IBT Staff Reporter

Private equity firm Quadrangle Group is to spend the coming months laying the groundwork for raising a new fund, now that a long-running pay-to-play probe has been settled, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

U.S. home-builder sentiment rose faster than expected to a seven-month high in April as consumers rushed to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit, the National Association of Home Builders said on Thursday.

U.S. stocks inched higher on Thursday as an upbeat profit forecast from United Parcel Service lifted transportation shares, but concerns about a rise in weekly jobless claims limited gains.

The regulator for the largest U.S. banks warned on Thursday against using industry-wide stress tests as a cornerstone of bank supervision going forward -- a view that diverges from a top Federal Reserve official.

U.S. stocks edged up on Thursday as an upbeat profit forecast from United Parcel Service lifted transportation shares, but concerns about a rise in weekly jobless claims limited gains.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's political independence may make it better suited than a council of regulators to spot and act upon behavior that could threaten the entire financial system, a senior Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

Known as a champion of independent filmmakers, the Tribeca Film Festival shifts into a new gear and embraces the future of film when it opens next week with a 3D Shrek movie and online streaming for Web audiences.

Seven former U.S. clients of UBS AG were charged with failing to pay taxes for assets held offshore in Swiss accounts, with one attempting to evade tax on $20 million, according to court documents on Thursday.

U.S. manufacturers were busy in April as factories ramped up production to rebuild inventories though soft labor markets still point to a relatively slow-paced economic recovery.

Apache Corp said it will buy oil and natural gas explorer Mariner Energy Inc for $2.7 billion, diving into the deepwater Gulf of Mexico with its second major acquisition this week.

Opera Software's Internet browser for Apple's iPhone was downloaded more than one million times during the first day when it was available to consumers, the Norwegian firm said on Thursday.

Private equity firm Quadrangle Group LLC settled its part of a long-running pay-to-pay probe involving the state's $129.4 billion pension fund, but the accord excludes co-founder Steve Rattner, who remains under scrutiny.

The project, which is unrivalled in scale, went underway in 2008 and is working to catalogue the genetic profiles of cancer cells collected from 25,000 people - 500 per targeted cancers.

Patients suffering from rare tumours can now be linked up with clinical trials and research following the launch of a new web site in Melbourne.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday as an upbeat profit forecast from United Parcel Service pushed up transportation shares, offsetting concerns about a rise in weekly jobless claims.

Residents of the Tasmanian west coast mining town of Rosebery plan to sue the state's health and environment bodies, as well as mine operator MMG Australia over alleged exposure to toxic contaminates from mining activities.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has made clear it will not monetize federal budget deficits by printing money, a senior U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

Public schools in NSW are being forced to heat classrooms with unflued gas heaters under the school building program, although health warnings that emissions from the heaters pose a risk to asthmatic children and can trigger respiratory problems.

U.S. mortgage foreclosure filings dropped for a second straight month in February, and notched the smallest annual increase in four years as housing-rescue efforts contained activity, a report released on Thursday showed.

(Reuters) - British scientists have mastered a controversial technique using cloning technology to prevent some incurable inherited diseases by swapping DNA between two fertilized human eggs.

U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday as a strong profit forecast from United Parcel Service Inc propelled transportation shares, offsetting worries that debt-plagued Greece was ready to use an emergency bailout package.

Prosecutors are examining whether Goldman Sachs Group director Rajat Gupta gave inside information about the Wall Street bank to Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, citing people close to the situation.

German authorities say they have targeted nine suspects, including former staff of Hewlett-Packard Co , in a probe into whether the world's top PC maker paid bribes to win business in Russia.

Charles Schwab Corp said on Thursday its quarterly profit dropped 45 percent, in line with its own worst-case-scenario forecast, as sluggish trading and low interest rates weighed on the largest U.S. discount brokerage.

(Reuters) - People living in countries with government-run healthcare systems like Sweden and Canada are far more confident than Americans that their families can get good, affordable care, according to a 22-nation survey released on Thursday.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless aid soared last week as the backlog from the Easter holiday was processed, adding to worries about the economic recovery, while U.S. industrial output rose less than expected in March.

Mazda Motor Corp said on Thursday it would recall 89,822 Mazda3/Axela compact cars in Japan and China to fix a problem with the oil hose, and a further 191,503 sold elsewhere could be subject to repairs.

Renault and Daimler have begun examining each other's books after signing a partnership deal last week, and are discussing cooperation on electric vehicles, Renault's COO said on Thursday.

Greece has not changed its plan to hold a U.S. roadshow for a dollar bond, a senior government official told Reuters on Thursday, denying earlier press reports.