IBT Staff Reporter

AT&T Inc has promised to give Deutsche Telekom $6 billion in assets, services and cash as a break-up fee if U.S. regulators reject its proposed $39 billion purchase of the German company's T-Mobile USA, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A broad crackdown on Wall Street is churning forward, even as regulators assured a Senate panel on Thursday they would seek more input on how to pick which financial institutions need stricter policing.

U.S. shoppers are making fewer shopping trips, eating out less, and skimping even on groceries to rein in household budgets amid rising gasoline prices, a survey showed.

The U.S. Treasury does not plan to start selling its remaining shares in General Motors Co until August at the earliest, after the automaker's second-quarter financial results, people familiar with the matter said.

Facebook adopted a warning service to help users avoid clicking on dubious internet links, with a website ratings system developed by a Finnish start-up.

U.S. financial regulators, under pressure from a deeply divided Congress, pledged to follow through with a crackdown on Wall Street and the banking business, but to take enough time to get it right.

Sen. John McCain, R-AZ on Wednesday called water boarding torture and said the information that lead to Osama bin Laden did not come from detainees subjected to the interrogation technique.

NASA uses satellite cameras to take images of the Mississippi River floods that have ravaged Tennessee and the southeast.

This correction is a harsh reality check for those of us (myself included) who purchased substantial amounts of metal at much higher levels. That said, it's time to put our game faces back on and think about this logically, now that a lot of the emotion has been sucked out of the market. The good news is that times like these create the best opportunities.

AT&T Inc has promised to give Deutsche Telekom $6 billion in assets, services and cash as a break-up fee if U.S. regulators reject its proposed $39 billion purchase of the German company's T-Mobile USA, according to sources familiar with the matter.

When the Federal Reserve finally decides to begin draining cash from a flush U.S. banking system, policymakers may find themselves armed with more tools than they know what to do with.

The U.S. economy struggled to gain momentum early in the second quarter, with retail sales posting their smallest rise in nine months in April and wholesale prices increasing more than expected.

The European Commission will propose legislation in coming weeks to bring EU mobile phone roaming charges further into line with national tariffs, EU sources told Reuters Thursday.

Cannes 2011: Italian Director, Bernardo Bertolucci was presented with the Palme d'Honneur, a lifetime achievement award.

A Senate panel on Thursday approved for the third time the nomination of Nobel laureate Peter Diamond to a seat on the Federal Reserve Board over the opposition of Republicans, setting up a tough fight to win approval in the full Senate.

Oil rebounded in volatile trading on Thursday following a 5 percent plunge in the previous session as a weaker dollar offset demand worries.

Oil rebounded on Thursday in choppy trade, as a weaker dollar pulled crude up off losses struck after the International Energy Agency cut its global demand forecast and China further tightened its bank reserve requirements.

Stocks advanced on Thursday in a volatile session, erasing early losses as a rebound in commodity prices kept the market churning higher.

American Express Co has formed a joint venture with the French luxury shopping site vente-privee.com, which will expand the lender's e-commerce business while opening the web site to American consumers.

The tenor of upcoming contract talks between Ford Motor Co and its union will be different from years past, with an emphasis on improving competitiveness and maintaining earnings momentum, Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on Thursday.

The recent hacker attack at Sony Corp and other corporate data breaches are attracting more class-action lawyers eager to score a payday, though huge monetary settlements may be elusive.

Baidu Inc, China's top search engine, has been found guilty of copyright infringement and ordered to pay compensation to a popular literary website, the Shanghai Daily reported on Thursday.

PayPal, the eBay-owned online payment system, could be set for a major boost as mobile payment systems start to take off over the next year, a survey by market research firm GfK suggests.

Cannes 2011 showcases more women this year than last year's event. Four out of 16 women compete for the Palme d'Or, Cannes' main competition.

The U.S. Treasury does not plan to start selling its remaining shares in General Motors Co until August at the earliest, after the automaker's second-quarter financial results, people familiar with the matter said.

John Lipsky, the number two official at the International Monetary Fund, said on Thursday he will step down from his post when his term expires at the end of August.

Ericsson, the world's biggest mobile network equipment maker, gave a cautious outlook on Thursday which sent its shares lower even though the firm stuck to sales and profit growth targets for the next three years.

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC's first-quarter earnings rose fivefold from a year earlier as the value of its investments increased, in its first quarterly report since its March IPO.

Two American men were arrested for the attempt of attacking synagogues in Manhattan, New York.