IBT Staff Reporter

Japan's agricultural ministry graded the current rice crop situation index as rather bad on average nationwide, the ministry said on Thursday.

Japan expects the amount of domestic crude steel production for 2006 to reach the third-most in its history, the government reported on Thursday.

Electronics maker Sanyo Electronic Co. will consolidate its production of household appliances into its commercial appliance production and dismantle its household appliance division, the maker said on Thursday.

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s top lawyer resigned on Thursday as U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers scolded current and former top executives for invading individuals' privacy to find the source of boardroom leaks. The scandal has claimed the jobs of four senior executives technology firm.

Research in Motion's popular Blackberry mobile device has been the undisputed market leader since its start, however the company now faces challenges as rivals offer similar devices, a new report indicates.

Intel Corp. has introduced new wireless reference designs on Thursday, making way for wireless universal serial buses (USB) in the future.

The age requirement for the Kiddie Tax,” rose from 14 to 17 or younger, following the introduction of a new law. The tax is currently placed on children who earn over $1,700 or more in non-wage income.

Minority home buyers in the U.S. formed the fastest growing group obtaining new home mortgages last year, according to a survey released on Thursday.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation said on Wednesday it had secured a five year, $800-million revolving credit facility with a group of banks led by Citigroup and Bank of America.

The National Association of Realtors expressed concern on Wednesday over the expansion of banking powers by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an agency within the Department of the Treasury.

Hibernian Life & Pensions today announced in a statement that it had added three new funds to the AID pension product range.

In a statement released today, Nokia announced that it had received information that the holdings of Capital Group Companies

Honda today announced an increase in production at its Swindon Car Plant, a move which should create an extra 700 jobs in the UK.

ICAP, the interdealer broker today announced a trade update ahead of the closed period following its financial half year ended 30th September 2006.

3i Group Plc, announced today that it would be holding discussions with analysts and investors ahead of its close period for the six months ended 30th September 2006

According to a study released on Thursday, the number of internet users engaging in local search queries continues to grow.

Buena Vista Games, Inc, (BVG) today announced that it had acquired Climax Racing from Climax Group Ltd.

Restaurant operator Wendy's International Inc. on Thursday said a U.S. district judge in New York denied a noteholders' suit seeking to enjoin a planned spin-off of Canadian coffee shop chain Tim Hortons Inc, in which Wendy's is the majority shareholder.

While the Unites States still leads the world with nearly 40 percent of global semiconductor purchasing, China is expected to achieve the leading growth among the top 10 nations, according to research released on Thursday.

Semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced on Thursday that they are teaming up with a China's second largest PC provider, providing processors to the company's whole line of offerings.

Within five years, a quarter of all software sales wont come in traditional off-the-shelf packages as they do today, but they will be hosted on remote servers, with users paying per usage, one research firm states.

New claims for U.S. jobless aid fell by a slightly more-than-expected 6,000 last week, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, and remained at levels suggesting a stable jobs market.

Google Inc.'s Michael Jones likes to take pictures with a super high-resolution camera like those used on spy planes during the Cold War.

Chinese car maker Geely is considering whether to make cars in the United States in order to begin selling there as soon as 2008, its chairman said on Thursday.

A slowing U.S. housing market may not indicate that the broader national economy is sickly.Despite months of glum news about slow housing sales and faltering new construction, many economists

Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said negotiators were trying to resolve differences in auto alliance talks between the French automaker, Japan's Nissan and General Motors.

The result would be the 3rd consecutive year of profit for the Europe division.

U.S. lawmakers on Thursday plan to shine a spotlight on Hewlett-Packard Co.'s snooping into the telephone records of some board members and journalists, a practice that Congress may soon ban. Chief Executive Mark Hurd and former chairman Patricia Dunn will tell their side of the story.

MySpace, the social networking Web site, could be worth around $15 billion within three years, measured in terms of the value created for shareholders of parent company News Corp., a Wall Street media analyst forecast on Wednesday.