IBT Staff Reporter

General Electric Co posted an 80 percent surge in first-quarter profit, blowing past Wall Street forecasts and joining a wave of better-than-expected earnings from U.S. manufacturers.

McDonald's Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as the world's largest restaurant company posted March sales in all regions that topped analyst expectations.

The bassist and keyboard player of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio, Gerard Smith, has died of lung cancer. He was 36.

Apple Inc's results smashed Wall Street's expectations after iPhone and Mac sales scaled new heights while iPad supplies could not keep up with roaring global demand.

Verizon Communications Inc posted strong first-quarter growth in wireless subscribers helped by sales of the Apple Inc iPhone.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its first weekly gain in the last three, as strong corporate earnings and outlooks generated optimism about the economic recovery.

A Morgan Stanley securities joint venture in Japan with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> said it will lose nearly $2 billion after its fixed income traders took market positions which were larger than its financial fitness and then made wrong bets.

A Japanese securities joint venture between Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> and Morgan Stanley said it will report a net loss of 145 billion yen ($1.7 billion) for the year ended March due to trading losses.

General Electric Co posted quarterly results that blew past Wall Street expectations, joining a wave of better-than-expected earnings in the U.S. manufacturing sector.

Britain is probing investment banks over insurer Prudential Plc's failed $35.5 billion bid for rival AIG's Asian business AIA <1299.HK> last year, two people familiar with the matter said.

On the one-year anniversary of the Gulf oil spill, BP Plc is facing challenges to its effort to contain another kind of disaster: mass litigation.

Apple iPhone and iPad secretly records a user's whereabouts o the device in unencrypted format making it accessible to other users and programs running on the machine.

Japan's Sharp Corp said on Thursday it would start production of small display panels for use in smartphones at an existing TV panel plant this year, but declined to comment on prospects for an additional line at a disused factory.

Some celebrate a political candidate’s victory with a party, while others choose porn, finds a new study.

Nokia investors concerned about dwindling market share are anxious for better news on the tie-up with Microsoft and details of cost cuts when the handset maker posts quarterly figures on Thursday.

NEW YORK Stock index futures pointed a higher open for Wall Street on Thursday, adding to hefty gains from the previous session, boosted by growing optimism about strong corporate earnings.

Fiat SpA will pay $1.27 billion euros for an additional 16 percent stake in automaker Chrysler this quarter, raising its stake to 46 percent in a deal that was faster and cheaper than expected.

Japan's economy will slow significantly this year after last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami, with the government needing to cut spending from other programs to rebuild the country's battered northeast coast and to ensure faster growth next year, the OECD said on Thursday.

Italian automaker Fiat SpA has agreed to pay $1.27 billion for another 16 percent stake in peer Chrysler this quarter, the Italian automaker said on Thursday, in a deal that was faster and cheaper than expected.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Wednesday it issued four warning letters to companies that manufacture and market over-the-counter (OTC) drug products, including hand sanitizers, that claim to prevent infection from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA).

Ahead of the big May 7 WBO welterweight fight against American Shane Mosley, take a look at many facets of Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. Beyond the boxing ring, he is an actor, singer, family man, and politician.

President Barack Obama sought to reignite the youthful energy that propelled his 2008 election Wednesday with a campaign-style visit to the nexus of social communications, Facebook.

A report from German scientists has refuelled apprehensions over the carcinogenic implications of energy saving devices, bulbs in particular.

The U.S. dollar slid to a three-year low against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, a move which could see it test record lows, while Asian stocks jumped as investors scrambled for higher-yielding assets, particularly in emerging markets.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur battled out an exhilarating 3-3 draw at White Hart Lane, though the result diminishes either side's hopes for this season.

Big earnings surprises gave a positive turn to investor sentiment on Wednesday, propelling U.S. stocks to their best day in a month and lifting the Dow industrials to their highest in almost three years.

Bullion powered to a lifetime high for a fifth consecutive session on Thursday on a sharply weaker dollar, while lingering tensions in the Arab world, worries about the euro zone crisis and U.S. fiscal health offered additional support.

The video of a supposed dead alien, found in Russia's Republic of Buryatia near the claimed UFO citing last month, has become an internet sensation.

Cristiano Ronaldo's extra time goal decided the Copa Del Rey final as Real Madrid secured a 1-0 victory over Barcelona at Mestalla, Valencia.