IBT Staff Reporter

The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis on Thursday and signaled it was ready to tighten policy further if needed to check rising prices.

Brent crude futures dipped on Thursday, as investors worried after five days of gains that oil had become expensive enough to crimp economic growth and cut demand.

HTC, the Taiwanese phone maker, surpassed Nokia in market capitalization yesterday, putting it in the ranks of the largest mobile phone makers in the world.

Physical Gold Investment prices held near yesterday's new all-time Dollar highs in London trade on Thursday, rising toward 3-week highs in Euro terms even as the European Central Bank made good on its promise to raise Eurozone base rates.

U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday after another powerful earthquake hit Japan, renewing concerns about supply disruptions and the country's ongoing nuclear issue, but markets were off their lows as a number of retailers rallied on strong monthly sales.

The 3rd Georgia Fashion Week has opened under the theme of Art is Fashion, Fashion is Art at the city of Tbilisi in the State Academic Theatre. Georgian fashion designer Bastien De Almeida showed his collection for opening of the show. He captivated the audience with his 20th century colorful vintage look. Anuka Keburia displayed dresses made with transparent vinyl.

Most financial brokers and advisers find independence from big brokerage houses attractive, but the cost of regulatory compliance is keeping many of them from making the move, a new study by Fidelity Investments found.

The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent on Thursday, tightening policy as expected to counter firming price pressures in the 17-country euro zone.

Sir Richard Branson has done a lot in the world of science and technology; here are a few of his greatest hits.

The Congress on Thursday neared a budget deal to avert a looming government shutdown but disputes over abortion and environmental issues posed late hurdles to a final agreement.

Growing demand for phones running on Google's Android platform will help the smartphone market grow in 2011, boosting companies like HTC and Samsung Electronics who are betting on the platform.

The legendary musician performed his first concert in the mainland China on Wednesday. He had to stick to a set list that was pre-approved by the government so it would not offend the nation's Communist rulers.

Dylan was granted permission last month by the Chinese government to perform shows in Beijing and Shanghai.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday shortly after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 hit Japan and a tsunami warning was issued.

High Tide Time and Estimated Tsunami Arrival Time at each place

Brent crude futures dipped on Thursday after five days of gains, hovering around $122 a barrel on concerns that strong prices could crimp demand, with the European Central Bank lifting rates to control inflation.

March was not as bad as expected for many retailers, suggesting that shoppers largely ignored higher gasoline prices and other concerns to treat themselves.

Portugal will formalize its request for a European Union rescue package that could reach 85 billion euros ($122 billion) on Thursday and a deal could be reached before a June 5 election, officials said.

Apple's demand for touch screens was so large that it stripped manufacturers of most of their supplies, leaving rival companies like RIM with little material for their own tablets.

The Japanese government will look at altering the threshold for radiation exposure as it evaluates whether people can return to the exclusion zones around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

With a Friday midnight deadline to avert a shutdown of the federal government a Republican aide said in a published report that there will not be enough time to pass a six-month agreement and a one week extension would need to be approved.

The Federal Reserve should keep its fed funds target rate very low for a long time and complete its asset purchasing program as scheduled, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Sandra Pianalto said on Thursday.

Motorola's Xoom was crowned the undisputed king of tablets at CES 2011 but little did Motorola realize that the spotlight would last only a month.

The European Commission expects a formal request from Portugal for aid soon and a deal will probably be agreed to ease its debt crisis before a new government is elected on June 5, officials said on Thursday.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week, pointing to firming labor market conditions.

U.S. stocks edged up in choppy trading on Thursday, helped by jobless claims and same-store sales data, but technical resistance to further gains was strong.

March was not as bad as expected for U.S. retailers, at least as far as initial sales reports show, suggesting that shoppers largely ignored higher gasoline prices and other concerns to treat themselves.

Elpida Memory Inc said on Thursday it has developed a 4-gigabit DRAM chip for smart phones, joining bigger rival Samsung Electronics as the only producers of the large capacity power-saving memory chip.

The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent on Thursday, announcing its first hike since July 2008 to counter firming inflation pressures in the 17-country euro zone.