IBT Staff Reporter

Companies and inventors who pay extra would be able to get a quicker review of their patent applications under a proposal by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced on Thursday.

Fitch Ratings downgraded BP , reversing its view that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill would have a limited financial impact on the company, and was joined by Moody's as fears grow over clean-up and legal costs.

The jarring flash crash on May 6 yielded a record trading day at TD Ameritrade Holding Corp , though some of its customers were upset with the market breakdown that day, the U.S. online brokerage's chief said on Thursday.

The Australian dollar rallied after third quarter of growth data showed fifth consecutive quarter of expansion

The global recovery had enough momentum before Europe's debt crisis struck to be able to weather it without being derailed, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday.

Stocks rose on Thursday, led by a late-day surge in technology shares as investors geared up for a strong unemployment report on Friday.

The global economy had enough momentum before Europe's debt crisis struck to weather it without a sharp downturn, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday.

Private sector employers added jobs in May and the economy's dominant services sector increased payrolls for the first time in more than two years, building evidence that the labor market was picking up steam.

Stocks rose on Thursday, led by a late-day surge in technology shares as investors geared up for a strong unemployment report on Friday.

Dell Inc's chief executive said on Thursday he has considered taking the company he founded private, and said the transformation of the computer maker is still incomplete.

Germany's consumer protection minister said on Thursday she would quit Facebook over what she called privacy law violations that she believed would lead to the company being fined by German data protection authorities.

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said the transition from PCs to smartphones and tablets is a time of potential tumult in the technology industry, but said the software maker will continue to prosper in the changing market.

A top Federal Reserve Official said on Thursday the U.S. central bank should raise rates to 1 percent by the end of the summer to avoid having to raise borrowing costs abruptly as the economic recovery gains momentum.

Growth in the euro zone services sector quickened in May, helped by a the recovery in France, but activity slowed in the big emerging economies and was stable in the United States, surveys showed on Thursday.

The S&P 500 was little changed on Thursday, pressured by weak natural resources shares and tepid May sales by U.S. retailers, while caution before Friday's unemployment report pushed investors to the sidelines.

EU countries can ban online gambling if their aim is to combat fraud, Europe's highest court said on Thursday, dealing a blow to the multi-billion euro online betting industry seeking to break domestic monopolies.

A Swiss-U.S. deal to end a tax dispute that nearly crippled UBS AG and undermined Swiss bank secrecy inched closer to full parliament approval as the upper house gave it its backing on Thursday.

Johnson & Johnson sees its medical device sales growing faster than the industry through 2014 and plans about 80 significant regulatory submissions for its largest unit in the next two years.

Lending to small businesses is declining, making it more difficult to counter the persistent problem of high unemployment, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

May brought lackluster sales results for retailers, with discount chains turning in the strongest performance, as consumers again showed their cautious side in a fitful economic recovery.

The U.S. dollar rose broadly on Thursday on bets for a strong reading for U.S. payrolls data while the yen fell for a second day versus the dollar due to political uncertainty in Japan. Expectations for a strong payrolls report on Friday whet appetite for riskier assets and pushed the Australian and New Zealand dollars higher, along with some emerging market currencies. Investors tend to sell the low-yielding yen to fund such investments.

When author Nicholas Carr began researching his book on whether the Internet is ruining our minds, he restricted his online access and e-mail and turned off his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Luxury groups are finally warming to the Internet, lured by surging sales and a wider audience for their brands, though lingering suspicions could limit the level of online penetration compared with the wider retail sector.

Pakistan's central bank governor said on Thursday he has stepped down for personal reasons, increasing concerns about political instability as the country faces IMF pressure to reform its economy. Salim Raza was the second senior policy-maker to quit in Pakistan this year following Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin's resignation in February.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, tracking weakness in the euro, as tepid May sales from U.S. retailers curbed investor optimism ahead of what is expected to be a solid payroll report Friday.

Considering the extent of oil spillage happening from the Gulf of Mexico and the dangers looming large on the environment due to that, has left the investors of these oil and gas exploration companies perplexed on their investment preferences. As and how the gravity of the oil spillage started coming to the knowledge of the investor community, they showed a trend of exit from the traditional oil and gas exploration companies and diverted their funds towards alternate energy companies.

May brought lackluster sales results for U.S. retailers, with discount chains turning in the strongest performance, as consumers again showed their cautious side in a seasonally weak period for spending.

Lending to small businesses is declining, thus making it more difficult to come to grips with the persistent problem of high unemployment, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

Disagreements over how quickly to reduce billowing budget deficits and restore balance to the global economy risk straining high-level Group of 20 talks that started on Thursday.