IBT Staff Reporter

Telecom gear maker Alcatel-Lucent is very confident of hitting a target to improve its operating margin this year and expects new products and cost cuts to support profitability beyond that.

Google is on its way to fix the vulnerability issue with Android phones that could have exposed users' personal data.

Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba Corp said on Thursday it will buy unlisted Swiss-based meter maker Landis+Gyr in a deal valued at $2.3 billion, including debt, in a bid to move into the promising overseas smart grid market.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary has given his fellow MP Chris Huhne support as police investigate allegations that Huhne asked his ex-wife to accept penalty points on his behalf.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co <4502.T>, Japan's largest drugmaker, is buying privately held Swiss rival Nycomed for $13.6 billion, giving it access to a newly approved lung-disease drug, which is expected to be a major source of revenue growth.

Strong growth in the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and Latin America helped brewing giant SABMiller beat forecasts with a 19 percent rise in annual earnings while Europe and North America proved tougher.

Google has announced that it is trying to fix a vulnerability exposed in Android phones by a group of researchers at a German university which allows hackers to get hold of a user's contact and calendar data over open Wi-Fi network.

U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as sales at its namesake stores plunged both at its home turf and in Canada.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday, supported by a rise in commodity prices, as investors braced for data on the labor market and housing.

Apple has trumped Google and Amazon's unlicensed music locker offerings by availing a cloud-music licensing deal with EMI Music.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.05 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.04 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.07 percent at 4:10 a.m. EDT.

Tunisian authorities have lifted an overnight curfew imposed in the capital city of Tunis 10 days ago.

Commodity trader Glencore has confirmed the price of its bumper $11 billion market debut at 530 pence a share.

At least 24 people were killed and 80 injured in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk in three different bombing incidents on Thursday.

Wayne Rooney challenged a Twitter user to a fight last night after the footballer had been abused on the social networking site.

Eight New York residents sued Baidu Inc and the Chinese government on Wednesday, accusing China's biggest search engine of conspiring with its rulers to censor pro-democracy speech.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co <4502.T>, Japan's largest drugmaker, said on Thursday it would buy privately held Swiss rival Nycomed for 9.6 billion euros ($13.6 billion) as it seeks to expand in Europe and emerging markets.

Restructuring of sovereign debt in Greece would make it impossible for the European Central Bank to continue using its bonds as collateral in liquidity operations, Executive Board member Juergen Stark said.

Microsoft and some smaller software vendors still have a shot in the fast-changing smartphone race even though Google and Apple are pulling rapidly ahead, industry executives said.

World stocks ticked higher from this week's 4-week low on Thursday, underpinned by strong appetite for commodity trader Glencore's initial public offering, while the euro fell on concerns over Greek debt.

Rising inventories of unsold cellphones and slower demand growth in emerging countries will cap cellphone market growth in 2011, research firm Gartner said on Thursday.

Commodity trader Glencore prepared the ground for a solid performance in its market debut, pricing its record-breaking offering of up to $11 billion in the middle of its initial range.

ABC journalist Andrew Fowler, fundraiser for the release of the Wikileaks vedio 2007 US military attacks on Baghdad where civilians and journalists were killed, said Wikileaks is a by-product of the high level of security placed on information in Western countries.

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) of Egypt on Wednesday submitted the legal papers to the party affairs committee for approval of a new political party Freedom and Justice.

Shareholders in Tokyo Electric Power Co <9501.T> will also be asked to help support the utility as it copes with compensating victims of its crippled nuclear plant in northern Japan, the government's top spokesman said on Thursday.

IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned from the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund following the alleged sexual assault at a Manhattan hotel last weekend.

The dollar slipped on Thursday with funds sensing a rally this month is ending and expectations increasing that commodity prices have resumed an uptrend, pushing up equities in Asia's energy and materials sectors.

Commodity trader Glencore has confirmed the price of its bumper $11 billion market debut at 530 pence, in the middle of its initial range, a level it hopes will secure a strong performance on debut.

San Francisco Giants' outfielder Cody Ross, the October hero of last year's playoffs, came through in the clutch with a two-out three-run home run in the ninth inning to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5.