IBT Staff Reporter

New claims for unemployment benefits slipped last week, but stayed at a stubbornly high level that underscored the labor market recovery was having trouble gaining traction.

U.S. stocks sagged in volatile trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.

Executive compensation at large and mid-sized U.S. companies is expected to rebound modestly this year after two consecutive years of declines as business conditions improve, according to a survey.

A court in Russia's far east has ordered an Internet provider to block five sites which it said disseminated extreme views, prompting U.S. Internet giant Google to say on Thursday the move restricted access to information.

Buying returned to U.S. stocks on Thursday after a key semiconductor index bounced off its lows, helping to reduce losses and leaving the market little changed.

Stocks recovered earlier losses in choppy trading on Thursday as technology shares cut declines and gains in bank shares helped lift the S&P 500.

The Federal Reserve should consider buying more Treasury securities, instead of promising an extended period of low rates to support recovery, should inflation drift lower, a top Fed official said.

Nvidia Corp shares tumbled 10 percent on Thursday, as analysts slashed price targets after the graphics chipmaker cut its sales outlook.

Senate Republicans blocked a $30-billion plan to help community banks boost lending to small businesses, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's election-year battle to reduce unemployment.

Trading in Cisco Systems Inc shares was briefly halted on Thursday after triggering a circuit breaker.

France's Sanofi-Aventis is expected to bid up to $18.7 billion for Genzyme Corp by the weekend, but an offer at that price is not likely to sway the U.S. biotech company, sources said on Thursday.

Amazon.com launched a cheaper, wireless-only Kindle on Wednesday, betting that the $139 price will turn its latest electronic reader into a mass-appeal device as Apple Inc's iPad gains ground.

Citigroup Inc will pay U.S. regulators $75 million to settle charges that it failed to disclose $40 billion in subprime exposure to investors in 2007, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

Exxon Mobil's quarterly profit jumped 85 percent on surging oil prices and a big rise in refining margins, while Royal Dutch Shell Plc's profits rose 34 percent.

Motorola Inc posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results on strength in its enterprise and network units, boosting its shares despite investors' frustration that its phone sales target wasn't raised.

Mining firm Minerals and Metals Group and the Tasmanian Department of Health & Human Services told Rosebery residents Thursday that results of MMG's extensive soil, dust and water tests in the Tasmanian town, including blood tests on locals, found no evidence that heavy metals have harmed the community's population.

Slashed outlooks from Nvidia Corp and Symantec Corp knocked chipmakers lower on Thursday, raising questions about demand for technology components and igniting a broad selloff.

A one-year-old boy from South Australia afflicted with Goldenhar syndrome does not know how to eat because of a deformed jaw and tongue. His parents feed him through a tube as doctors have given up on how to make him eat normally.

U.S. lawmakers will hold a hearing on Sept. 15 to consider whether U.S. government action is needed to address China's exchange rate policy, a key House of Representatives committee said on Thursday. China loosened its yuan, also known as the renminbi, on June 19 from a 23-month-old peg to the dollar but it has barely risen in value since then.

News and data provider Thomson Reuters Corp forecast a return to growth this quarter on stronger sales of financial terminals for traders and the new WestlawNext database for lawyers.

Motorola Inc posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results on strength in its enterprise and network units, sending its shares up despite frustration it did not raise its phone sales target.

Oil jumped more than a dollar toward $79 on Thursday , boosted by a strong opening on Wall Street. The sudden surge was supported by news an hour earlier of a fall in new U.S. jobless claims. This proved more powerful than memories of Wednesday's oil stock figures, which had pushed oil down by showing the biggest weekly increase in crude inventories for nearly two years in the United States.

Sony Corp lifted its annual outlook and returned to profitability in the first quarter on booming demand for its Bravia flat TVs and PlayStation 3 game consoles.

Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell Plc reported strong growth in production on Thursday after years of largely falling output, helping to send second-quarter profits soaring.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said second-quarter profits doubled thanks to high oil prices and bigger than expected restructuring gains and unveiled a plan to boost asset sales, echoing a plan from rival BP .

Hertz Global Holdings Inc is reviewing Avis Budget Group Inc's bid for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group , a company spokesperson told Reuters.

Gold steadied on Thursday, with price-sensitive physical buying keeping the metal off the last session's three-month lows, but a revival in appetite for assets seen as higher risk took the heat out of safe-haven demand.

The euro hit a 12-week high against a broadly weaker dollar on Thursday as month-end demand helped pushed the single currency above a key technical barrier. A jump in euro zone economic sentiment to a 28-month high and a decline in German unemployment supported the euro's gains.

Moody's Corp reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit as a pickup in debt issuance drove an increase in demand for its ratings, but it was cautious on its outlook for this business.