UNITED STATES

The Federal Reserve should shift quantitative easing policies based on the U.S. economy's evolution, in the same way those changes guide interest rate policy, a top Fed official said on Thursday.

Stocks clung to tiny gains in afternoon trading on Thursday, retreating from an earlier advance as lower energy prices and an unexpected fall in home sales offset optimism stirred by retailers' better-than-expected monthly sales.

After digesting a slew of economic data, the stock market edges higher in the afternoon session as big banks and apparel retailers emerge as market leaders.

U.S. retailers posted their best monthly sales performance since just before the recession started in 2007, as lean inventories meant they did not need to resort to steep discounts.

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will come out with a new book that is a celebration of American virtues and strengths, publisher HarperCollins announced on Thursday.

U.S. stocks inched higher at midday on Thursday, paring earlier gains, as lower energy prices and an unexpected fall in home sales offset optimism stirred by retailers' better-than-expected monthly sales.

With Yemen's oil revenues plunging, the government's push into the gas market seemed like an economic saving grace for a state wracked by poverty and terrorism, but analysts warn more thought should be given to carving out the country's post-petroleum era. The infamous Christmas Day bomber's attempts to blow up a jet approaching Detroit - which Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for - has drawn unwanted attention to the country's vulnerability to terrorist movem...

The official supervising the government's bailout investment in Citigroup said Thursday that the government intends to sell its holdings in the bank in a responsible manner within the next year.

Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc , the third-largest U.S. fast-food restaurant operator, issued a 2010 earnings growth forecast below Wall Street's view, sending its shares down 1.6 percent.

The number of U.S. workers filing for jobless benefits fell last week, but a surprise decline in January pending home sales contracts to a 10-month low underscored the slow nature of the economic recovery.

The European Central Bank took a small step toward unwinding its extraordinary support for the euro zone economy Thursday, but it forecast a fragile recovery and left much of its cash buffer for banks in place.

The U.S. stock market erased morning gains to trade negative for the day, despite declining unemployment claims, better than expected sales from retailers, and Greece's successful auction of its 10-year bonds.

Stocks pared early gains on Thursday, hurt as weaker-than-expected energy demand hit the oil and gas sector, offsetting solid February retail sales figures.

U.S. stocks turned negative on Thursday, pulled lower by energy shares as the price of oil fell nearly $1 to $79.94 a barrel.

Google announced a new search application for its Android mobile operating system, designed to boost user productivity, but has Android users outside of the U.S. upset as it is only available in the U.S. market.

Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc , the No. 3 U.S. fast-food chain, reported a stronger-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday.

Reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il plans to visit China in mid-March, Kyodo news agency said on Thursday, as Washington sees signs that Pyongyang may end a year-long boycott of international nuclear disarmament talks.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday Western powers were trying to widen differences between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims to divert attention from the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Four Islamist militants who admitted planning a monstrous bloodbath with foiled car bomb attacks on U.S. targets in Germany were convicted on Thursday of conspiracy to murder.

Afghanistan will block Internet sites with sexual or violent content, a minister said on Thursday, but the government denied the ban was another attempt at censorship or would include the Taliban's website.