IBT Staff Reporter

In its fourth quarter earnings call, AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson expressed doubt about the days ahead without the iPhone exclusivity that boosted subscriber growth.

Lockheed Martin , L-3 Communications and Raytheon Co beat Wall Street earnings expectations, aided by cost-cutting and higher sales, boosting shares of U.S. defense contractors.

A computer worm that first appeared more than two years ago is still a threat, even though security experts were successful in mitigating possible damage.

Electrical and electronics products makers reported strong fourth-quarter results and forecast revenue growth for 2011 as their key markets, including the North American industrial sector, rebound from the lows of the economic slowdown.

Contracts for pending sales of previously owned homes rose faster than expected in December after the prior month's sales were revised lower, data from a real estate trade group said on Thursday.

A thick blanket of snow covered Northeast on Thursday, as the fifth major storm of the winter set snowfall records, delayed the opening of financial markets and clogged Washington highways with abandoned cars.

Procter & Gamble Co and smaller rival Colgate-Palmolive Co posted lower quarterly net income, hurt by sluggish sales in developed markets like the United States and Western Europe.

Caterpillar Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its sales forecast, sending its shares to an all-time high, as rising commodity prices increased mining industry demand for its earth-moving equipment.

With only days remaining until it loses its grip over U.S. iPhone sales, AT&T Inc warned of a rocky start to 2011.

Facebook once again denies the existence of a branded phone, this time with HTC.

For a virtually unknown 16-year-old British ukulele player and singer, Misty Miller already boasts an impressive international following.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week as harsh weather conditions in some parts of the country kept workers at home and caused a backlog in the processing of claims, a government report showed on Thursday.

Defence lawyers for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, on trial for war crimes, won the right to use leaked U.S. cables as evidence to challenge the Sierra Leone war crimes court's independence and impartiality.

Drugmakers AstraZeneca , Novartis , Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb issued cautious 2011 forecasts, bracing the sector for challenging patent expiries and price pressures from U.S. health reforms.

Nokia, the world's top cellphone maker by volume, warned of a weak start to 2011 after its market share shrank again in the fourth quarter, sending its shares sharply lower.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week as harsh weather conditions in some parts of the country kept workers at home and caused a backlog in the processing of claims, a government report showed on Thursday.

Amazon.com should report impressive fourth-quarter sales on Thursday, fueled by the holiday season, while Wall Street will watch for clues about the retailer's profit margins in 2011.

Stock indexes held near 29-month highs on Thursday as buyers took their cues from companies reporting strong numbers, like Netflix, but the short-term technical picture suggested big gains are going to be hard to achieve.

The company reports tremendous first quarter earnings driven by strong growth in the mobile market.

Bristol-Myers Squibb reported a disappointing quarterly profit and forecast roughly flat earnings this year instead of the 3 percent growth Wall Street expected for the drugmaker.

A report by predicts that, fueled by offerings from emerging firms, shipments of entry-level smartphones will increase.

South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Thursday as the greenback lost a bit of ground while the bourse ended higher on mining shares' gains.

Weeks of unrest in Tunisia will hit economic growth, frighten away tourists and discourage foreign direct investment which could fall by up to a third this year, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday.

Libya has set up a $24-billion fund for investment and local development that will focus on providing housing for its rapidly growing population, the online Oea newspaper reported on Thursday.

A small but increasing flow of cocoa beans is being smuggled out of Ivory Coast as exporters halt shipments from the top grower due to a political crisis, sending global prices to one-year highs.

Africa should have a greater presence in the Group of 20 nations rather than be largely excluded and simply told how to run their economies, Botswana's central bank governor said on Thursday.

Protesters stormed police barricades in the Tunisian capital on Thursday and the government prepared to dismiss key loyalists of ousted leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in the face of widespread public anger.

Egyptians torched a police post in the eastern city of Suez early on Thursday morning over the killing of protesters in anti-government demonstrations earlier in the week, a Reuters witness said.

Egyptian police fought protesters in two cities in eastern Egypt on Thursday and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei headed back to the country to join demonstrators trying to oust President Hosni Mubarak.