IBT Staff Reporter

Verigy received a sweetened buyout offer of $907.5 million in cash from Tokyo-based Advantest, but the semiconductor testing firm said its board is not making any recommendation on the proposal as yet.

Crucial facts about social media positions that aspirants should be aware of:

Facebook revamps News Feed feature to enable users to select from a slew of options on a drop-down menu in the Most Recent category.

Stocks were little changed on Thursday despite a preholiday flurry of data that reinforced views of a solid economic growth as Wall Street sought to notch a fourth straight week of gains.

General Electric Co plans to put aside another $500 million to dredge toxic chemicals it dumped into New York's Hudson River more than 30 years ago, bringing the clean-up bill to $1.33 billion over two decades.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto offered $3.9 billion to buy African-focused coal miner Riversdale in an agreed deal that is likely to be challenged by rivals seeking to secure coking coal reserves.

New U.S. claims for jobless benefits dipped last week and consumer spending increased in November for a fifth straight month, reinforcing views of a solid economic growth pace in the fourth quarter.

Confidence among consumers rose in December to its highest level since June, on improved job prospects and larger discounts from retailers, a survey released on Thursday showed.

German retailers expect the strong growth in sales during the Christmas shopping season to be extended into 2011 because underlying conditions are good, a leader of the HDE retail industry association said on Thursday.

Rovi Corp will pay $720 million in cash and stock to buy Sonic Solutions, which owns the popular digital video player software DivX, in a bid to broaden its footprint across the digital entertainment space.

Shares surged in Scandinavian carrier SAS on Thursday after a report that Lufthansa planned a takeover, giving new buzz to a long talked-of match.

Bailed-out insurer American International Group will pay $100 million in fines in a settlement with all 50 states over reporting errors for premiums on workers' compensation insurance.

German Luxury carmaker BMW on Thursday launched a new sports utility vehicle, X1, in India. Priced at 2.2- 2.9 million rupees (ex-showroom Delhi), X1 is the company's a cheapest model in the country.

SkyFire is here to set iPad on fire as it is due to launch its app that translates Flash code into HTML5 to run Flash videos.

First-time claims for jobless benefits barely budged last week, government data showed on Thursday, suggesting the labor market is healing too slowly to drag down the unemployment rate.

Consumer spending rose for a fifth straight month in November and incomes rose slightly more than expected, government data showed on Thursday, reinforcing views of a solid economic growth pace in the fourth quarter.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, called on the country's military to strike with strong 'counter-attacks' on the North. Lee visited the front-line army units in Yanggu of Gangwon Province on Thursday. Despite domestic opposition, Seoul's hard-line government is holding the one of its largest-ever military at Pocheon, 20km south of the North Korean border. The country so far conducted 47 drills in the past year.

Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage of Soligenix Inc. (OTC: SNGX) with a Market Outperform rating and a $0.90 price target, saying shares of the late-stage biopharmaceutical company are poised to run higher on outlook for its orBec (oral beclomethasone) lead product.

Stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday following a pre-holiday flurry of economic data as Wall Street approached a fourth straight week of gains.

China intends to boost its economic ties with Africa, which is already worth about $100 billion, according to a report by the government.

The US Department of Energy has released a critical materials strategy based on extensive research by the Department during the past year examining the role of earth metals and other materials in the clean energy economy.

Business schools are increasingly focusing on developing a broad world view and tolerance for cultural differences in MBA participants in a variety of ways through their curricula and otherwise.

South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia Motors and German auto mobile giant Volkswagen won more top safety pick awards than any other brands in 2010, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said.

In an extention of the TripAdvisor's controversial 'Trip Friends' feature on Facebook, the social networking site is now offering 'instant personalisation' service, which will highlight Facebook friends' holiday plans.

Following are the companies that have declared dividends on Wednesday, Dec. 22: Williams-Sonoma, MSC Industrial Direct, RF Industries, Lindsay, Suffolk Bancorp, First of Long Island, Bank of Commerce, and Acme United.

Airgas Inc has rejected yet another takeover offer from rival industrial gas producer Air Products and Chemicals Inc , saying a sweetened $5.9 billion bid is just not enough.

Shares in Allied Irish Banks fell 10 percent on Thursday ahead of a state capital injection that will see the effective nationalization of what was once Ireland's largest listed lender.

Leonardo DiCaprio has been named the highest-grossing Hollywood star of 2010.

Stock index futures were little changed in light volume on Thursday ahead of a busy day for economic data as Wall Street approached a fourth straight week of gains.