IBT Staff Reporter

Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects to launch a new online brokerage service on Monday to attract less affluent investors who trade through discount firms like Charles Schwab or E*Trade, a bank spokeswoman said on Thursday.

The Australian dollar has rallied more than half a US cent overnight on the back of gains in equity markets in Europe and the US. The AUD rallied to a high of USD0.8684, driven by stronger equity markets and investor confidence.

Broadcom Corp, whose chips power Apple Inc's iPad, expects more tablet computers using its chips to hit the U.S. market as early as this year, an executive for Broadcom said on Thursday.

United Airlines and Continental Airlines need to merge to be profitable in competing with low-cost and foreign carriers, executives of the two U.S. major airlines said on Thursday.

The Australian Dollar spent the majority of local trade yesterday above the 0.8600 cents mark as risk appetite returned to the market with high yielders the main benefactor.

Stocks edged higher late in a choppy, thinly traded session on Thursday as investors built on momentum gained after the S&P 500 index broke through its 200-day moving average earlier this week.

Lawmakers accused BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward of evasion and ducking responsibility for the worst oil spill in U.S. history when he appeared before them on Thursday to answer charges his company cut corners on its blown-out Gulf of Mexico well.

New claims for jobless aid rose last week while consumer prices notched their largest decline in nearly 1-1/2 years in May, suggesting interest rates will remain ultra low to nurse the fragile economic recovery.

Even if you've been preparing for months and acing your practice exams, come test day you are likely to feel a little...less than confident. Find out how to calm your nerves.

Kroger Co posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, suggesting it was holding its own amid heated competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other grocery stores.

Motorola Inc said on Thursday that it would launch a new phone based on Microsoft Corp software and that No. 3 U.S. mobile operator Sprint Nextel Corp will sell the phone to corporate customers.

Stocks rose modestly in a choppy session on Thursday on a late flurry of buying as investors built on momentum gained after the S&P 500 broke through its 200-day moving average earlier this week.

U.S. communications authorities on Thursday took a small but significant step toward regulating high-speed Internet in a bid to reclaim oversight, setting the stage for an eventual legal showdown with industry heavyweights.

Toyota Motor Corp is resuming construction of a plant in Mississippi that was put on hold during the economic downturn, and plans to make its top-selling Corolla sedan there starting in autumn 2011.

Ford Motor Co ranked No. 1 for new car quality among mass-market brands while recall-hit Toyota Motor Corp plunged in a closely watched quality survey released on Thursday.

U.S. authorities have charged 1,215 people in hundreds of mortgage fraud cases that resulted in estimated losses of $2.3 billion, top Obama administration officials said on Thursday, unveiling a crackdown after the housing market collapse.

U.S. communications authorities on Thursday took a small but significant step toward regulating high-speed Internet in a bid to reclaim oversight, setting the stage for an eventual legal showdown with industry heavyweights.

Stocks fell on Thursday as slowing regional factory activity and jobless claims underscored worries about the pace of the economic recovery.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday won another battle to maintain its independence as lawmakers crafting a final Wall Street reform bill dropped a plan to make one of its top officials a political appointee.

Two initial public offerings rose in their Thursday debuts as the broader U.S. market fell.

A federal court judge ruled that a patent infringement lawsuit filed by PaperPro stapler maker Accentra against Staples Inc can go to trial, PaperPro said on Thursday.

U.S. stocks declined on Thursday as data on regional factory activity and jobless claims underscored worries about the pace of the economic recovery.

Angry U.S. lawmakers hammered BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward at a congressional hearing on Thursday, accusing his company of taking extreme risks that triggered the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Around the turn of every year, bankers can think of only one thing: the size of their bonuses.

The Swiss parliament has finally backed a treaty to give the U.S. government details of clients UBS AG helped dodge taxes, ending nearly a year of uncertainty that threatened the Swiss bank's recovery.

Two U.S. initial public offerings opened above their IPO prices on Thursday while a third cut its offering and delayed its pricing.

Stocks slipped on Thursday as data on regional factory activity and jobless claims underscored worries about the pace of the economic recovery.

Factory activity growth plummeted in the Mid-Atlantic region in June, a survey showed on Thursday, adding to worries that the short and tepid U.S. economic recovery is now fizzling.

Kroger Co posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and backed its full-year outlook, holding its own amid heated competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other grocery stores.