MARKETS / FINANCE

Companies will no longer be able to force staff to retire at 65, Britain's government said on Thursday in a move to boost the number of older people staying on at work as the population ages.

Ultimate Software Group Inc said it has no current plans to sell itself, following a Reuters report that the cloud-computing company had hired an investment bank to consider a sale.

U.S. regulators are putting together a possible antitrust challenge to Google Inc's planned $700 million acquisition of airline ticketing software company ITA Software, sources knowledgeable about the deal said on Thursday.

The euro zone faces short-term price pressures which could linger, the European Central Bank said on Thursday, showing it is ready to raise interest rates if needed although it expects inflation should be contained.

SAP said software sales jumped by about a third in the fourth quarter, boosting operating margins and sending its shares higher despite uncertainty over U.S. litigation. Europe's biggest software maker said on Thursday it expected operating income of more than 3.9 billion euros ($1.98 billion) for 2010, which would push its operating margin to 31.5 percent from 27.4 percent in 2009, when not usin...

Jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October last week while food and energy costs lifted producer prices in December, pointing to headwinds for an economy that has shown fresh vigor.

The Dow industrials fell on Thursday, hurt by a slide in Merck shares, but the market was near 28-month highs as investors saw stocks' upward trend continuing despite disappointing jobless claims data.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in November as exports climbed to the highest level in more than two years, government data showed on Thursday.

The U.S. economy should grow around 3 percent to 4 percent this year, a healthier clip than in 2010, but not enough to bring down unemployment as much as policymakers would like, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

The risk of deflation, a damaging downward spiral of falling prices and lower wages, has declined in recent months, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

The U.S. economy should grow around 3 percent to 4 percent this year, a healthier clip than 2010, but not enough to bring down unemployment as much as policymakers would like, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said it will take longer than expected to win approval of its bankruptcy reorganization plan as it tries to settle differences with creditors, who are owed well over $300 billion.

BlackRock , the world's largest money manager, sees investors shifting their investments away from bonds to equities this year, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday.

The European Central Bank will face a grilling on its assessment of the euro zone debt crisis and firming price pressures in the bloc after it left interest rates on hold at 1 percent on Thursday.

U.S. retailer Target Corp on Thursday announced plans to enter the Canadian market, taking over leases for up to 220 Zellers stores owned by storied domestic retailer Hudson's Bay Co.

Google is reloading its guns in China to focus on display advertisements and the booming export sector a year after a blowout with Beijing over censorship and hacking all but ensured its demise in the country.

Some of the United States' top bankers descended on a law firm in midtown Manhattan on Thursday to pitch for what could be one of the largest share sales in history -- a secondary offering for bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc.

2011 is shaping up as a race to the bottom for currency values, writes Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff in today's Financial Times. No wonder gold has been so attractive.

Some of the United States' top bankers descended on a law firm in midtown Manhattan on Thursday to pitch for what could be one of the largest share sales in history -- a secondary offering for bailed out insurer American International Group Inc.

U.S. jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October while food and energy costs boosted producer prices, pointing to lingering headwinds for an economic recovery that had been showing renewed vigor.

AT&T Inc forecast a $2.7 billion non-cash charge in the fourth quarter due to a pension related accounting change aimed at making its numbers more transparent for investors to understand.

U.S. jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week to their highest level since October, suggesting the labor market is still in a rut despite signs of improvement in the economy.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Thursday as the number of first-time claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly, highlighting the bumpy ride for employment as economic growth picks up.

Spain and Italy staged successful bond sales on Thursday, buying European leaders a little time to come up with a new package of measures to stem the debt crisis rocking their 12-year old single currency bloc.

Economic growth in the world's wealthier nations is still too slow to create enough jobs for the tens of millions who lost their during the worst global recession since World War Two, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

U.S. stock index futures traded flat on Thursday, coming off a broad rally in the previous session, as investors looked ahead to labor market data and results from Intel, the first major technology company to report earnings.

Spain followed Portugal with a successful debt sale on Thursday and investors showed growing confidence that governments would agree bold new measures to stem the euro zone's debt crisis.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co is potentially interested in Sara Lee and could possibly partner with an interested party as bidders emerge for the food group, two sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday, coming off a broad rally in the previous session, as investors looked ahead to labor market data and results from Intel, the first major technology company to report.