IBT Staff Reporter

CIT Group Inc on Thursday said it has won overwhelming support from bondholders for its reorganization plan, as the big finance company tries to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the year.

Sony Corp pushed back an elusive profit margin target to March 2013, after narrowly failing to meet the goal last year, but it aims to make its video game and TV operations profitable next year.

Off-price retailer Ross Stores Inc posted an in-line quarterly profit, helped by better margins, but the company maintained its fourth-quarter earnings forecast which was below market expectations, sending its shares down 4 percent.

Amil Participacoes, Brazil's largest provider of supplemental health services, agreed on Thursday to buy control of rival Medial Saude to expand in the country's wealthiest state and cut operating costs.

A unit of General Electric Co raised $500 million in a 5-year Islamic bond sale, the first by a large U. S. conglomerate, as it looks to diversify its investor base.

Any bid for UK confectioner Cadbury by Italian chocolate maker Ferrero would have to be friendly, an Italian source close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is beefing up in Europe by buying the half of Cazenove it does not already own in a deal valuing the 190-year old UK stockbroker at 2 billion pounds ($3.4 billion).

U.S. mortgage delinquency rates and the percentage of loans that entered the foreclosure process jumped in the third quarter, with both reaching record highs, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.

Union leaders at Ford Motor's Volvo car unit held their first talks with China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group on Thursday but are still waiting to see Geely's financing plans for the Swedish carmaker.

Eating disorder campaigners criticized British model Kate Moss on Thursday for saying she backed the motto Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, a slogan popular with pro-anorexia websites.

Iraqi lawmakers, failing to resolve differences over an election law, said they would meet on Saturday and send the law for approval as it stands, keeping on track plans for a January vote and a partial U.S. troop withdrawal later next year.

Mitsubishi Fuso, the Japanese unit of market leader Daimler Trucks, aims to weatherproof the company for smaller volumes in the future in order to steer clear of the losses it will book this year.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a court building in Peshawar on Thursday, killing 18 people, officials said, in the latest of a series of attacks on the northwestern Pakistan city.

Exide Technologies has landed a deal to sell 105,000 more batteries a year to Toyota Motor Corp, deepening its relationship with the world's top carmaker and boosting the battery company's shares.

Federal Reserve officials on Thursday downplayed the consequences of the falling U.S. dollar, underscoring that deflation is still a threat, especially with commercial real estate prices falling.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, with all major indexes down more than 1 percent on weakness in the technology and health insurance sectors.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday that without sweeping financial regulatory reforms, economic recovery would not be enough to ensure U.S. strength and stability.

Top cell phone maker Nokia has seen growing interest among companies for its first netbook or mini-laptop, a company executive said on Thursday.

The dollar and inflation link; Weaker recovery expected; Sony sees profit for 2013

Williams-Sonoma Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year outlook on Thursday as the home-goods retailer's cost-cutting and merchandising efforts bore fruit.

Asia is leading the global economy out of the deepest downturn in decades but the recovery will be marred by high unemployment and huge government debt across the industrialised countries, the OECD said on Thursday.

Demand for Swiss watches picked up slightly in October from the previous month as the pace of decline in exports slowed, pointing to a sluggish recovery reliant on sustained demand from Asia.

World powers could have a package of measures against Iran within weeks, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday, warning Tehran of consequences for its failure to respond to an offer of a nuclear deal.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is beefing up in Europe by buying the half of Cazenove it does not already own in a deal valuing the 190-year old UK stockbroker at 2 billion pounds ($3.36 billion).

Veteran Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was sworn in as president on Thursday, pledging to fight graft and take control of his country's security before his five-year term ends, after a fraud-marred election left his image in ruins.

French insurer AXA said on Thursday that there was no change for now to its offer made with partner AMP for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, despite speculation the bid may be raised.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is interested in buying Allied Irish Banks' minority stake in U.S. lender M&T Bank Corp, the Irish Independent reported on Thursday.

India's prime minister and U.S. President Barack Obama meet next week to strengthen ties, with the emerging Asian power increasingly playing a bigger role on global issues such as climate change and trade.

Spain's Santander, the banking group which owns Britain's Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, will next year launch a no-fees current account, with no charges for overdraft use or access to foreign ATMs.