UNITED STATES

Stock index futures fell on Thursday after manufacturing data in the euro zone and China increased worry about a slowing global economy.

High oil prices affect politics, schools, jobs, public budgets and almost every industry. But current pressures could be augmented if war breaks out between Israel or the United States and Iran, with the result being a costly disruption in global supply.

The so called iPhone 5 rumor mill got a fresh boost up Wednesday after a reported surfaced claiming that Apple is moving along with development of the next iteration of iPhone, and is now in the process of reviewing components submitted by suppliers for potential use in the device.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower opening on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.6 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.57 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.58 percent at 1000 GMT.

Apple’s highly rumored iPhone 5 is doing the rounds on the internet at the moment with different tech blogs and websites talking about different rumored specifications for the device.

Crude oil prices declined in European trade Thursday as sentiment was dampened after reports indicated a sharp slowdown in the Chinese manufacturing activity in March.

North Korea has warned it won't tolerate any criticism on its planned satellite launch. North Korea has threatened the critics of its nuclear weapons program that any denigration would be considered a declaration of war, New York Times reported.

A lawsuit that accused Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of defrauding investors was refused dismissal by a federal judge in Manhattan, according to the latest reports.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), including Russia and China, stands united in its approach to put an end to the violent uprising in Syria by issuing an ultimatum to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Medicines are meant for saving lives, but sometimes a casual handling proves them to be fatal.

It's not quite Easy Street, but more money is starting to flow along Main Street.

A federal watchdog faulted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies propped up with taxpayer funds, for questionable spending on a mortgage industry conference last year, in a report released on Thursday.

Asian shares gave back earlier gains Thursday after data showed China's factory activity shrank for a fifth successive month, underscoring concerns about a growth slowdown in the world's second largest economy.

Asian shares inched up Thursday but remained in ranges as investors waited for manufacturing data from China and the euro zone due during this session for more clues about the state of their economies.

Apple Inc's new iPhone will have a sharper and bigger 4.6-inch retina display and is set to be launched around the second quarter, a South Korean media reported on Thursday.

Communications regulators proposed on Wednesday a path for making satellite airwaves available for mobile broadband use, a rulemaking that could help Dish Network Corp launch a wireless cellular network.

AMR Corp , the bankrupt parent of American Airlines, will ask a U.S. bankruptcy court to reject nine collective bargaining agreements with unions, after failing to secure cost-cutting concessions from its labor groups, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

Starbucks Corp said on Wednesday it would spend $180 million on U.S. factories, creating 150 manufacturing jobs, and that it would get into the $8 billion U.S. energy drink market with a new product.

Bank of America Corp has eliminated jobs in its equities, mortgage-backed securities and research divisions in recent weeks, two sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Germany's Deutsche Bank AG changed the legal status of its main U.S. subsidiary, Taunus Corp, as a way to avoid injecting billions of dollars of capital into the unit by 2015.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 21 - Hewlett Packard Co will merge its printer and PC businesses, combining two of its largest divisions as Chief Executive Meg Whitman tries to jumpstart growth at the technology company.