IBT Staff Reporter

Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone started 2012 with a series of setbacks, but there is one thing he can still count on this year: membership in the hyper-exclusive club of the world's richest people.

In turning one of its best-known hackers into an informant and breaking open the highest profile elements of the Anonymous movement, authorities have dealt a serious blow to a group they found a growing irritant.

Exxon Mobil Corp said on Thursday its 2012 oil and natural gas output would drop 3 percent from last year even as it increases spending to bring several large new projects on line, pushing its shares lower.

The European Central Bank signaled its policy course was slowly turning on Thursday, delivering a surprise warning on inflation and calling governments and banks to build on its recent blitz of radical support measures to foster a full crisis recovery.

Williams-Sonoma Inc issued a disappointing earnings forecast and announced the retirement of Sharon McCollam, who served as both chief financial officer and chief operating officer.

New claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, a government report showed on Thursday, but not enough to change perceptions that the labor market was strengthening.

Wall Street opened higher on Thursday as strong uptake by investors in Greece's debt swap fed optimism a deal could be completed by a deadline later in the day, staving off a messy default.

The U.S. Justice Department has warned Apple and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them, accusing them of colluding to raise the prices of electronic books, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Wall Street opened higher on Thursday as strong uptake by investors in Greece's debt swap fed optimism a deal could be completed by a deadline later in the day, staving off a messy default.

Stocks rose at the open on Thursday as strong uptake by investors in Greece's debt swap fed optimism a deal could be completed by a deadline later in the day, staving off a messy default.

Walt Disney Co, which recently voted to give the chairman's post to Chief Executive Robert Iger, said it disagreed with a longtime shareholder that the move would hurt the company.

JPMorgan Securities, the brokerage arm of banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co , is trying to lure advisers from Wall Street rivals with an unlikely pitch: We're actually a small boutique.

Bank of America NA prevented homeowners from receiving mortgage-loan modifications under a federal program in order to avoid millions of dollars in losses while benefitting from financial incentives for participating in the program, according to a complaint unsealed in federal court Wednesday.

The Bank of England left its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday, deciding that February's extra 50 billion pounds ($79 billion) of quantitative easing was enough for now to support the economy through a period of fitful recovery.

The number of planned layoffs at firms dipped in February, with the transportation and consumer products sectors seeing the most job cuts, a report on Thursday showed.

Stock index futures jumped on Thursday after a Greek official reported a strong uptake by investors for a debt swap that faces a deadline later in the day.

The Bank of England left its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday, sticking with February's decision to do an extra 50 billion pounds of quantitative easing to support the economy through a period of fitful recovery.

Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM warned that a soaring fuel bill would hit profits this year after it swung to a loss in 2011 and scrapped its dividend.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has urged Tajikistan to end a local shutdown of Facebook and several Russian-language sites that had published material critical of the nation's veteran leader.

The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold later on Thursday and signal that it has played its part in fighting the euro zone crisis after unleashing a dramatic sweep of measures that has unsettled some at the bank.

The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold later on Thursday and signal that it has played its part in fighting the euro zone crisis after unleashing a dramatic sweep of measures that has unsettled some at the bank.

When concrete-pump maker and symbol of German industrial strength Putzmeister rolled up at Japan's Fukushima last year to help tackle the nuclear disaster, few industry watchers might have guessed it would soon be bought by China's Sany Heavy Industry.

General Motors Co chief executive Dan Akerson said it may be two years before its European division is back in profit as the continent sheds over-capacity the same way the U.S. industry had to over the past half decade.

Chrysler Group LLC's top executive declined a salary and bonus for a second straight year in 2011, when the Detroit automaker repaid more than $7 billion in government loans from its bankruptcy restructuring nearly three years ago.

The Justice Department has warned Apple and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them, accusing them of colluding to raise the prices of electronic books, The Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department has warned Apple and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them, accusing them of colluding to raise the prices of electronic books, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. Justice Department has warned Apple and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them, accusing them of colluding to raise the prices of electronic books, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Athens' failure to accept Germany's help on reducing bureaucracy and boosting private investment is disappointing, German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler was cited as saying by a newspaper on Thursday.

The head of Qatar Airways, usually one of the aircraft industry's fiercest critics, expressed confidence that Airbus and Boeing would resolve a series of high-profile glitches but warned against further production delays.