro on speculation a sinking European economy may lead to a cut in borrowing costs.