IBT Staff Reporter

In his first full day as chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray sought to lower the political heat around the agency, saying it would earnestly get to work targeting all the bad actors in the lending industry.

Congressional investigators have launched an inquiry into the work of credit rating firms that examined MF Global Holdings Ltd's risky bets on European government bonds and whether they overlooked crucial information in their evaluations.

As Wall Street anxiously awaits the Labor Department's monthly employment report due on Friday, a decent bet has emerged. Odds are, the government will say it underestimated recent job gains.

As Wall Street anxiously awaits the Labor Department's monthly employment report due on Friday, a decent bet has emerged. Odds are, the government will say it underestimated recent job gains.

General Motors Co said on Thursday it has developed a proposed fix to the battery pack for the Chevrolet Volt to eliminate the risk of a fire being triggered days after a crash.

Bank of America Corp shares surged more than 7 percent on Thursday, outpacing other U.S. banks on a day of positive job news.

Bank of America Corp shares surged more than 7 percent on Thursday, outpacing other U.S. banks on a day of positive job news.

The U.S. jobs recovery gathered pace as a measure of private-sector hiring surged in December and claims for unemployment benefits fell, suggesting the battered labor market may continue to strengthen in 2012.

When Lauren Bossers, who lives in Pittsburgh, worked for a supply chain management software company in Dallas, she dealt with work and staff in the main office virtually, by phone and email. When she was laid off after her company was acquired in January 2010, well, that happened by phone, too.

Online game developer Zynga Inc is releasing a new mobile word game called Scramble with Friends on Thursday to expand its user base beyond Facebook and catch up with rivals in the handheld market.

Stocks rose on Thursday led by bank shares as investors bet a stronger economy will help boost balance sheets of U.S. based lenders.

French bank Societe Generale is set to announce an overhaul of its private banking unit that will see Daniel Truchi replaced as head of private banking, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

British youngsters adopted after abusive childhoods are at risk of fresh emotional turmoil as some birth parents turn to Facebook and other social networking sites to track them down, adoption agencies said on Thursday.

NEW YORK - Alcoa Inc , the largest U.S. aluminum producer, could end up posting a fourth-quarter loss due to a dizzying drop in the metal's price in the last six months as the euro zone debt crisis and an economic slowdown in China hurt demand growth.

Benchmark Co analysts downgraded Google Inc to hold from buy, citing a decline in advertising revenue from Europe and an uncertain outlook for the first half of this year.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the landslide hit a remote village of 100 families near Pantukan at approximately 3 a.m.

Ancestry.com Inc reported a 22 percent jump in subscribers in 2011 and forecast strong 2012 sales, allaying investor concerns about the company's new pricing scheme.

BMW grabbed the top spot in the U.S. luxury auto market in 2011, edging out Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand, as both German automakers took advantage of inventory problems for Toyota Motor Corp's <7203.T> Lexus lineup, according to company figures issued on Thursday.

U.S. stocks fell slightly on European debt worries on Thursday, but technology and financial shares rose on data pointing to a strengthening U.S. economy.

The former CEO of Japan's Olympus Corp is dropping his bid to retake control of the troubled company because of lack of support from Japanese institutional investors, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The former CEO of Japan's Olympus Corp is dropping his bid to retake control of the troubled company because of lack of support from Japanese institutional investors, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Ancestry.com Inc reported a 22 percent jump in subscribers in 2011 and a marginal fall in fourth-quarter churn, sending its shares up as much as 20 percent.

The following are comments by Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand, his first public remarks over a controversial currency trade made by his wife three weeks before he oversaw moves to impose a cap on the Swiss franc.

Many U.S. store chains had to resort to deep discounts to lure shoppers over the holiday selling season, cutting into profits even as overall December sales came in slightly above expectations.

MetroPCS reported fourth-quarter net subscriber growth that missed analyst expectations even as it posted a smaller-than-expected customer cancellation rate.

Global mobile phone shipments is likely to grow at a much slower pace of 2 percent this year as customers hold back on new phone purchases, Credit Suisse said.

Investors in feeder funds who lost money with Bernard Madoff do not qualify as customers of the now-imprisoned swindler, a federal judge ruled.

ICANN, an independent body responsible for organizing the Internet, plans to press ahead with plans to expand the number of possible website addresses despite criticism from industry and concerns from some law enforcement groups.

U.S. stocks fell in choppy trading on Thursday after concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis overshadowed data suggesting a solid U.S. economic recovery.