IBT Staff Reporter

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis launched a difficult election campaign on Thursday after calling an early parliamentary vote for October 4 to seek a new mandate and deal with a sharp economic crisis.

The global recession is coming to an end faster than thought a few months ago and may already be over, but recovery will rely on massive government spending and low interest rates for some time, the OECD said on Thursday.

Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Canadian subsidiary, seeking to maintain sales momentum, said on Wednesday it will offer up to C$3,000 ($2,700) toward the purchase of a new Ford to customers who turn in a vehicle 15 years or older.

Some members of insurer AIG's board are concerned about recent strong comments from their new chief executive Robert Benmosche, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter.

Thermal coal oversupply in the Atlantic market and logistics costs have led to very poor performance at Brazilian miner Vale's Colombian coal mines, a Vale official said on Wednesday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed on Thursday any threat of new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, a day after world powers pressed Tehran to meet them this month for talks on the nuclear dispute.

Costco Wholesale Corp on Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected 2 percent fall in August same-store sales, in a sign that the impact of the financial crisis is waning on U.S. consumer spending.

Thursday, UK's Financial Services Authority Chairman Adair Turner backed proposals to make banks plan for their own collapse.

Watch-maker Movado Group Inc posted a 94 percent slump in quarterly profit as margins fell and it recorded an interest expense charge.

New vehicle sales in Australia slipped for a second month in August, though the annual pace of decline almost halved, industry data showed on Thursday.

Indonesian villagers continued a frantic search on Thursday for people buried in the rubble, after a powerful quake killed at least 57 and destroyed thousands of homes in the hills of West Java.

Family Dollar Stores Inc's fourth-quarter sales growth fell short of expectations, leading its shares to fall 9 percent in premarket trading even though the retailer stood by its fourth-quarter profit forecast.

Support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives has dipped to a three-month low of 34 percent in a new poll, a level which leaves them short of a parliamentary majority with their preferred coalition partners.

Del Monte Foods Co's quarterly profit handily beat Wall Street estimates on price increases and lower costs, prompting it to raise its full-year forecast for earnings from continuing operations.

Oil prices rose toward $69 a barrel on Thursday, drawing support from a sharp fall in U.S. gasoline inventories that revived hopes of a demand recovery in the world's largest fuel consumer.

Japan's new leader and Washington's envoy bonded over a football helmet on Thursday as they sought to allay concerns about their alliance after an election win by Yukio Hatoyama's party, which has pledged a more independent diplomatic course.

Fiat Group Purchasing, a part of Fiat (FIA.MI), plans to source $1 billion of parts from India in 2010, a senior executive said on Thursday.

China rejected on Thursday claims by two U.S. journalists that they were seized on Chinese territory before being dragged into North Korea and jailed there for illegal entry into the reclusive state.

The global recession is coming to an end faster than thought a few months ago and may already be over, but recovery will rely on massive government spending and low interest rates for some time, the OECD said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama will seek to boost flagging support for healthcare reform next week with a rare speech to Congress after a rocky summer raised questions both about his leadership and legislative program.

European Union antitrust regulators launched an in-depth probe on Thursday into Oracle's $7 billion (4.2 billion pounds) takeover of Sun Microsystems on concerns the deal could dent competition in the database market.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) Chief Executive Alan Mulally, credited with steering the automaker's turnaround, won an endorsement for an indefinite tenure from Ford's chairman and the founding family's senior representative at the company.

The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged at a record low of 1.0 percent on Thursday and President Jean-Claude Trichet said the euro zone economy faced a very gradual recovery from recession.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, with Wall Street set to snap a four-day losing streak as retailers posted better-than-expected August sales that helped offset more disappointing news from the labor market.

Nokia Oyj said on Thursday it would start to open its software platforms to external developers in a bid to boost the quantity and quality of software for Nokia phones.

German carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) revealed plans to build two new Mini models at its plant near Oxford in central England on Thursday, boosting British manufacturing and the embattled motor sector.

Opel's senior labor leader threatened General Motors GM.UL that the European carmaker's workforce would not pitch in to reduce $1.2 billion in costs if Detroit retains control of Opel.

Malaysia has reversed an earlier ban on Muslims attending a concert by U.S. hip-hop band the Black Eyed Peas, saying it had no right to keep people from entertainment events.

In a victory for Boeing , a preliminary World Trade Organization panel is likely to rule on Friday that European governments illegally subsidized Airbus aircraft, the Wall Street Journal said, citing trade officials, lawyers and executives from both sides.