IBT Staff Reporter

An unofficial gauge of human misery in the United States rose last month to a 28-year high as Americans struggled with rising inflation and high unemployment.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week and a gauge of labor market trends hit a six-month low, a government report showed on Thursday, pointing to an improvement in the jobs market.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday as investors looking for an earnings season rally maintained interest in the market after a sharp fall the previous session, but concerns over Europe's debt crisis capped gains.

Global regulators published guidelines on Thursday to better monitor automated transactions while saying there was little hard evidence to justify reining in high-frequency trading.

Microsoft Corp, which has been trailing Apple Inc and Google Inc in the fast-growing smartphone market, said it will launch Mango-powered handsets from top makers including Nokia Oyj, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and HTC Corp in coming weeks.

LONDON - Doubts about the euro zone's ability to come up with a comprehensive plan to solve its debt crisis hammered equity markets and hit the euro on Thursday, underlining investor impatience with political wrangling.

AT&T Inc. posted quarterly revenue that was below Wall Street expectations, as subscriber growth fell slightly short of estimates.

AT&T Inc posted quarterly revenue that was below Wall Street expectations, as subscriber growth fell slightly short of estimates.

A lot has been written about the red hot battle between smartphone giants Samsung Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4S. Analysts and tech observers dissected specs and compared features, but there was no consensus. However, the battle of wits took a turn when two were dragged to a brutal, unforgiving drop test. And hold your breath, Samsung Galaxy S2 took the prize for being sturdy.

China defended its right to censor the Internet on Thursday, saying it was necessary to safeguard the public after the United States pressed China to explain online curbs on U.S. companies.

When Jordanian security personnel surrounded the central bank last month to oust the governor after a dispute over policy, the incident showed how the Arab Spring is threatening economic reforms across the region.

The world's largest cellphone maker Nokia reported a smaller than expected fall in third quarter profits, boosted by strong sales of basic cellphone models.

Yogi Berra is right: It's déjà vu all over again with respect to Republican flat tax proposals -- Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan bears striking similarities to an ill-fated proposal made by Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes in 1996.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday after a guidelines document said the European rescue fund will be able to buy bonds on the secondary market.

Microsoft Corp. looks set to report flat or lower demand for its flagship Windows product on Thursday, a victim of limp personal computer sales, casting a shadow over otherwise strong earnings in a troubled global economy.

A split between the International Monetary Fund and the European Union is threatening to delay Greece's next aid payment in another blow to European efforts to stem the debt crisis.

A split between the International Monetary Fund and the European Union is threatening to delay Greece's next aid payment in another blow to European efforts to stem the debt crisis.

French industrial group Schneider Electric cut margin guidance for 2011 and reiterated its sales growth outlook, when reporting third-quarter sales rose 7.7 percent.

China's economic growth will probably cool next year to the lowest annual rate in a decade, setting the pace for an Asia-wide slowdown as global demand fades, a Reuters poll released on Thursday showed.

The world's biggest food group Nestle said weakening consumer sentiment in developed markets would make it harder to improve margins as it raised its sales growth outlook for 2011 after beating forecasts for the first nine months.

China's economic growth will probably cool next year to the lowest annual rate in a decade, setting the pace for an Asia-wide slowdown as global demand fades, a Reuters poll released on Thursday showed.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Thursday that solid growth in emerging markets will continue to underpin Japan's economy, suggesting the central bank will stick to its forecast of a moderate recovery when its board meets next week.

Doubts about the euro zone's ability to come up with a comprehensive plan to solve its debt crisis hammered equity markets and hit the euro on Thursday, underlying investor impatience with political wrangling.

Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 5 has attracted a lot of buyers for iPhone 4S with its store of more than 200 new apps, which includes notification, multitasking, iCloud, widgets, web browsing and camera boost.

Ousted Olympus Corp. <7733.T> CEO Michael Woodford widened his bid for regulators to probe the endoscope maker's controversial payments to advisory firms by urging Japan's securities watchdog to investigate.

European stock index futures fell on Thursday, as riskier assets across the board slumped with investors growing wary about taking risks ahead of a key European leaders' summit on Sunday.

The world's biggest food group Nestle on Thursday raised its sales growth outlook for the year after price hikes and strong demand in emerging markets helped its underlying sales rise more than expected in the first nine months of 2011.

The New York Film Critics Circle announced on Wednesday that it will move its year-end vote for the best films of 2011 from mid-December to November 28, making it the first critics' group to announce its winners.

Hustle & Flow producer John Singleton filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures and MTV Films Wednesday, claiming that they reneged on elements of the deal that they struck at the Sundance Film Festival for the 2005 film.