IBT Staff Reporter

Concern about the appetite for Eurozone sovereign debt pushed European stocks lower and hit the single currency on Thursday, with the first French bond auction of 2012 set to test how much progress policymakers have made in easing tensions.

Concern about the appetite for euro zone sovereign debt pushed European stocks lower and hit the single currency on Thursday, with the first French bond auction of 2012 set to test how much progress policymakers have made in easing tensions.

Japan Airlines Co plans to relist its shares as early as September in a public offering that could raise up to 1 trillion yen ($13 billion), Bloomberg news reported on Thursday, marking the carrier's recovery from bankruptcy and restructuring.

Congressional investigators have stepped up their inquiry into the work of credit rating firms that examined MF Global's overly risky bets on European government bonds and whether they overlooked crucial information in their evaluations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The board of directors of the Finnish-based phone maker Nokia will propose Risto Siilasmaa as its next chairman after its long-time leader, Jorma Ollila, steps down in May, the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

Asian shares and the euro eased on Thursday as concerns about the ability of euro zone countries to refinance their huge public debt dampened investors' appetite for risk ahead of a French bond auction later in the day.

BP's $20 billion oil spill fund said it had resumed payments to eligible victims on Wednesday after receiving clarification from a U.S. district court regarding an escrow account set up to cover certain legal expenses incurred by the plaintiffs' lawyers.

Apple Inc has appointed Adobe Systems Inc's Todd Teresi to head its iAd mobile-advertising business, Bloomberg said, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

Connecticut's attorney general is investigating a possible data breach in which Wells Fargo & Co may have disclosed customer Social Security numbers as part of a fraud investigation.

Boeing Co said it would close a plant in Wichita by the end of 2013 that employs more than 2,160 workers maintaining and converting planes for the military, part of a move to cut costs as the U. S. defense budget tightens.

New Jersey's Legislature has briefly delayed a vote on a bill that would legalize online gambling but Gov. Chris Christie said the state should become an epicenter for the business.

New Jersey's legislature has briefly delayed a vote on a bill that would legalize online gambling but Governor Chris Christie said the state should become an epicenter for the business.

Eastman Kodak is preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing in case it is unable to sell its digital patents to raise capital, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Verizon Wireless expects to report a decline of up to 6 percentage points in its fourth quarter gross profit margins on strong sales of the Apple Inc iPhone and other devices, according to a top executive for its parent company.

Text-messaging has long been a big-time profit generator for U.S. mobile operators, but they now risk losing these profits as consumers find cheaper ways to communicate.

Blackstone Group LP will conclude fundraising for its latest buyout fund in January, raising just over $16 billion, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a 4-year process challenged by the global financial crisis.

Blackstone Group LP will conclude fundraising for its latest buyout fund in January, raising just over $16 billion, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a 4-year process challenged by the global financial crisis.

Yahoo Inc named PayPal President Scott Thompson as its chief executive on Wednesday, hoping the well-regarded Internet technology and e-commerce expert will replicate his success at eBay Inc and turn around the struggling company.

U.S. auto sales rose 10 percent in 2011 but major automakers forecast a slowdown in growth this year because of weak job growth and risks to the American economy from a slowdown in Europe.

Fertilizer producer Mosaic posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as higher prices helped offset a dip in phosphate sales and flat potash volumes.

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.

The surprise departure of PayPal President Scott Thompson from eBay Inc could seriously set back any moves to spin-off the payments business as a separate company, investors and analysts said on Wednesday.

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems has decided to pull the plug on umi, a home video conferencing system it once touted as a quality alternative to popular video chat service Skype -- as it continues with its restructuring plans.

Verizon Wireless said it expects to report a decline of up to 6 percentage points in its fourth quarter profit margins as costs rose on strong sales of Apple Inc iPhone and other devices.

The surprise departure of PayPal President Scott Thompson from eBay Inc could seriously set back any moves to spin-off the payments business as a separate company, investors and analysts said on Wednesday.

Seagate Technology Inc forecast stronger-than-expected second-quarter revenue and expects sequentially higher shipments in the third quarter, as the hard disk drive maker recovered from the supply chain disruptions caused by the Thailand floods.

David J. Stern, who became one of the country's best-known foreclosure lawyers before shutting his business under regulatory pressure, has been sued for fraud by the publicly traded company he helped create to take on his now-defunct law firm's back-office operations.

Advertising packages reportedly sold for six-figures or low seven-figures, a far cry from the $3.5 million it costs for a 30-second slot on TV.

U.S. online sales for the 2011 holiday season rose 15 percent to hit an all-time high, according to data firm comScore.