IBT Staff Reporter

Stock index futures fell on Thursday before U.S. data that could shed light on the impact of rising commodity prices and as concerns grew over Chinese inflation.

The BRICS group of emerging-market powers kept up the pressure on Thursday for a revamped global monetary system that relies less on the dollar and for a louder voice in international financial institutions.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday as investors awaited data to assess the impact of rising commodity prices amid growing concerns over Chinese inflation.

Students perceive shoplifting and digital piracy differently, despite the fact that they are both forms of theft, finds a new study.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly weaker start for Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq down 0.1 to 0.2 percent by 0847 GMT.

The end of an anti-alcohol campaign contributed to a plunge in mortality rates during its short life in the Gorbachev era, researchers said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new treatment system manufactured by Neurovasx Inc. for large brain aneurysms. Maple Grove-based Neurovasx's cPAX Aneurysm Treatment System is for surgery on brain aneurysms that are difficult to manage because of their size and shape.

The dollar sank to a 16-month low against a basket of currencies on Thursday as investors bet U.S. monetary policy would continue to be loose, while a report that Chinese inflation will rise dragged on equities.

The five BRICS nations took another step toward cementing their global influence on Thursday, calling for a broad-based international reserve currency system providing stability and certainty.

Tottenham made a valiant attempt to overturn their first leg deficit of 4-0 on Wednesday, but Real Madrid secured a 1-0 victory via Cristiano Ronaldo's goal at White Hart Lane to go through 5-0 on aggregate, setting up a semi final El Classico with Barcelona.

Photos and video of the April 12 Air France A380 Collision at JFK Airport have emerged.

A 15ft-long, six-wheeled behemoth that on first glance looks like a cross between the Batmobile and a (very) stretched limousine, billed as the 'Superbus' was unveiled in Dubai on Sunday.

Summary of details at Fukushima Nuclear Stations and other reactors by Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency:

IAEA's latest status on reactors at Fukushima Nuclear Plant : the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant remains very serious but there are early signs of recovery in some functions such as electrical power and instrumentation

Suppliers to Apple Inc have begun production of white iPhones after a delay of almost 10 months, pointing to a launch date of within a month, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Catherine Zeta-Jones follows several celebrities including Ben Stiller and Sting into treatment for Bipolar Disorder. The actress was reportedly hit by the stress of husband Michael Douglas' throat cancer battle.

The BlackBerry PlayBook is to hit stores by April 19. While the new gadget is smaller than most other tablets, especially the iPad 2, it might just remain a good attempt from RIM to get into the tablet war. But the question remains whether it will be a capable player in the market.

Suppliers to Apple Inc have begun production of white iPhones after a delay of almost 10 months, pointing to a launch date of within a month, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Microsoft Corp explained the delay in updating its new phone software on Wednesday, partly blaming handset manufacturers for the problem.

U.S. authorities claimed one of their biggest victories against cyber crime as they shut down a ring they said used malicious software to take control of more than 2 million PCs around the world, and may have led to theft of more than $100 million.

Amazon.com Inc is due to meet with music label executives on Thursday to hash out deals over the online retailer's controversial cloud-based media locker service that has sparked a music business uproar.

Top U.S. and European central bank officials agreed on Wednesday their institutions must withdraw some of the extraordinary support they provided to help their economies recover from a deep crisis.

A former AllianceBernstein Holding LP brokerage worker has been charged with stealing software the company used to transmit messages containing data about customers and transactions, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said on Wednesday.

Toys R Us is targeting an initial public offering in July, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

U.S. authorities say they have shut down a computer crime ring that ran an international fraud scheme and likely infected more than 2 million computers worldwide in the past decade.

Computer sales slid lower in the first three months of this year for the first time since 2009 as shoppers suffered post-holiday shopping fatigue, Apple Inc's iPad continued to attract buyers and Japan focused on recovering from the earthquake and tsunami.

A Malaysian man accused of hacking into a Federal Reserve computer server pleaded guilty to possessing stolen credit and debit card numbers that the government said he intended to sell.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc on Wednesday agreed to put creditors' competing restructuring plans on the same timeline for court approval as its own plan, but reserved the right to raise future objections.

Internet advertising revenue jumped 15 percent to $26 billion in 2010, setting a record high and proving that more companies are opening up their coffers to reach people online.