IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Thursday as investors awaited the latest housing and jobless data and continued to digest a policy statement from the Federal Reserve that sent shares lower in the last session.

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Thursday as investors awaited data on home sales and jobless claims for an indication of the state of the economy following a sharp sell-off in the last session.

A U.S. drive to build a more balanced global economy gained the qualified support of China on Wednesday in a sign that Group of 20 leaders may be ready to take joint action to prevent future economic crises.

Oil prices extended losses and fell closer toward $68 a barrel on Thursday, as data showing an unexpectedly high build up in U.S. oil and products stockpiles reminded traders that oil prices may have run ahead of the demand fundamentals.

Nintendo Co Ltd, the top maker of the current generation of video game consoles, said on Wednesday it will cut the price of its Wii video game console by $50 to $199.99, starting Sunday.

December Coffee should be reaching its exhaustion point as well as the down trend line, we recently pulled out of our call spread and feel that we should reverse at this level.

Fed Upgrades; Credit Card Blues; Can't Do It Alone

I began my professional career in Customs (now Australian Customs and Border Protection) in the nineties. It was an era of change for the public sector - graduates were being actively engaged, computers appeared on everyone's desk and the way in which we did business was changed forever.

Elitism, atrophy, complacence and a resistance to new ideas: MediaCom's Strategy Director Philip Phelan didn't mince words when he pronounced the cause of the newspaper's deteriorating health at the MBS Marketing Association's event Who Killed the Newspaper? this month.

It pays to be discerning when interpreting the vast increases in reported statistics concerning pre-and post-MBA salaries.

U.S. accounting rule makers approved a change in reporting regulations on Wednesday that might benefit technology companies such as Apple Inc , allowing them to recognize more revenue when products are sold.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Texas man with insider trading for reaping $8.64 million of illegal profit related to Dell Inc's planned purchase of Perot Systems Corp .

Citigroup Inc , the bank bailed out with $45 billion by the U.S. government, plans to cut down its U.S. branch network to six big metropolitan areas, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday on its website, citing people familiar with the situation.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc reported a second-quarter profit that rose more than analysts expected as cost cuts helped offset weak demand for home furnishings.

Jay-Z led the U.S. pop chart for a second week on Wednesday, while Whitney Houston's recent chart-topper rebounded one place to No. 2 after receiving a big sales boost from her Oprah Winfrey Show appearance.

An Obama administration proposal to create a government watchdog for financial consumers inched forward in Congress on Wednesday, with House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank calling for death panels to close down troubled financial firms.

The Aussie dollar rallied during yesterday's Asian session on the back of an increase in demand for high yielders led by a surge in the Kiwi dollar.

U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy Co plans to sell an iRex Technologies e-reader that links to the Barnes & Noble digital bookstore, the companies said on Wednesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed on Wednesday that serious additional sanctions must be considered if Iran does not respond to proposals to end a nuclear standoff.

Former Alaska governor and US vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin delivered her first speech outside North America on Wednesday.

The OECD signaled on Wednesday that Switzerland would soon be taken off a list of financial centers judged to fall short of international standards of cooperation in tax evasion inquiries due to bank secrecy rules.

Chevron Corp said on Wednesday it had filed an international arbitration claim against Ecuador, opening a new front in its defense against a $27 billion environmental damage claim in Ecuadorean court.

Automakers backed calls to ban drivers on U.S. roads from text messaging with cell phones and other hand-held devices, an issue gaining attention from the Obama administration and Congress.

Canadian intellectual property company Gennum Corp swung to a third-quarter loss, hurt by a restructuring charge and reduced inventory levels at customers.

Telecom equipment maker, Comtech Telecommunications Corp posted a fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street expectations, helped by the acquisition of communication-equipment maker Radyne Corp.

Google Inc expects to buy one small company a month as it rekindles its acquisition engine and moves beyond the worst phase of the global recession, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in an interview on Wednesday.

CW television announced its new reality docu-series called Fly Girls set to debut mid-season.

Marriott International Inc said it would cut prices and scale back development plans for its luxury timeshare segment, resulting in a $760 million charge, because of soft demand in this business.

Chinese solar wafer manufacturer ReneSola said on Wednesday that it will buy Dynamic Green Energy Ltd for about $88.5 million, mostly in stock, expanding the parts company into the market for solar panels, the final product sold to produce energy.