IBT Staff Reporter

The United States on Thursday moved to block seven international organized crime leaders from the country's financial markets, including a Japanese yakuza godfather and key members of a gang operating in four continents.

Apple Inc on Thursday adopted a measure long desired by investors and corporate governance activists, granting its shareholders a bigger say in the appointment of directors to the board of the world's most valuable technology company.

Sears Holdings Corp plans to raise about $770 million spinning off a business of about 1,250 stores and selling some prime real estate, hoping to convince Wall Street that the struggling chain has enough assets to tap to pay down debt.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week held at the lowest level since the early days of the 2007-2009 recession, signaling that the battered labor market is healing.

Wall Street stocks rose on Thursday after data showed the U.S. labor market remained on the mend, but the market stalled as it approached highs not seen since before the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Former New York congresswoman Susan Molinari has signed on to be Google Inc's top lobbyist in Washington at a time when the search engine company faces growing regulatory challenges.

U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, accused of the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history, deferred a plea in a military court arraignment on Thursday, marking the first step in a court-martial that could land him in prison for life.

Like many banks engulfed by the mortgage crisis, First National Bank of Nevada specialized in risky home loans that didn't require borrowers to prove their incomes. When the housing bubble burst, First National got crushed in 2008 under the weight of bad loans that it could no longer resell to investors.

Apple Inc on Thursday adopted a measure long desired by shareholders and governance activists, requiring its directors to win a majority vote before being elected to the board.

Procter & Gamble Co plans to cut about 5,700 nonmanufacturing jobs as part of a new plan to reduce costs by $10 billion by the end of fiscal 2016, Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald said on Thursday.

Shares of Sears rose 21.64 percent to $63.53 in mid-afternoon trading.

Sears Holdings Corp announced steps to reassure investors about its ability to pay down debt, sending its shares soaring 16 percent in early trading.

Stocks ticked higher on Thursday after a labor market report indicated the economy was slowly recovering, but the data wasn't enough for the S&P 500 to significantly extend recent gains.

Shares of Angie's List Inc, which provides consumer reviews of local professionals and businesses, rose as much as 22 percent Thursday, after the company reported a surge in paid memberships and forecast first-quarter revenue above estimates.

Express Scripts Inc said on Thursday it was moving forward successfully without Walgreen Co in its pharmacy network, citing wide support from clients.

Supermarket operator Safeway Inc posted a drop in quarterly net income after higher fuel prices dented profits and squeezed already cautious shoppers, and its shares dropped more than 7 percent.

U.S. stocks ticked higher on Thursday after a labor market report indicated the economy was slowly recovering, but the data wasn't enough for the S&P 500 to significantly extend recent gains.

The White House on Thursday proposed a bill of rights that would give consumers greater online privacy protection and could eventually give the government greater powers to police Internet firms such as Google Inc and Facebook.

The euro zone economy is on the mend after a very weak end to 2011 and there have been more positive signs over the last two weeks, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was quoted on Thursday as saying.

Greece took its first step towards reaping urgently needed funds agreed in a 130-billion-euro rescue package on Thursday as its parliament endorsed a bond swap for private holders of its debt.

The European Commission wants euro zone leaders to overcome German objections and back a bigger rescue fund to nudge the IMF into helping troubled European economies, the EU's top economic official said on Thursday.

The No. 4 wireless wireless carrier plans to build a new $4 billion Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network .The cost of the project is the same as the breakup fee that AT&T was required to pay T-Mobile parent, Deutsche Telekom, following a failed $39 billion merger deal..

The euro zone is recovering very slowly and although financial markets are more stable than a few months ago it is hard to say whether the bloc's debt crisis is over, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday.

Stocks rose on Thursday after a labor market report indicated the economy was slowly recovering, but the data was not enough to push the S&P convincingly above a 10-month high.

European banks could face more pressure from regulators and politicians worried that big cuts in bonuses have barely dented a high-pay culture sustained by massive hikes in base salaries.

Kevin Marino may be the lawyer of the moment, after persuading a U.S. appellate court panel last week to overturn the criminal conviction of a former Goldman Sachs Group computer programmer.

Google Inc. announced Thursday that it will join other Internet companies such as Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL to allow a do not track button to be available for customers on a Web browser, limiting what personal information can be collected and used.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits were unchanged last week, holding at the lowest level since the early days of the 2007-2009 recession and giving a fresh sign the battered labor market is healing.

A Shanghai court has rejected a request in a trademark case to stop Apple selling its iPad tablet computers in the city, averting an embarrassing suspension of iPad sales in its own flagship stores.