IBT Staff Reporter

Online job postings rose slightly in October, led by growth in health care and public companies, but the monthly employment gauge remained 20 percent below year-ago levels, a private research group said on Thursday.

Beatles record label EMI is suing U.S. music website BlueBeat.com, which it said was offering unauthorized downloads of the Fab Four's tracks for sale.

Dow Chemical Co and Shenhua Group, China's largest coal miner, will reportedly move ahead with their planned $10 billion coal-to-chemical project in Shaanxi province after a delay of at least one year.

The Senate vote unanimously on Wednesday to extend aid for jobless workers and broaden tax breaks for homebuyers and businesses in a bid to breathe life into the struggling U.S. economy.

Asian stocks fall as South Korea fuels growth concern. China shares rise for 5th day to 12-week high, extending gains on recovery hopes.

The U.S. commercial real estate market, slammed by the credit squeeze and recession, is likely to hit bottom in 2010, according to a survey of industry investors, developers, lenders and consultants.

Oil major BP may start construction next year of a cellulosic biofuel plant as part of a push toward commercial production of new types of biofuels from next year, the head of the group's biofuels division said.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Wednesday said they would close a loophole that lets paper companies claim a valuable tax credit for making biofuel that is already a byproduct of paper production.

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday the company could look to extend its search engine partnership with Yahoo outside the United States, if it gets regulatory approval.

Health insurer Cigna Corp posted higher third-quarter profit on Thursday as strength in stock market investments boosted the value of variable annuity products in its reinsurance business.

U.S. non-farm productivity in the third quarter rose at its fastest pace in six years as companies squeezed more output from a smaller pool of labor and cut costs to deal with a slump in demand, government data showed on Thursday.

The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold at 1.0 percent on Thursday and investors are now braced for signs that it will soon start weaning banks off cheap and abundant liquidity.

South Korea, the OECD's fastest-growing carbon polluter, has ditched its weakest voluntary 2020 emissions target and will choose one of two stricter options ahead of a global meeting in Copenhagen.

Thomson Reuters Corp's quarterly revenue fell but profit beat Wall Street estimates, helped by foreign currency rates and cost cuts, and the company affirmed its 2009 outlook.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday on upbeat results from Cisco Systems and ahead of an expected pickup in October same-store sales as well as jobless claims data.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday on upbeat results from Cisco Systems and ahead of an expected pickup in October same-store sales as well as jobless claims data.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday on upbeat results from Cisco Systems and ahead of an expected pickup in October same-store sales as well as jobless claims data.

The euro held steady on Thursday as the European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold, while the pound rose versus the greenback as the UK central bank raised its asset buying but less than some expected.

Sterling jumped, UK gilts tumbled and British stocks briefly slipped on Thursday after the Bank of England expanded its quantitative easing programme by 25 billion pounds, allaying some concerns about a bigger increase.

Britain's top shares fell 0.5 percent around midday on Thursday, as investors digested the Bank of England decision to keep interest rates on hold and said it will pump more money into the economy to spur growth.

Thomson Reuters Corp reported a decline in quarterly revenue as sales in its legal and markets divisions fell, while underlying operating profit rose on currency benefits and cost cuts.

The Bank of England expanded its quantitative easing programme by 25 billion pounds to 200 billion pounds on Thursday, continuing its unprecedented scheme to revive Britain's recession-hit economy.

Risk aversion ahead of key central bank policy decisions put pressure on Britain's leading shares around midsession on Thursday, with weakness in banks and miners offsetting modest gains in defensive telecoms and tobacco firms.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday ahead of jobs and productivity data and same-store sales numbers from major U.S. retailers.

Oil fell to around $80 a barrel after a steep decline in U.S. crude inventories sent prices up 1 percent the previous day, as traders aimed to lock in profits amid weaker equity markets and a firming dollar.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday ahead of jobs and productivity data and same-store sales numbers from major U.S. retailers.

The dollar and the yen edged up on Thursday as short-term investors and Japanese exporters sold into a rally in the euro and higher-yielding currencies which followed a repeated pledge by the U.S. Fed to keep rates low for a while.

The dollar and the yen gained broadly on Thursday as the euro and perceived higher risk currencies succumbed to profit-taking ahead of policy decisions by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

The Bank of England said on Thursday it would expand its quantitative easing programme by 25 billion pounds to help kick-start Britain's recession-hit economy.