IBT Staff Reporter

The tragic 2011 T?hoku earthquake and tsunami is the worst natural disaster to hit Japan in the last half century. The confirmed death toll now total 14,133 while the number of missing total 13,346. The final death toll, therefore, is probably north of 25,000.

NYSE Euronext directors rejected as too risky and lacking value a sweetened takeover offer from Nasdaq OMX Group and IntercontinentalExchange , the second time in 11 days the board backed a lower bid from Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG .

AT&T Inc told communications regulators its $39-billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA would let it build high-speed wireless services reaching more than 97 percent of U.S. users.

Morgan Stanley's first-quarter profit fell nearly 50 percent, but the results were better than many analysts had forecast thanks to stronger-than-expected fixed-income trading revenue.

Brent oil futures seesawed near unchanged after slipping off a 32-month high Thursday as traders took some money out of recently rising energy markets before a holiday weekend.

A hacker has pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit credit cards and aggravated identity theft; which resulted in losses of $36 million.

A pair of just over 2-week old Malayan tiger cubs at the San Diego Zoo have recently opened their eyes.

The Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel (www.henzellaw.com) a firm focusing on shareholder litigation, is investigating the proposed buyout of TradeStation Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAD) by Monex Group, Inc. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 8698).

U.S. stocks posted their first positive week in three as more healthy earnings news lifted Wall Street on Thursday, though gains were limited with another 180 S&P names due to report next week.

When Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc report quarterly results next week, investors will try to determine how well the e-commerce rivals' expensive fight for shoppers is paying off.

AT&T Inc's $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA would let it build high-speed wireless services for more than 97 percent of the United States, it said in a U.S. government filing on Thursday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co agreed to return more than $800 million of assets that will be distributed to former customers of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's brokerage.

The United States violated global trade law by shutting down Internet gambling sites based in Antigua and elsewhere and prosecuting their owners, according to Antigua and Barbuda officials considering action in the World Trade Organization.

Online coupon service Groupon has hired a Google Inc executive to be its new chief operating officer, filling a key slot in its management team ahead of a potential initial public offering, according to a media report.

Verizon Communications has considered developing an Internet video service that would work outside of its network region but is not pursuing it right now, according to the company's chief financial officer.

Profit at Morgan Stanley's global wealth management division jumped in the first quarter as retail investors poured in $11.4 billion of new assets.

A jury found Mattel Inc had not proven ownership of Bratz drawings and sculpts after a long trial against MGA Entertainment.

Nintendo Developer Shigeru Miyamoto said that the next Mario game would not only be playable at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, but also available for purchase later this year.

Verizon added 906,000 new customers and sold 2.2 million iPhones in two months.

When the guy who runs the rival store up the road drops in for a visit, a lot of shop talk can be expected -- especially if that guy is Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke and you are running the only Target store for miles around.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found a giant buried deposit of dry ice, which could be evidence that Mars once had a thicker atmosphere and was able to have more water on its surface.

Factory activity in Middle Atlantic states braked sharply in April and the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell less than expected, implying the economy was struggling to regain momentum.

Here is a timeline of incidents involving air traffic controllers in the weeks since the Federal Aviation Administration has been under scrutiny.

U.S. stocks posted their first positive week in three as more healthy earnings news lifted Wall Street on Thursday, though gains were limited with another 180 S&P names due to report next week.

NYSE Euronext <NYX.N> directors rejected as too risky and lacking value a sweetened takeover offer from Nasdaq OMX Group <NDAQ.O> and IntercontinentalExchange <ICE.N>, the second time in 11 days the board unanimously backed a lower bid from Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG <DB1Gn.DE>.

TMZ is reporting that Lindsay Lohan's lawyer could potentially reduce her charges in the felony grand theft case.

Verizon Communications has considered developing an Internet video service that would work outside of its network region but is not pursuing it right now, according to the company's chief financial officer.

McDonald's Corp forecast higher prices for beef, dairy and other items and said it would cautiously raise prices to keep attracting diners, who are grappling with higher grocery and gas bills.

Disruption to Amazon.com Inc servers that host Internet services took down a raft of social networking websites including Foursquare and Quora early on Thursday, underscoring concerns about reliability as more companies turn to the cloud.