IBT Staff Reporter

Sales of previously owned homes hit a three-month low in June while new claims for jobless benefits surged last week, the latest indications that the economy is on the ropes.

The Federal Reserve will try to push borrowing costs even lower if the job market continues to languish, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday, offering his clearest blueprint yet for possible additional monetary easing.

Nokia reported a sharp drop in second-quarter profits on Thursday and forecast a weak third quarter, increasing the pressure on embattled chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

Stocks jumped on Thursday after major economically sensitive companies, including UPS and 3M, reported strong revenues, easing investor concerns about future growth.

Gold rose briefly back above $1,200 an ounce on Thursday as financial markets rallied broadly, with U.S. stocks jumping 1 percent at the open, European shares higher and oil prices climbing 2.3 percent. The precious metal quickly slipped back below that level, however, as it struggled to break out of the relatively tight range it has kept to ahead of the results of European bank stress tests on Friday.

The New York Times Co reported on Thursday better-than-expected earnings and said that second-quarter revenue rose about 1 percent as more advertisers and readers opened their wallets than they did a year ago.

Shipper United Parcel Service Inc and U.S. railroad Union Pacific Corp topped Wall Street's expectations when they reported quarterly results as both captured increases in domestic shipping volume, sending their shares sharply higher.

The euro rose more than 1 percent against the dollar on Thursday after data on the U.S. housing market and the euro zone manufacturing and services sectors revived investors' appetite for risk. The yen erased most early gains versus the dollar and dropped sharply against other currencies as U.S. stocks rallied, helping improve sentiment a day after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke painted a gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy.

Hungary's prime minister signaled on Thursday that he would not renew a safety net with the IMF and would row back on a commitment to cut the budget deficit to European Union-prescribed levels next year.

(Corrects spelling of CEO's name)Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd posted above-forecast second quarter earnings and increased its 2010 earnings guidance due to stable bookings and improved cost control, boosting its shares.

AT&T Inc posted a better-than-expected profit particularly in its wireline business and said it was more optimistic on growth prospects for 2010, sending its shares up 2 percent in early trade.

Global stocks rose on Thursday and the euro strengthened, backed by upbeat corporate results, better-than-expected U.S. housing data, and an improvement in European manufacturing and services activity. Expectations before the release of European banks' stress test results appeared to show an easing of concerns as the region's bank stocks ranked among the best performers.

French online gaming revenues surged during the World Cup, following the implementation of a new gaming law aimed to lure players on legal sites, although half of them are still choosing illegal operators.

Dollar funding costs eased for the seventh consecutive day on Thursday and the U.S. commercial paper market grew for a second straight week. For the week ended July 21, the size of the U.S. commercial paper market, a vital source of short-term funding for corporate day-to-day operations, rose by $2.4 billion to $1.100 trillion outstanding from $1.097 trillion the previous week, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

Superheroes are enjoying a new career path, heading straight from the pages of comic books into video games and no longer having to stop at Hollywood to collect their credentials first.

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 euro rallied more than 1 percent against the dollar on Thursday after U.S. housing data and better-than-expected euro zone manufacturing and services activity revived appetite for risk. The yen surrendered early gains versus the dollar and dropped sharply against other currencies as U.S. stocks gained, helping improve sentiment a day after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke painted a gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy.

U.S. regional banks including SunTrust Banks Inc , BB&T Corp and PNC Financial Services Group Inc are paying less for deposits, which helped fuel higher profits in the second quarter.

United Parcel Service Inc , the world's largest package delivery company, raised its outlook on Thursday on higher ground and export volume, sending shares up 3.5 percent in premarket trading.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd posted above-forecast second-quarter earnings and increased its 2010 earnings guidance due to stable bookings and improved cost control, boosting its shares.

Stocks jumped on Thursday as companies across a wide swath of the economy reported strong earnings and existing home sales fell less sharply than forecast, easing fears of a double-dip recession.

The Bank of Canada cut its growth forecasts for each quarter of 2010, warning global economic uncertainty and cooling domestic consumption will dampen the recovery. Noting that the global economic recovery was proceeding but is not yet self-sustaining, the central bank cut its second-quarter annualized growth forecast to 3 percent from 3.8 percent in estimates released on Thursday.

Hershey Co reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, as increased advertising helped drive the U.S. chocolate maker's sales even as a joint venture in India struggled.

Dubai World DBWLD.UL warned that lenders, aside from the government's own support fund, would face a significantly worse deal if its debt plan fails and it is forced to seek liquidation, according to the debt restructuring plan outlined to bankers on Thursday.

Futures brokerage MF Global Holdings has lost eight brokers from its nine-man London fuel oil swaps desk, two industry sources said on Thursday.

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it will exclusively publish digital editions of 20 classic books owned by the Wylie Agency, including authors such as Philip Roth, John Updike and Norman Mailer, for the first time on its Kindle electronic reader.

Cigarette makers Philip Morris International Inc and Reynolds American Inc posted higher-than-expected quarterly profits and raised their 2010 earnings forecast, showing the strength of the tobacco business even in a weak global economy.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer 3M Co reported earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations and raised its forecast for the year, boosted by strong demand in key emerging markets.

The recent decision of KP scheme to partially allow Zimbabwe to sell its diamonds has come as a respite for Surat, the biggest diamond processing centre in the world. In fact, now diamantaires in Surat can officially import rough diamonds from the troubled Marange diamond mines in Zimbabwe with the Kimberley Process allowing supervised exports of diamonds from Zimbabwe.