IBT Staff Reporter

Prince William is taking a break from wedding preparations to tour areas devastated by February's Christchurch earthquake and to visit families who lost loved ones at the Pike River Mine in Greymouth.

Intel Corp. has acquired New Venture Partners' portfolio company, Silicon Hive, a spin-out from Philips Electronics (Philips). Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Daily deals website Groupon could be valued at as much as $25 billion in an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing two people with knowledge of the company's discussions with banks.

FedEx Corp, the world's largest cargo airline, forecast improved revenue and margins in the current quarter and beyond, and sees more shipments for reconstruction in Japan.

Medical device maker St. Jude Medical on Wednesday said Chief Executive Daniel Starks was arrested by airport police in New Delhi for possession of ammunition.

Shares of apparel retailer Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) plunged to a 4 1/2 month low on Thursday after it guided first quarter below consensus estimates.

NEW YORK, March 17 - In the ongoing insider-trading trial of Raj Rajaratnam, the government is firing some potent missiles from its arsenal of 2,400 taped phone conversations. But in a related case, a federal judge recently rebuked investigators for their handling of a wiretap, showing this powerful tool can open the government to uncomfortable legal challenges.

Today's efforts to cool the over-heating Fukushima nuclear plant involved three Chinook helicopters which attempted to douse the reactors with sea-water.

In a letter sent to Apple staffers, Steve Jobs sends his condolences to the company's Japanese staff.

The first space probe in 40 years to approach the planet Mercury will begin orbiting the planet tonight. It will be the first spacecraft to orbit the planet and study it in depth.

If it's QE2 and through, will the Federal Reserve soon start letting the air out of its balance sheet balloon as well?

The yen traded near a record high against the dollar on Thursday, hovering around levels that traders fear could test Japanese authorities' resolve to weaken the currency through direct market intervention.

Stocks were poised to bounce back at the open on Thursday, a day after Wall Street wiped out most of its gains for the year, but Japan's nuclear crisis was set to drive trading in another volatile session for markets.

TMZ is reporting that the defense wants a first generation fingerprint of a broken syringe that was found under Michael Jackson's bed the day he died. The report says that this could potentially prove that Jackson killed himself.

Brean Murray Carret & Co. reiterated its price target of $60 on Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES), saying the apparel retailer remains well positioned for uncertain times.

Consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in more than 1-1/2 years in February, driven by higher food and energy prices, a government report showed on Thursday, but underlying inflation pressures remained generally contained.

FedEx Corp, the world's largest cargo airline, forecast improved revenue and margins in the current quarter and beyond, boosted by strong demand.

Honda Motor Co is recalling about 21,700 of its current-model compact Honda Civic cars due to the possibility that fuel will leak in a roll-over crash, the company and U.S. regulators said on Thursday.

FedEx Corp, the world's largest cargo airline, forecast improved revenue and margins in the current quarter and beyond, boosted by strong demand.

The yen briefly hit record highs versus the dollar on Thursday as quake-hit Japan's nuclear crisis unleashed a global risk sell-off, while world stocks traded higher after Tokyo stocks came off earlier lows.

Manchester United have been handed a blow after it has emerged that defender Rio Ferdinand's calf-injury is worse than intitially expected and he could miss the rest of the season.

Stock index futures bounced on Thursday, a day after Wall Street wiped out much of its gains for the year, but news on Japan's nuclear crisis was set to drive trading in another volatile day for markets.

Sprint announced plans to bring its Nextel based push-to-talk service to its CDMA network.

Oil rose by more than $2 on Thursday as tensions in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain fueled fears of further supply disruption while investors weighed the impact on energy demand from quake-hit Japan.

Stock index futures bounced back on Thursday, a day after Wall Street wiped out much of its gains for the year, but increasing worry over Japan's nuclear crisis was set to drive trading in another volatile day for markets.

FedEx Corp, the world's largest cargo airline, is expected to report a third-quarter profit that rose from a year ago but was sideswiped by severe winter weather and spiking fuel costs.

The rapid rise of e-books could lead to a reading divide as those unable to afford the new technology are left behind, even as U.S. reading and writing skills decline still further.

Start the slideshow to view photos reflecting Japan's struggles as it recover from the devastation wrought by Friday's earthquake and an ensuing tsunami: