IBT Staff Reporter

President Barack Obama said on Thursday he planned to discuss a strategy with Asia Pacific leaders calling on their countries to import more U.S. goods and the world to rely less on exporting to the United States.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc expects an extremely competitive holiday shopping season, but its treasurer said on Thursday that weekly price cuts are driving consumers to its U.S. stores and Walmart.com is seeing record hits after it slashed book prices.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, currently under presidential review, was not open-ended, putting more pressure on Kabul to improve security and fight corruption

Portraying Leonardo da Vinci or World War II in a video game is challenging game developers to mix fun with facts while academics hope this growing genre will get players more interested in history.

Six provincial governors from Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines on Thursday backed an expanded U.N. scheme aimed at protecting and conserving forests in return for carbon credits.

Apple Inc said on Thursday it plans to open 40 to 50 retail stores next year as the consumer electronics giant expands its reach to customers.

Leonora Walet, Asia Green Investment Correspondent

World leaders are setting their sights on completing an international deal on combating global warming by the middle of next year, a U.N. official said

Industrial production in the Eurozone continues to increase, suggesting that the region's overall economy may post a growth for the first time in over a year.

Owning more than 3,000 dresses, many of them designer, many from a era long gone, is a dream for most women. For Charlotte Smith, it's a reality.

Fang Yan and David Lin

Nissan Motor, expected to return to profitability in the current financial year, hopes to maintain the improved earnings momentum into 2010, its chief executive said on Thursday, driven largely by growth in emerging markets such as China.

Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists who accurately predicted the magnitude of the financial crisis, said on Thursday that a double-dip recession can be avoided if stimulus measures are unwound properly.

European shares edged up to a three-week closing high on Thursday with telecom shares leading the advance after soothing earnings results and airlines gaining ground on merger news.

The following are planned mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

The U.S. dollar rallied broadly in technical trading after a weekly jobless report triggered strength in the U.S. currency and momentum pushed it further through key levels. While the dollar's early gains came against the yen after a report showed initial weekly jobless benefit claims lower than expected, dollar strength spilled over against the euro.

U.S. mall owner Developers Diversified Realty Corp (DDR.N) may sell most of its planned $400 million commercial mortgage bond at yields well below existing issues, according to Thomson IFR on Thursday.

President Dmitry Medvedev pledged on Thursday to disband Russia's inefficient state corporations, created by his predecessor Vladimir Putin, and called for a probe in to their use of state money.

The fall in the handset market stopped in the third quarter, helped by clearing of inventories of unsold phones and booming sales on the so-called grey market in countries like China, research firm Gartner said on Thursday.

Apple Inc said on Thursday it plans to open 40 to 50 retail stores next year as the consumer electronics giant expands its reach to customers.

Customers who visit GameStop Corp stores will soon be able to purchase digital upgrades to their favorite video games, as the retailer eyes a shift toward digital distribution of games.

Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's top carmaker, said on Thursday it expects car sales in China this year to jump 83 percent from 2008, led by new models and as economic stimulus measures spur demand in the country.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday banned overdraft fees on automated-teller-machine and debit-card transactions unless consumers have actively selected an overdraft protection service.

Europe's second-biggest carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen on Thursday raised its full-year outlook and unveiled a plan to lift earnings via productivity improvemenmts, costs cuts and more sales in emerging markets.

BMW and its partner, the state parent of Brilliance China Automotive, will invest $735 million to expand their capacity in the world's largest vehicle market.

The Obama administration's pay czar said on Thursday his compensation rulings will allow General Motors Co and Chrysler Group to retain talent but is willing to consider lateral offers to hire new executives.

Mike Tyson was arrested Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a paparazzi at the Los Angeles LAX airport.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, but forecast earnings during the key holiday quarter that could miss Wall Street estimates as its customers face rising unemployment.

The U.S. economy has improved, but a number of risks to growth remain and there is no near-term inflation threat, a top Fed official said on Thursday.