UNITED STATES

Barnes & Noble Inc reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and raised its full-year outlook on Thursday, boosted by cost-cutting and sales that fell less than planned in a weak book retail market.

U.S. emissions of the main greenhouse gas -- carbon dioxide -- from energy sources, such as gasoline, diesel and coal, fell a record 2.8 percent last year as the recession hit consumer demand for fuel, the government said on Wednesday.

New York's mayor and police chief sought to calm Jewish worshipers on Thursday, the morning after authorities said they foiled a plot to blow up two synagogues and simultaneously shoot down military planes.

Fiat SpA's chief executive sees his company in pole position to win in the race for Opel but a German magazine said parent company General Motors favored other bidders over the Italian carmaker.

President Barack Obama sought on Thursday to quell a domestic backlash against his efforts to close the internationally condemned U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay and roll back some of the most divisive Bush-era anti-terrorism policies.

A report by a leading proxy advisory firm that sided with activist hedge-fund manager William Ackman in his attempt to win seats on Target Corp's board contains statements that are inaccurate or misleading, the discount retail said.

The Obama administration is mulling a new agency to better protect consumers from practices like those that led to the current financial crisis, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday.

U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as signs of further jobs weakness and a disappointing Fed regional survey fueled doubts about prospects for a quick economic recovery.

U.S. mortgage applications rose last week, reflecting an increase in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates trekked lower, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Whitney Tilson, the outspoken founder of hedge fund T2 Partners LLC, is girding for a deeper mortgage market meltdown after being singed in his first foray into the credit crisis' most toxic of securities -- subprime bonds.

The initial public offering of the financial instrument for betting on U.S. home prices has failed because its auction could not generate a balance of investor interest in the product's two linked trusts, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

U.S. mortgage rates fell in the latest week, trekking closer to a record low set last month. Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.82 percent for the week ending May 21, down from the previous week's 4.86 percent, according to a survey released on Thursday by home funding company Freddie Mac.

Stocks slid on Thursday as signs of further jobs weakness and an anemic Fed regional survey fueled doubts about prospects for a quick economic recovery.

Drug gangs have forced open a bloody new front in Mexico's drugs war, extending their battles over smuggling routes into a formerly quiet northwestern state and further stretching the army.

Chinese solar energy company Suntech Power Holdings Inc on Thursday reported a surprise quarterly profit and said it expects its revenues to grow in the second quarter.

Israeli police broke up an unauthorized settler outpost in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, bulldozing makeshift cabins, police said.

Suicide bombers killed at least 19 people in Iraq on Thursday in separate attacks in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk, security officials said, underscoring the fragility of Iraq's security gains.

The American man at the center of the trial against Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi swam to her house after having a vision that her life was in danger, Suu Kyi's lawyers said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama on Thursday will discuss his plan for closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in an effort to stop a revolt by lawmakers concerned that some of the detainees could be set free in the United States.

Vice President Joe Biden received a tumultuous welcome in Kosovo on Thursday just hours after leaving Serbia where thousands of police kept streets empty to avoid anti-American protests.

Barnes & Noble Inc reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and raised its full-year outlook on Thursday, helped by cost cuts and sales that topped expectations, and its shares rose nearly 5 percent.