IBT Staff Reporter

Oil prices hovered around $72.50 a barrel on Thursday after rising more than 5 percent this week as swollen U.S. distillate stocks such as diesel offset a weaker dollar and rallying equities.

Discover Financial Services posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday as loan losses grew less than anticipated and the sixth-largest U.S. credit card issuer trimmed costs.

The Chinese government is flooding Beijing with armed police and up to one million security volunteers to head off any unrest over October's sensitive anniversary of 60 years of Communist Party rule.

Four Uighur men were sentenced to between eight and 15 years in prison for stabbing a Han Chinese woman in the neck with a syringe in the capital of the ethnically divided Xinjiang region in China's northwest.

Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant was killed in a police shoot-out in Central Java, police said on Thursday, lifting a major security threat ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Barack Obama.

New Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama got some good news on his first full day in office as the central bank said the struggling economy was showing signs of recovery and 72 percent of voters backed his cabinet.

Deutsche Bank has backed out of talks to buy a package of assets from nationalised bank ABN AMRO under a deal mandated by the European Commission, the Dutch finance ministry said on Thursday.

Chinese photovoltaic cell maker Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd forecast sequentially higher third-quarter revenue, and said it was seeing an improvement in end market demand, sending its shares up 13 percent.

Shares of Clarcor Inc fell as much as 6 percent on Thursday, a day after the filtration products maker reported lower-than-expected third-quarter results and cut its full-year earnings forecast. We believe (the) shares will remain range bound pending the company's ability to meet and exceed expectations and are maintaining our 'hold' rating, said analyst Jeffrey Hammond of KeyBanc Capital Markets.

President Barack Obama will pledge U.S. action on financial regulatory reform at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh and underscore the need for global coordination on the issue, a senior aide said on Wednesday.

Chip technology developer Tessera Technologies Inc raised its third-quarter revenue forecast, driven by improved performance across its segments.

Men taking the antiviral drugs peginterferon and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C virus infection often experience sexual dysfunction, results of a study indicate.

Jay Leno's new prime-time chat and comedy TV show lost more than 7 million viewers on its second night after a slew of bad reviews but was still the No. 1 U.S. network show of the night, audience ratings figures showed on Wednesday.

Timberland Co said its Chief Financial Officer John Crimmins will leave effective Sept. 30 and named Sara Lee Corp's Carrie Teffner as his replacement.

Hanesbrands Inc said it agreed to sell three of its yarn manufacturing plants to privately held Parkdale, and shut a fourth plant and two warehouses.

President Barack Obama on Thursday abandoned plans for a large missile defense shield in eastern Europe, promising instead a stronger, swifter defense system to protect U.S. allies against any threat from Iran.

Johnson & Johnson and Elan Corp Plc said they have closed the deal under which J&J's newly formed unit Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy acquired all the assets and rights related to Elan's Alzheimer's Immunotherapy Program (AIP).

A third of malaria cases in African babies can be prevented by giving them regular doses of antimalarial drugs even before the children are infected, researchers said on Thursday.

Casino operator MGM Mirage said on Thursday lawsuits filed against it in recent weeks that allege securities fraud were without merit.

Speculation that Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) will try to incorporate Germany's MAN SE (MANG.DE) into a new trucks alliance gained momentum after comments from leaders of the sprawling automotive empire this week.

China stock market's sharp rebound from a dramatic sell off in August has limited upside from current levels as a huge supply of IPO shares is set to counter investor optimism over an economic recovery.

Crexus Investment Corp shares fell 4 percent in their debut Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Ladder Capital Realty Finance Inc, a prospective real estate investment trust, set the terms on Thursday for its planned $400 million initial public offering.

With Whip It, her remarkable debut as a director, Drew Barrymore proves that she is just as perky, quirky and talented behind the camera as in front of it.

U.S. food packager Bemis Co said on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice had requested additional information about its planned purchase of Rio Tinto's U.S. packaging arm.

The head of No. 3 U.S. mobile service Sprint Nextel Corp said on Thursday that it is fair for the U.S. government to ask whether handset exclusivity deals should have time limits.

Actor Burt Reynolds has gone public with his battle against an addiction to painkillers, hoping his story will help others in a similar situation.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, is considering the sale of its stake in Luxembourg-German utility Enovos, a spokeswoman for the Luxembourg government said on Thursday.

British construction group Balfour Beatty has agreed to buy U.S. project management firm Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million, and will ask shareholders to help fund the deal, it said on Thursday.