IBT Staff Reporter

PepsiCo Inc reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue on Thursday, hurt by falling North American soft drink sales, and cautioned it did not expect a major revival of consumer spending next year.

Stocks rallied on Thursday on hopes of a strong earnings season after a solid profit from Alcoa Inc and a data suggesting stabilization in the labor market.

Text messaging can help smokers quit the habit, according to an international study.

Morgan Stanley likely broke a string of three straight losses in the third quarter, while chief rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc extended its dominance.

The increasing use of dark pools, or venues where stock trades are hidden from public view, is a growing concern for regulators, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

Suspected concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk will go on trial on November 30 facing charges of helping to kill 27,900 Jews during World War Two, a German court said on Thursday.

A senior aide to French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday defended Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, who is facing calls for his resignation for having written about paying boys for sex in Thailand.

South Korea's foreign minister said on Thursday there were no signs that the North was in the final stages of restoring an aging nuclear plant, knocking down a report that operations could soon resume at the facility.

U.S. President Barack Obama's special peace envoy sought on Thursday an early relaunch of Israeli-Palestinian talks, but Israel said Washington's goal of comprehensive peace was an illusion.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance hit a nine-month low last week and retailers reported their first monthly sales gain in over a year on Thursday, easing fears that recovery from recession would be unsustainable.

Stocks extended gains, driving the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq up more than 1 percent, as investors bet on more upbeat earnings following Alcoa Inc's surprising profit.

A large bomb exploded outside the Indian embassy in central Kabul on Thursday, killing 17 people and wounding 76, in the latest of a series of militant attacks on diplomatic and government buildings in the capital.

A combative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed on Thursday to govern with even more grit after Italy's top court lifted his immunity and he dismissed corruption charges against him as laughable.

Undersea earthquakes caused panic in the South Pacific on Thursday, sending islanders fleeing to higher ground on fears of a second devastating tsunami in as many weeks, but a series of waves proved to be tiny and harmless.

Japan's new prime minister will seek to keep periodically fraught ties with China and South Korea on track at weekend summits, avoiding rows that could hurt economic links and pitching his idea of an East Asia regional grouping.

Ford Motor Co's Volvo Cars denied a Swedish newspaper report on Thursday claiming that the unit's chief executive would leave the company by the end of the year, dismissing the article as pure speculation.

Melanie Hain, the soccer mom who gained national attention after openly carrying a loaded handgun to her daughter's soccer game, was shot dead along with her husband Scott Hain, the Pennlive reported Thursday.

President Barack Obama met on Wednesday with the two top Democrats in Congress to discuss ways to spur the economy and reverse a climb in the U.S. unemployment rate, which is now at a 26-year-high.

Beating Expectations; Jobless Claim Plunge; Citi Gets Good Marks

Valero Energy Corp said on Thursday that it is still assessing a hydrocracker that was shut earlier this week at its oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, following a small fire.

Vaccination programs against H1N1 swine flu are under way in the United States, China and Australia and will begin soon in parts of Europe.

Mistras Group Inc, a provider of technology to evaluate the structural integrity of infrastructure, rose slightly in its first session following an initial public offering that priced below expectations.

Vivendi may throw in the towel on its attempt to buy Brazilian telecom company GVT after being trumped by a 2.6 billion euro ($3.8 billion) counterbid from Spain's Telefonica.

NASA will impact the moon with a rocket on Friday to confirm or deny the existence of water ice which scientists think exists on billions of gallons but haven't been able to prove it.

Liz Claiborne Inc said on Thursday that its namesake apparel line would be sold exclusively at J.C. Penney Co Inc department stores, and it expects a profit from its Liz Claiborne wholesale brands in 2010, sending its shares up more than 12 percent.

Indian state-run telecom Mahanagar Telephone Nigam is looking to move ahead with a consortium bid for Kuwait telecom Zain and is also interested in buying a stake in Zambian telecom firm Zamtel.

Off-price retailer Ross Stores Inc said same-store sales for September rose more than expected and raised its third-quarter earnings view partly on reduced inventory.

Britain's Lloyds Banking Group said it was still assessing ways to exit or reduce its participation in a state scheme to insure its toxic assets, after reports it plans to raise 25 billion pounds.

U.S. retailers gave investors an early Christmas present, posting their first monthly sales increase in more than a year and suggesting that wounded consumers might begin to heal in time for the crucial holiday season.