IBT Staff Reporter

BMW , the world's largest luxury carmaker, plans to invest nearly $900 million in its Spartanburg plant in South Carolina by 2014, boosting capacity to 350,000 vehicles in the mid-term.

Stocks edged up at the open on Thursday after strong bond auctions in Europe, though weaker-than-expected U.S. data limited gains.

A quiet Internet revolution begins on Thursday. Organizations can begin applying to name and run their own domains instead of entrusting them to the operators of .com, .org, .gov and others.

Trulia, a real estate website that competes with Zillow Inc, unveiled a new service on Thursday that helps real estate agents identify the best leads by tapping a trove of data the company started analyzing last year.

At German car parts maker ixetic GmbH, Dragan Knezevic is struggling to keep up: His job as foreman is to make sure there are no hold ups in assembly of the parts needed to keep Audis, VWs, Toyotas and the like on the road.

The European Central Bank's flood of cheap three-year money is helping the euro zone's banking system substantially and supporting confidence in the bloc's economy which is showing some signs of stabilization, its president said on Thursday.

Here's an economic riddle of sorts: Which economy grew faster over the last seven years? A) President Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, famous for its forced nationalizations and 21st century socialism, or B) Chile, long renowned as a capitalist paradise for investors.

Strong bond auctions in Europe set up Wall Street stocks for a slightly higher open on Thursday, though weaker-than-expected U.S. data could cap gains.

Home Depot said it plans to recruit more than 70,000 seasonal workers for the key spring selling season, in line with its hiring last year.

TomTom said on Thursday an official probe had cleared it of accusations that it violated Dutch data protection laws by sharing its customers' individual location and traffic information with third parties, including Dutch police.

Retail sales rose at the weakest pace in seven months in December as consumers pulled back late in the holiday shopping season, cutting purchases at department stores and spending less on electronic gadgets.

The number of Americans applying for first-time jobless benefits rose on Thursday, reversing a recent decline and suggesting the labor market remains brittle.

Royal Bank of Scotland abandoned ambitions to be a top global investment bank and said it would cut another 4,450 jobs as it bows to pressure from the UK government to shut down risky operations and prepare for tougher international regulations.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after well-received European sovereign debt auctions encouraged investors ahead of job market and retail sales data expected to show the economy is steadily recovering.

The European Central Bank held its main interest rate at 1.0 percent on Thursday as the common currency area's economy showed tenuous signs of stabilization after the debt crisis has stormed through, wreaking havoc in its path.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after well-received European sovereign debt auctions encouraged investors ahead of job market and retail sales data expected to show the U.S. economy is steadily recovering.

The European Central Bank left interest rates on hold on Thursday, pausing to assess the impact of back-to-back cuts and a slew of other measures it unleashed late last year that are showing some signs of helping fight the euro zone debt crisis.

The European Central Bank will take a breather this month after unleashing back-to-back interest rate cuts and a slew of other measures, pausing to assess the impact of the crisis-fighting steps it took in the final two months of 2011.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after well-received European sovereign debt auctions encouraged investors ahead of job market and retail sales data expected to show the U.S. economy is steadily recovering.

Spain and Italy spread cheer through euro zone markets on Thursday with successful debt auctions at sharply lower borrowing costs in 2012's first real test of appetite for debt from the Eurozone's bruised periphery.

Royal Bank of Scotland is to axe 3,500 investment bank jobs and sell or shut equities and advisory business under a 3-year plan to further reduce risk and focus more on domestic retail and corporate banking.

Spain spread cheer in euro zone markets on Thursday with a successful bond auction where it sold more then double its target and cut borrowing costs in 2012's first real test of appetite for debt from the euro zone's bruised periphery.

Big Wall Street and European banks are looking to slash budgets across Asia, as the emerging market promise is trumped by an urgent need to control costs.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat to slightly lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with S&P 500 futures down 0.14 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.10 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.01 percent at 0925 GMT.

Belgian supermarket group Delhaize plans to cut 5,000 jobs after fourth-quarter sales fell just short of expectations in its key United States and Belgium markets, due to the weak consumer sentiment and price competition.

LG Electronics Inc is engaged in talks with various parties on possible partnerships, the head of LG's mobile business said on Wednesday, as the world's No.3 handset maker seeks to turn around its struggling handset operation.

Spain will provide 2012's first real test of demand for debt from the euro zone's bruised periphery on Thursday when it sells around 5 billion euros ($6.39 billion) of bonds.

LG Electronics Inc is engaged in talks with various parties on possible deals, the head of LG's mobile business said on Wednesday, as the world's No.3 handset maker seeks to turn around its struggling handset operation.

The number of U.S. homes that received a foreclosure filing fell to a four-year low in 2011 as a slowdown in processing hit the market, RealtyTrac said in a report on Thursday.