UNITED STATES

When China's government has signaled monetary tightening in recent weeks, U.S. stocks have fallen.

The benefit to the U.S. population would be comparable to cutting smoking by 50 percent, significantly lowering obesity rates and giving cholesterol drugs to virtually everyone to prevent heart attacks, said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California, San Francisco and colleagues.

A record breaking movie box office take in 2009 was not enough to stave off Hollywood job losses last year, but 2010 is expected to bring a modest recovery of up to 3,000 jobs, in part due to an increase in TV productions, according to an economic report released on Thursday.

Oil rose near $78 a barrel on Thursday as worries that China will take further measures to temper its booming economy were overshadowed by its return to double-digit growth for the first time since 2008.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless insurance unexpectedly rose last week, but a jump to a record high in a gauge of economic prospects eased concerns about the recovery.

Global growth is set to blossom this year on the back of resurgent Asian economies and as the world's richest nations emerge from the deepest recession since the Second World War, according to a Reuters poll.

Continental Airlines and Southwest Airlines results topped Wall Street estimates as more people booked flights and ticket prices rose, but the airlines said the path to recovery would be rough.

China sought to contain tension with the United States over online censorship and hacking, saying Google's dispute with Beijing should not be over-stated, ahead of a possible challenge from Washington on Internet freedom.

As lenders continue to curtail access to mortgages, credit cards and other types of loans, one area of the credit market is rapidly expanding: student loans.

The end of the Federal Reserve's program to buy mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could have a ripple effect on the market for U.S. government bonds.

President Barack Obama will propose stricter limits on financial risk-taking on Thursday in his latest populist-tinged move to crack down on banks and address the roots of the financial crisis.

Cadbury's big UK investors expect Kraft's $19.3 billion acquisition of the British confectioner will go ahead despite Kraft's top shareholder Warren Buffett saying the takeover is a bad deal.

The city of Baghdad asked foreign companies on Thursday to sign up for a project to design and build 75,000 apartments, the first phase of a $10 billion plan to rebuild the Iraqi capital's sprawling Sadr City slum.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc , which had been on track to pay employees a near-record amount, instead set aside nothing for compensation in the fourth quarter and gave $500 million to charity.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday called for global condemnation for those who carry out cyber attacks as China sought to contain tension with the United States over online censorship and hacking.

Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by moderating flu costs and growth in its businesses serving the elderly and low-income Americans, and its shares rose 3.6 percent.

The S&P 500 turned positive and the Dow pared losses on Thursday following a rise in a gauge of the U.S. economy's prospects and a snapshot of factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose last week as claims delayed from the year-end holidays were pushed through, government data showed on Thursday.

Former senator John Edwards admitted Thursday to fathering a child with mistress Rielle Hunter after initially denying paternity.

Former Democratic Senator John Edwards admitted today that he fathers a girl with Rielle Hunter, a videographer that was hired during his presidential campaign.

U.S. stocks were set for a flat open on Thursday as a rise in initial weekly jobless claims offset better-than-expected earnings from several banks, including Goldman Sachs Group .