IBT Staff Reporter

Upbeat outlooks from economic bellwethers 3M, UPS and Caterpillar catapulted stocks on Thursday as investors shed some of their fears about the strength of the recovery.

Microsoft Corp reported a 48 percent rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, as strong sales of Windows 7 helped it beat Wall Street projections.

Amazon.com Inc quarterly earnings fell far short of Wall Street estimates as operating expenses surged, sending its shares down 14 percent.

American voters overwhelmingly say lowering unemployment is more important than reducing the federal budget deficit, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday.

China's leading search engine, Baidu Inc, can sue its U.S.-based domain name service provider, Register.com Inc, for breach of contract, gross negligence and recklessness related to an attack by hackers, a U.S. judge ruled on Thursday.

It was a miserable winter day in January 2007, the kind that makes auto executives in the Motor City wonder why they hold the Detroit Auto Show at the most inhospitable time of the year.

The U.S. auto-leasing industry has likely lost $10.4 billion since 2005 because of overestimating resale values of vehicles leased

Chinese factory workers at two suppliers for foreign automakers returned to work on Thursday after winning hefty pay rises, ending strikes that again highlighted the carmakers' vulnerability to their China suppliers.

World number two truck maker Volvo AB delivered forecast-beating second-quarter earnings, due to a pick up in truck demand, cost cuts and growth in its construction division.

Internet sales of counterfeit and pirated goods to European consumers are frustrating attempts to stem illegal trade, a European Commission report said on Thursday.

A federal appeals court said Mattel Inc was wrongly granted ownership of the popular Bratz dolls, a decision that could lead to a new trial over control of the estimated $1 billion franchise.

A federal appeals court said Mattel Inc was wrongly granted ownership of the popular Bratz dolls, a decision that could lead to a new trial over control of the estimated $1 billion franchise.

Strong results from major U.S. multinationals such as Caterpillar Inc and UPS suggest the global economy may be on a stronger footing than previously thought.

Signs point to strong results for Microsoft Corp as companies get around to buying computers after a two-year drought, but its stock may find it tough to gain altitude amid worries about where growth will come from in coming years.

European banks are expected to disclose holdings of doubtful government debt in stress test results to be released on Friday, although sources said there was some last-minute haggling among German banks over how much to reveal.

Stocks climbed on Thursday, bouncing back from the prior session's losses, after major companies, including UPS and 3M, reported strong revenues, easing investor concerns about future growth.

Europe's Airbus pronounced the recession over on Thursday after wrapping up a busier-than-expected Farnborough Airshow with a $3 billion-plus order for dozens of jets from Virgin boss Richard Branson.

Airline results on Thursday provided new evidence that the industry recovery is on track, driving shares higher, but the bumpy economy prompted an outlook for slow progress.

New York has sued Bank of America Corp and its Merrill Lynch & Co unit over the companies' merger and Merrill's subprime mortgage exposure, hoping to recover more by suing on its own than by joining existing class-action litigation.

The Federal Reserve may try to push borrowing costs even lower if the job market continues to languish, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday, offering a hint of what might trigger additional monetary easing.

An e-mail scam featuring someone purporting to be BP Plc's Chief Executive Tony Hayward is targeting victims of the company's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Florida's attorney general said on Thursday.

U.S. economic growth is looking far less robust than the U.S. central bank would like, but bumps in the road are unlikely to derail the recovery, a top Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

Industrial companies, including Caterpillar Inc and 3M Co , credited demand from emerging markets like China for another round of stronger-than-expected quarterly results and improved 2010 forecasts.

A cup of coffee a day during pregnancy probably won't increase a woman's risk of miscarriage or premature birth, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said today.

Two pivotal trials of a Johnson & Johnson experimental HIV drug found it worked as well as an existing drug, with fewer side effects but also with nearly twice as many patients failing to respond to treatment.

Regional banks, including SunTrust Banks Inc and PNC Financial Services Group Inc , reported improved quarterly results and said credit losses and funding costs are dropping, triggering hopes that banks are stabilizing after years of pain.

When Kelleher Motor Co. first opened for business in 1911, the average price of a home in the U.S. was $4,800, a stamp cost 2 cents and William Howard Taft was president.

Those scary studies keep on coming: The latest one from the Employee Benefit Research Institute drives home the same message as many others: Americans won't have enough money for retirement.

U.S. existing home sales fell less sharply than expected to a three-month low in June, though the supply of unsold homes rose to the highest in almost a year, an industry group said on Thursday.