IBT Staff Reporter

Vale , the world's largest iron ore producer, said on Thursday it is selling 80 percent of its ore using spot prices, nearly completing a historic shift to market-based pricing for the principal raw material used in steel.

Exchange operator Nasdaq OMX is trying to gain support for a legislative proposal that would give it a competitive edge over both rival exchanges and banks that operate anonymous trading venues known as "dark pools."

Apple Inc, Google Inc and their vendors must do more to protect children using iPhones and other mobile devices to read or play games, U.S. trade regulators said, and warned they may punish software makers that secretly collect data on kids.

Apple Inc, Google Inc and their vendors must do more to protect children using iPhones and other mobile devices to read or play games, U.S. trade regulators said, and warned they may punish software makers that secretly collect data on kids.

The Postal Service warned it could become a long-term burden on taxpayers absent legislative change, as the cash-strapped agency put pressure on Congress to allow it to end Saturday delivery and to tap into a retirement-account surplus.

The Postal Service warned it could become a long-term burden on taxpayers absent legislative change, as the cash-strapped agency put pressure on Congress to allow it to end Saturday delivery and to tap into a retirement-account surplus.

Vale SA , the world's No. 2 iron-ore producer, raised its outlook for legal losses nearly five-fold to $22.4 billion as courts moved closer to allowing Brazilian tax authorities to levy overseas investments.

China's top search engine, Baidu Inc, beat Wall Street's earnings estimates as its revenue grew more than 80 percent year-on-year in the fourth-quarter.

The new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a proposal to regulate about 200 debt collectors and companies that produce credit reports as part of an effort to extend its oversight beyond the banking industry.

The S&P 500 hit a nine-month high on Thursday, fueled by strong U.S. economic data and increased hopes for a deal on a Greek bailout next week.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, accused each company of violating 15 different patents related to wireless network services, both individually and through interoperability agreements among the wireless carriers.

Billionaire financier Ron Perelman and his longtime former business partner and one-time best friend Donald Drapkin have kissed and made up, at least in the legal sense, weeks after going to trial.

The number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a near four-year low last week, suggesting the labor market recovery was quickening.

Groupon Inc Chief Executive Andrew Mason said on Thursday that the company's location-based service Groupon NOW will likely not be a material contributor to results in the next one or two quarters.

Telecoms providers should be able to raise prices charged to rivals for using their networks to help spur investment in faster fiber optics, industry body ETNO said on Thursday.

A plan by a PIMCO investment fund to take an ownership stake in a small North Carolina bank has run into a problem with U.S. bank regulators.

Europe needs to take the reins to tackle its debt crisis and prevent a spread that could damage the global economy, senior U.S. officials said on Thursday, as they stressed that more funding from international lenders is not what Europe needs.

Feb 16, Reuters - Intellectual Ventures, a privately held patent holding company co-founded by a former Microsoft Corp executive, sued three of the four top U.S. mobile providers for patent infringement.

The Obama administration wants limits on vehicle features that allow drivers to text and make cellphone calls while the car is moving, the centerpiece of a broader effort to curb distracted driving.

The Obama administration wants limits on vehicle features that allow drivers to text and make cellphone calls while the car is moving, the centerpiece of a broader effort to curb distracted driving.

The S&P 500 hit its highest level in nine months on Thursday as the U.S. economy showed further signs of recovery and optimism grew that a Greek bailout deal would be agreed next week.

Discovery Communications posted a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by strong advertising and carriage fee growth at its domestic and international cable television networks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.76 percent to 12,884.75 by early afternoon trading, while the Nasdaq rose 1.01 percent to 2,945.17. The S&P 500 rose 0.83 percent to 1,354.37.

General Motors Co's ability to raise U.S. vehicle prices and better-than-expected pension returns offset weakness in the fourth quarter in Europe and South America, sending shares up more than 6 percent.

Greece and its international lenders have agreed on how to achieve budget cuts worth 325 million euros this year, one of their last demands in return for sealing a 130-billion euro rescue, Greek government sources said on Thursday.

Wall Street stocks rose on Thursday on the latest signs of an improving U.S. economy and optimism a Greek bailout deal would be agreed next week.

Shares of Ancestry.com Inc slumped 19 percent on Thursday, making them among the biggest percentage losers on the Nasdaq, after the company forecast slower growth in subscriber additions for 2012, its second consecutive year of decline.

The Obama administration wants automakers to put limits on vehicle technologies that permit texting and cellphone calling when a car is moving, as part of a broader effort to stop driving behaviors that could be distracting and cause crashes.

Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley's former chief economist and a well-known fixture on Wall Street, is retiring from the firm, according to a memo sent to employees on Thursday.