IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stocks rose slightly on Thursday on gains by some retail stores and stronger job sector data, but declines in chipmakers eased the market off its highs.

European supervisors won tentative support for impending bank stress tests on Thursday, while markets sought more detail about the process before delivering a final verdict.

Banks lifted Britain's top shares on Thursday, with Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group top performers on reports that a new bid vehicle will seek to buy British banking assets. The FTSE 100 .FTSE index was up 90.63 points, or 1.8 percent, at 5,105.45, rising for a third consecutive day. It closed up 49.82 points, or 1 percent, on Wednesday.

Chrysler Group LLC will offer consumers a 60-day, money-back guarantee on new vehicles and also make the first two months of payments for buyers, as it tries to shore up sales amid lackluster consumer confidence.

General Motors Co said on Wednesday it will sell its Nexteer Automotive unit to a China government-backed group, as GM focuses on its core car business while the Chinese look to bolster their global competitiveness.

Warm weather and promotions tied to Memorial Day and Father's Day helped U.S. retailers post higher same-store sales in June, but analysts warned the discount-heavy month might eat into margins.

The euro hit a two-month high against the dollar on Thursday as U.S. and Australian economic data restored faith in the global economic recovery and boosted appetite for higher yielding currencies. New claims for U.S. unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week and several top U.S. retail chains reported stronger June same-store sales, supporting demand for stocks and other higher-risk assets.

The Obama administration said on Thursday it will immediately issue a revised ban on deepwater drilling if an appeals court does not allow it to reinstate the six-month moratorium it imposed in the wake of the BP oil spill.

Mitchell came to me with the goal of preparing his résumé for an advancement opportunity. While he had felt confident about his résumé.

Gold fell below $1,200 an ounce on Thursday, nearing recent six-week lows, as growing optimism over the global economy limited investor interest in perceived safe-haven assets, although consumers helped contain losses.

Chris Reid was pumped. After suffering through a few years of tight credit and the U.S. housing meltdown, the Pensacola-based realtor was ready to sell some beach-front property. Summer was coming and that is the region's busiest season.

Investors looking to cash in on the 3D craze take note: rather than betting on a volatile box office, your best bet might be with companies that make watching and screening movies in three dimensions possible.

Oil rose to around $75 per barrel on Thursday, supported by firmer stock markets, U.S. jobless data and a report showing a fall in crude inventories in the United States, the world's biggest consumer.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday the U.S. economic recovery has proved stronger than expected but is still vulnerable to high unemployment and a moribund housing market.

Deb Levine started her online sex education company because she was bored putting condoms on bananas as a way to teach students about safe sex.

The Manhattan apartment rental market strengthened in the second quarter as landlords drew confidence from a more robust sale market, but it is still softer than it had been in the past decade.

Interbank euro funding costs rose on Thursday as markets adjusted to reduced liquidity, while euribor futures fell after the European Central Bank announced no extension to its programme of unlimited liquidity operations. The European Central Bank said euro zone interest rates would be held at 1.0 percent while the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold at a record low 0.5 percent.

High unemployment and a moribund housing market are constraining the U.S. economic recovery, while the public debt looms large on the horizon and needs to be addressed, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

The Obama administration headed to court on Thursday to fight for the moratorium on deepwater drilling it imposed in response to the BP oil spill, while the British oil giant sought to dampen talk it could stop its gushing well this month.

The U.S. apartment vacancy rate in the second quarter fell for the first time in nearly three years, a research report released on Thursday found.

Wells Fargo & Co, the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, said on Wednesday it is closing more than 600 Wells Fargo Financial offices and will no longer originate non-prime mortgages.

The global private banking sector has the potential to grow by 60 percent if it can get hold of about $10 trillion in untapped wealth, held back by depressed returns and lack of investor trust, Scorpio Partnership said.

European supervisors shored up some confidence in the stress tests they are imposing on banks, as markets focused on finding out more detail about the process before delivering a final verdict.

A 35-year-old man with a genetically deformed face became the recipient of a full-face transplant courtesy of French doctors, who claim it was the first such operation in history, French newspapers reported Thursday.

New U.S. claims for unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week, government data showed on Thursday, while the number of people continuing to receive benefits in the final week of June was the lowest in seven months.

The euro hit a two-month high against the dollar on Thursday amid a broad increase in risk appetite after strong Australian data and a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. weekly initial jobless claims.

SUN VALLEY News Corp digital chief Jonathan Miller said on Wednesday his company is not in talks to sell its once popular social networking site MySpace and described reports of any discussions as fabrications.

Stocks rose on Thursday after several top U.S. retail chains reported better-than-expected sales in June and new claims for jobless benefits fell more than forecast.

The European Central Bank held its main interest rate at a record low of 1.0 percent for the fourteenth month running on Thursday, as expected by economists.