IBT Staff Reporter

Wall Street sank in volatile trading on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down more than 4 percent as weak U.S. economic data pressured markets already beaten down by renewed fears about the health of European banks.

As the stock market plummeted yet again on Thursday, interest rates on 10-year Treasury notes dipped below 2 percent for the first time ever.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's flirtation with the idea of social media censorship controls after recent riots might only be the beginning.

Hewlett-Packard Co wants to buy Autonomy Corp for $10.3 billion and is pondering a spinoff of its personal computing arm, setting in motion a transformation that mirrors IBM's successful overhaul last decade.

Factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region slumped to a nearly 2-1/2 year low in August and home resales unexpectedly dropped last month, dampening hopes for a quick revival in economic growth.

Hewlett-Packard Co plans as soon as Thursday to announce a $10 billion acquisition of British software company Autonomy and a spinoff of its personal computer business, the world's largest, Bloomberg reported.

Hewlett-Packard Co is in talks to buy British software company Autonomy and is pondering options for its personal computing division including a spinoff, as the tech giant steps up an overhaul aimed at rekindling growth.

While no deal has been reached yet, Verizon workers left the sidewalks of the telecom company's headquarters and took their strike to the homes of Verizon's top executives, Chairman Ivan Seidenberg and Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam, this week.

GameStop Corp said its growth this year will be driven by a strong holiday lineup and customers buying used games to save money, which sent its shares higher after an initial drop on Thursday.

News Corp executive James Murdoch did not try to cover up the truth by blacking out sections of an incriminating letter written by disgraced News of the World royal reporter Clive Goodman, lawyers acting for the company said on Thursday.

It was a sweet court victory for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg when a federal judge dismissed claims against his namesake company Bloomberg LP for discriminating against pregnant women and new mothers.

Mosquitoes quickly develop resistance to insecticide-treated nets, raising alarm that the method of malaria prevention is not effective, a study from Senegal found. Researchers who studied malaria infections there found that Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the species responsible for malaria in Africa, are growing resistant to a common type of insecticide.

Tech Data Corp reported a quarterly profit that handily beat expectations on stronger foreign currencies and a 30 percent growth at its European business, and forecast a mid-single digit sales growth for the third quarter.

Factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region plunged to a nearly 2-1/2 year low in August and home resales unexpectedly dropped last month, stoking concerns that risks of recession are growing.

Treasury prices soared on Thursday and benchmark 10-year note yields fell below 2 percent for the first time as global economic fears sent investors scrambling for safe-haven government debt.

Less than two months after its release, HP is dropping the TouchPad and other WebOS devices.

Barclays fired one of its star commodities traders yesterday, marking what could be the end of an era.

Facebook Inc has won access to computers, files and emails it hopes will prove an upstate New York man's claim to own half of founder Mark Zuckerberg's stake in the world's largest social networking company is a fraud.

Forest Laboratories Inc won its showdown with activist investor Carl Icahn on Thursday, saying shareholders backed the company's slate of 10 board members over nominees proposed by the billionaire.

Factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region slumped to a nearly 2-1/2 year low in August and home resales unexpectedly dropped last month, dampening hopes for a quick revival in economic growth.

Brazil's long boom appears to be over.After several dynamic years that saw it earn a reputation among some Western investors as the near China, Brazil now looks to be downshifting into a pattern of economic growth of around 3 percent to 4 percent for the foreseeable future.

One of the U.S. central bank's most influential policymakers said on Thursday the bank is always scrutinizing banks and that it treats U.S. and European banks exactly the same.

The Earth's rapid warming has shifted the climate in many areas, prompting species to shift with it, a variety of studies suggested. Most of these studies looked at a limited number of species or narrow geographic region, which means that there isn't a clear global picture yet.

U.S. Treasury prices soared on Thursday and benchmark 10-year note yields fell below 2 percent for the first time as global economic fears sent investors scrambling to safe haven government debt.

Emerging markets will not save the world if the West slides back into recession. In an interconnected global economy, decoupling is a beguiling myth.

A new photo has emerged that may be proof the iPhone 5 is close to its release date.

Emerging markets will not save the world if the West slides back into recession. In an interconnected global economy, decoupling is a beguiling myth.

News Corp's senior management is starting to think about what the company might do if James Murdoch stepped aside, sources inside and close to the global media empire said.

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp disclosed in a filing that it sold 20 million shares in gambling and resort operator MGM Resorts International on Wednesday, leaving it with a 22.8 percent interest.