UNITED STATES

Sony Corp is in no hurry to cut prices on its PlayStation games console, top executives said, even though many industry experts and other executives consider it a foregone conclusion.

Oil prices rose more than 5 percent to a seven-month high above $69 a barrel on Thursday after U.S. data showed a drop in jobless claims, boosting expectations of an economic recovery that could revive ailing energy demand.

China security has tightened Tiananmen Square with hundreds of police on Thursday to prevent any commemoration of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters 20 years ago.

Oil prices rose nearly 5 percent to a seven-month high above $69 a barrel on Thursday after U.S. data showed a fall in jobless claims, raising expectations of an economic recovery and increased demand for oil.

United Airlines on Thursday said it has asked the two largest planemakers to bid on an order that could replace its widebody fleet, a move experts say could jump-start demand for new planes from embattled U.S. carriers as they wade through an economic recession.

Discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc says it will add more than 22,000 jobs in its U.S. namesake stores in 2009.

Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages surged 0.38 percentage point in the latest week, reaching its highest level since the week ending Dec. 11, 2008, according to a survey released on Thursday by home funding company Freddie Mac (FRE.N).

Angelina Jolie has toppled Oprah Winfrey and become the world’s most powerful celebrity, based on a combination of earning power and media exposure, according to Forbes magazine.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell for a third straight week last week, government data showed on Thursday, indicating some loss of force in the pace of the labor market's deterioration.

The steep decline in the U.S. economy has started to moderate, but a pending recovery is likely to be slow and marked by continued high unemployment, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Sandra Pianalto said on Thursday.

North Korea will put on trial on Thursday two U.S. journalists it says illegally entered the country with hostile intent in a contentious case that comes as Pyongyang faces international anger for last week's nuclear test.

China smothered Tiananmen Square with police on Thursday to prevent commemoration of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters 20 years ago, as Washington demanded Beijing account for those killed.

Textron Inc's Cessna unit plans another round of job cuts in the face of deteriorating demand for corporate aircraft, the diversified U.S. manufacturer said on Thursday.

Below is the prepared text U.S. President Barack Obama's speech in Egypt aimed at healing a rift with the Muslim world.

President Barack Obama called for a new beginning in relations between the United States and the Muslim world Thursday, addressing grievances over the Arab-Israeli conflict, two U.S.-led wars and tensions over Iran.

Jamie Laird had hoped to retire comfortably some day from the machinist's job he has held for 30 years, but his western Illinois manufacturing plant is closing and he now fears for his family's economic future.

World equities slipped on Thursday, led lower by emerging market stocks which outweighed gains in Europe.

The steep decline in the U.S. economy has begun to moderate, but the ensuing recovery is likely to be slow, Sandra Pianalto, President of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims Thursday, in a speech delivered at Cairo University.

Fewer U.S. workers filed new claims for jobless benefits for a third straight week last week and productivity rose at a stronger-than-expected pace in the first quarter, data showed on Thursday, supporting budding hope that the recession was losing force.

The prospect of a bumper plane order battle brightened a depressed outlook for plane manufacturers on Thursday as United Airlines was reported to be seeking 150 jets despite fresh warnings of industry losses.