IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. mortgage applications for home purchasing and refinancing increased last week as interest rates hit a new low, a glimmer of hope for a housing market that has failed to find footing in the absence of government support.

Royal Bank of Scotland announced thousands of new job cuts on Thursday as the part-nationalised bank continues with its drive to trim costs and improve its profitability.

The European Central Bank held interest rates at a record low on Thursday and is expected to keep its liquidity safety-net for banks in place as well amid a lopsided recovery and worries about vulnerable banks.

Pakistan test captain Salman Butt and his two opening bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif have withdrawn from the tour of Britain while investigations into alleged corruption continue.

Burger King Holdings Inc says the company will be acquired by 3G Capital in a deal valued at $4 billion.

House prices fell much faster than expected last month and construction activity slowed, industry surveys showed on Thursday, reinforcing concerns that economic growth will fall off sharply.

New claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week, but were still too high to signal a change in fortune for the troubled labor market.

India has expunged the ban on export of coconut oil and allowed exporters to ship coconut oil in 5 kg packets from 13 ports in India.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rebounded unexpectedly in July and new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, hopeful signs for the sputtering economic recovery.

Contrary to popular belief, small diesel vehicles are more environmentally friendly than their lithium-ion battery counterparts, a study suggests.

A buyout deal for Burger King Holdings Inc by investment firm 3G Capital is being valued at $24 per share, or about $4 billion, cable business channel CNBC reported on Thursday.

Stocks rose on Thursday, building on their best day in eight weeks in the previous session, as data showed pending home sales improved and initial jobless claims declined.

The European Union said it remained concerned over a gas deal between Russia and Poland. The EU said terms for access to a gas pipeline under a deal between Russia's Gazprom and Poland's PGNiG may breach European competition law.

Hewlett-Packard Co raised its bid for data storage company 3PAR Inc to $2.4 billion, beating Dell Inc's latest offer in a bidding war that many analysts have said has gone too far.

Critics hoping for more from Apple Inc's Web-to-TV plans -- a device, say, that would revolutionize living room entertainment the way the iPad changed tablet computing -- may just need to wait a bit longer.

Fewer than a third of Americans would choose manufacturing if they were starting their careers now, according to a new survey that finds pessimism about the long-term direction of U.S. industry.

Ruling party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa pledged bold steps on Thursday to fix Japan's flagging economy if he becomes premier, floating tax cuts and threatening to intervene in currency markets to curb the yen's rapid rise.

Oil fell further below $74 a barrel on Thursday, weighed by record high inventories in top consumer the United States and investor caution ahead of U.S. employment reports.

AOL Inc said on Thursday it has renewed a search agreement with Google Inc, further cementing a decade-long partnership as AOL tries to turn around its business.

DSG International , Europe's number two electricals retailer, said it did not expect a double-dip recession, and predicted a rerating of its shares as it delivers an improved trading performance.

God did not create the universe and the Big Bang was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Thursday after Wall Street's best day in eight weeks as initial jobless claims showed a small decline last week.

Time Warner Cable and Walt Disney Co ensured millions of U.S. cable customers can still watch some of their favorite TV programs while the companies kept working on a new programing deal after a midnight deadline passed.

Tough government follow-through on a freshly minted U.S. financial law will be crucial to ensure no bank or firm grows so large that its collapse could jeopardize the entire economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

The common diabetes drug metformin may hold promise as a way to keep smokers from developing lung cancer, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Recruiter Hays posted a halving of full-year pretax profit, beating forecasts, after growth in Asia helped it counter a tough first half which was battered by a difficult economic climate.

The euro edged up on Thursday after healthy results at Spanish and French bond auctions but investors cautiously awaited comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet. The ECB earlier left interest rates unchanged, as expected, at 1.0 percent. The decision had little impact on the euro. Trichet was due to hold a news conference at 1230 GMT.

World stocks hit a two-week high on Thursday and oil prices rose as optimism from strong U.S. and Chinese manufacturing data extended into a second day ahead of a euro zone interest rate decision and key U.S. jobs data.

Teenagers who sleep less than eight hours a night on weeknights eat more fatty foods and snacks than those who get more than eight hours of sleep a night, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.