MARKETS / FINANCE

Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve's youngest-ever governor and a vocal inflation hawk skeptical of recent monetary easing efforts, said on Thursday he is stepping down from the central bank's powerful board.

A German takeover of the New York Stock Exchange, the citadel of American capitalism, would have shocked its floor traders in years gone by. But not now.

Deutsche Boerse AG's planned takeover of NYSE Euronext faces intense scrutiny from German regulators and European anti-trust authorities, potentially putting the blockbuster exchange tie-up in peril.

Thomson Reuters Corp's quarterly earnings fell short of market forecasts as heavy investment in new products weighed on operating margins, although the company said it expects revenue to pick up in 2011.

U.S. stocks were lower on Thursday and the Dow was on track to snap an eight-day rally, but hopes for a possible resolution in Egypt to the political unrest that has gripped the country for more than two weeks helped equities pare earlier losses.

A married congressman abruptly quit Congress on Wednesday after revelations that he had sent flirtatious messages and a bare-chested photograph of himself to another woman on a prominent Internet site.

Stocks were little changed on Thursday, erasing most losses as investors took the opportunity to buy shares at a cheaper price.

Thomson Reuters Corp said it expects revenue to rise in 2011 after stronger growth in the fourth quarter and more signs that its financial and professional customers are recovering from the recession.

The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent Thursday, judging that the threat from rising inflation will prove temporary and that Britain's recovery remains in doubt.

Sprint Nextel Corp added mobile subscribers for the first quarter in more than three years, sending its shares up 3.2 percent in premarket trading.

Wall Street was weighed down by disappointing earnings from Cisco Systems, but stocks bounced off their lows on Thursday as investors saw weakness in the market as a buying opportunity.

New U.S. claims for jobless benefits dropped to a 2-1/2-year low last week, pointing to a firming undertone in the labor market as the economic recovery gathers momentum.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week to touch their lowest point in 2-1/2 years, a government report showed on Thursday, offering assurance that the labor market was strengthening despite January's poor jobs numbers.

The Bank of England defied critics and kept interest rates at a record low on Thursday, judging the threat from rising inflation will prove temporary and that Britain's recovery remains in doubt.

WikiLeaks's ability to receive new leaks has been crippled after a disaffected programer unplugged a component which guaranteed anonymity to would-be leakers, activists and journalists who have worked with the site say.

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext's plan to create the world's largest stock and futures exchange has sent competitors around the world scurrying to find partners, accelerating an industry shake-up.

Wall street was set to open lower on Thursday as disappointing earnings overshadowed stronger-than-expected data on weekly U.S. jobless benefits claims.

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc said it let go of about 40 percent of its workforce to save cash and focus resources on its experimental weight-loss drug. The drugmaker said it expects to take a charge of about $2.6 million on the job cuts, which comes on the heels of the U.S. health regulator denying approval for the drug, Contrave.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a 2-1/2 year-year low last week, offering assurance that the labor market was strengthening despite January's poor jobs numbers.

Technology shares dragged U.S. stocks lower on Thursday as disappointing Cisco earnings overshadowed stronger-than-expected data on weekly unemployment benefits claims.

A new Thai airline is hiring transsexual ladyboys as flight attendants, aiming at a unique identity to set itself apart from competitors as it sets out for the skies. Known as katoeys or ladyboys, transgenders and transsexuals have greater visibility in Thailand than in many other nations, holding mainstream jobs in a variety of fields.

South Korea's KB Financial Group (105560.KS) (KB.N) swung to a loss in the fourth quarter, hit by charges for the biggest-ever job cuts at its Kookmin Bank unit, the country's top lender. KB posted a net loss of 231 billion won ($208 million) in the October-December period, versus a net profit of 17.8 billion won a year earlier.

The largest mobile Internet browser firm Opera Software ASA confirmed its entrance to the fast-growing tablet computer space and said it has reached a landmark 100 million cellphone users.

A program to help workers who lost their jobs because of foreign competition and another that provides duty-free treatment for goods from Colombia and Ecuador are expected to expire on Saturday while lawmakers fight over their future.

Sprint Nextel posted a 6 percent increase in quarterly revenue, and it added mobile subscribers for the first quarter in more than three years, sending its shares up nearly 4 percent in early trade.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, now in the midst of a widening federal crackdown on its undocumented work force, warned investors a year ago that it was subject to immigration audits and that it may have been employing workers in the country illegally.

NEW YORK, Feb 10 - Kenneth Feinberg, the formerly freewheeling administrator of BP Plc's fund to compensate victims of last year's oil spill, could be forced to revamp dramatically how he handles claims now that the fund has come under the jurisdiction of a federal judge in New Orleans.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday on disappointing earnings from Cisco and Credit Suisse before weekly jobless claims data.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday as downbeat earnings from Cisco and Credit Suisse weighed ahead of data on the struggling jobs market.