IBT Staff Reporter

An improvement in the U.S. employment picture last week and a rise in regional factory activity suggested an emerging divide between resiliency in the U.S. economy and faltering growth in Europe and Asia.

Southwest Airlines Co is focused on eliminating waste and inefficiencies in its operation to bring down costs and re-widen the cost advantage it has against larger rivals, Chief Executive Gary Kelly said on Thursday.

Europe's top central banker said on Thursday that euro zone governments are on the right track to restore market confidence but reminded them that an emergency program to buy their bonds was neither eternal nor infinite.

Glam Media, the women's lifestyle online publishing and advertising company, is close to selecting bankers to lead an initial stock offering slated for 2012, according to people familiar with the matter.

We generate substantially all of our revenue and players through the Facebook platform and expect to continue to do so for the foreseeable future, Zynga wrote in its IPO prospectus.

The Seattle-based online retailer announced Thursday that customers have been purchasing Kindle products at the rate of more than one million a week for the past three weeks, with its Kindle Fire the best selling product on its Web site since the product was released in late September.

Signs of strength in the labor market and manufacturing sector, as well as higher quarterly profit from FedEx, pushed U.S. stocks slightly higher on Thursday, but the mood was fragile as investors kept their eyes on Europe's festering debt crisis.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi urged banking authorities on Thursday to ensure that tougher capital rules do not lead to a credit crunch, acknowledging for the first time that tighter regulation could hurt fragile economic growth.

U.S. jobless claims on Thursday fell to a 3-1/2-year low and a survey showed New York factories picked up speed this month, bucking gloomy economic trends set by Europe and Asia.

Industrial output declined in November for the first time in seven months as manufacturing activity slumped, countering recent signs of improvement in the economy.

It's noon at Nissan's <7201.T> car assembly plant in northeast England, and the men on the early shift have already made 210 Qashqai cars from scratch.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a 3-1/2-year low last week, suggesting a weak U.S. economy is gradually improving even though factory data proved more mixed.

An investor at Research In Motion has asked two directors at the struggling Canadian smartphone maker to push for a change in the company's governance.

Mitt Romney is holding on to his double-digit lead over Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire, and Jon Huntsman has upset Ron Paul for third place, according to a new Suffolk University poll of likely Republican primary voters.

The most wanted Android smartphone, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), will finally hit Verizon Wireless stores on Thursday (Dec. 15) and will sell for $299.99 with a two-year contract. The Verizon version of Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be available in Verizon stores across the US and online starting from 1 a.m. EST.

France's telecoms regulator has received bids from all of the country's major operators for a second batch of higher-quality fourth-generation mobile licenses and will choose winners in the coming weeks.

The pace of decline in the euro zone private sector eased unexpectedly in December, but the global toll of the region's sovereign debt crisis became clearer on Thursday with news of falling investment and factory activity in China.

Wall Street stocks were set to rise at the open on Thursday as stronger labor market and manufacturing data lifted sentiment after three days of losses, while higher quarterly profit from FedEx also boosted equity futures.

The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus will finally hits the U.S. market as Verizon Wireless announced Wednesday that the first 4G smartphone to run on Android 4.0 will go on sale Dec. 15. The smartphone is priced $299.99 with a new two-year Verizon contract and will be available in stores and online.

Swiss engineer ABB has won an $11 million contract to power Facebook's first data centre outside the United States, covering an area in the Arctic Circle equivalent to 11 soccer pitches, it said on Thursday.

Spain saw solid demand for its bonds on Thursday, paying more than 2 percentage points less to borrow over 5-years than Italy a day earlier as budget cuts helped ease concerns it could be among the next to fall in the euro zone's debt crisis.

Rumor mill has been buzzing about the next generation iPad, dubbed iPad 3, especially about its release date and specs. Apple has not yet announced the release date of iPad 3, which is not surprising because the company is famous for its secrecy. But the question remains - will the new iPad be able to defend its turf and fend off challenges from its formidable rivals?

FedEx Corp. reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and said it is buying 27 new Boeing aircraft to update its fleet for fuel efficiency and cost savings.

Stock index futures added to gains on Thursday after data showed weekly jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since May 2008, suggesting the labor market recovery was gaining speed, while a gauge of manufacturing in New York State showed growth accelerated in December.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a 3-1/2 year low last week, a government report showed on Thursday, suggesting the labor market

China has fired a warning shot with its decision to impose tariffs on imports of sport-utility vehicles and other large cars from the United States as both countries gear up for increased trade friction next year.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday, following three days of market losses and ahead of a batch of data including industrial production, jobless claims and New York manufacturing.

Stock index futures were higher on Thursday, following three days of market losses and ahead of a batch of data including industrial production, jobless claims and New York manufacturing.

The decline in the euro zone's private sector eased a little this month, but a recession still looks inevitable with the region's periphery struggling badly, a key business survey showed on Thursday.