UNITED STATES

Oil prices jumped more than 2 percent on Thursday, touching a one-year high after government data showed a steep, unexpected drop in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories.

U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday after Goldman Sachs and Citigroup reported quarterly results, but losses were limited after positive oil inventory data helped energy shares.

A common gene that can cause abnormal heart rhythms can also trigger epileptic seizures in the brain and may explain the sudden, unexplained deaths that often occur in people with epilepsy, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Shares of Lazard Ltd dropped nearly 3 percent on Thursday following news that its chief executive, legendary Wall Street deal maker Bruce Wasserstein, had died at the age of 61.

Garth Brooks, the best-selling solo musician in U.S. history, said on Thursday he was coming out of retirement and was expected to announce an extended concert run at the Wynn Las Vegas casino and hotel.

The Dow Jones industrial average briefly turned positive on Thursday as resurgent crude oil prices lifted energy shares, but both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq held near break-even due to caution about earnings.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Thursday its car sales in China in September rose 45 percent from a year earlier to a record monthly high of about 72,000 vehicles as stimulus policies bolstered consumer confidence.

Hundreds of workers at General Motors Co GM.UL's Thai assembly plant ended a 10-day strike on Thursday after settling a pay dispute with the management, the U.S. auto maker said in a statement.

U.S. consumer prices edged up in September, the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a nine-month low last week and New York state factory activity perked up this month, more proof the economy was healing after a protracted recession.

Citigroup Inc posted a quarterly per-share loss as it suffered $8 billion of credit losses, raising questions about when the bank can return to sustained profitability.

Oil rose toward $76 a barrel on Thursday, its sixth straight session of gains in spite of a brief midsession stumble as the euro fell on disappointing Q3 earnings reports, traders said.

Oil rose toward $76 a barrel on Thursday in its sixth straight session of gains after a government inventory report showed large drops in gasoline and distillate stocks, surprising the market.

U.S. clothing chain Gap Inc plans to open its first store in China next year as it seeks new international opportunities to counteract a protracted domestic sales slump at its main brand.

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe became the most-watched lawmaker in the U.S. healthcare debate by following one of the oldest and most pragmatic of maxims -- that all politics is local.

Older people who have been infected with or vaccinated against seasonal flu may have a type of immunity produced by cells that protects them from the swine flu virus, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it has recovered most of the data feared lost by users of its Sidekick mobile phone, following a Microsoft server computer failure.

Hospital and other healthcare workers are at the front of the line to get the new swine flu vaccine, but many are resisting and even fighting vaccination requirements.

Charles Schwab Corp said on Thursday its quarterly profit fell 34 percent, meeting expectations, as fee waivers and lower trading by clients continued to weigh on the leading U.S. online brokerage.

As the recession takes a bite out of video games sales in the stores, consumers are opting to download more games to save money while keeping themselves entertained.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is launching a new version of its touchscreen Storm smartphone, marking its latest move in the fight with Apple's iPhone.

A U.S. cap-and-trade market on greenhouse gases should be designed carefully to avoid unfair economic pain in fossil fuel industries and other parts of the economy, experts told lawmakers on Wednesday.