IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday as investors turned back an early sell-off, thanks to a rebound in oil prices.

NEW YORK - Moody's Investors Service is reviewing debt of Sallie Mae (SLM.N), the largest U.S. student loan provider, for a possible ratings downgrade due to concerns about future earnings and cash flow, the rating firm said on Thursday.

PHILADELPHIA - CVC Capital Partners failed to repay a loan owed to Chuo Mitsui Capital Co and lost its stake in restaurant chain Skylark Co, The Nikkei reported in its Friday morning edition.

Toyota Motor Corp has decided to end production at a California plant it has shared with General Motors for 25 years, industry sources said on Thursday.

The Black Eyed Peas extended their unprecedented run at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart to 21 weeks on Thursday, while Miley Cyrus kept partying at No. 2.

A federal appeals court has thrown out a $37.6 million fine and three-year infomercial ban against Kevin Trudeau, who has long battled regulators over his marketing of

Death Cab For Cutie has scored the lead-single spot on the soundtrack for

Vital signs for healthcare stocks are improving at the expense of what is shaping up to be a watered down government health reform initiative.

Actress Lindsay Lohan is pictured in this police booking photograph released July 24, 2007. California officials, on August 23, 2007, charged Lohan with seven misdemeanor counts of cocaine possession, drunken driving and reckless driving stemming from two arrests.

The U.S. economy shrank less than expected in the second quarter, despite a record drop in inventories, and fewer workers filed new claims for jobless benefits last week, a sign the economy was starting to heal.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday as aircraft maker Boeing Co rose after it said it expects the first flight of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner by the end of 2009, boosting the Dow, and financial shares' strength helped lift the broad market.

Kazakh copper producer Kazakhmys Plc posted better-than-expected first-half earnings on Thursday, helped by cost cutting and the sale of stockpiled inventories to China, lifting its shares more than 4 percent.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating whether any state residents were among the thousands of U.S. customers of Swiss bank UBS AG who may have evaded income taxes.

Oil slipped on Wednesday, extending hefty losses from the previous session as rising stockpiles of U.S. crude outweighed positive economic data.

Shares of insurance giant American International Group Inc rose as much as 33, buoyed by the company's improving relations with former long-time CEO Maurice Hank Greenberg.

Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was kidnapped 18 years ago at age 11, was found alive and well and police has contacted her family to arrange a meeting.

U.S. regulators launched an inquiry on Thursday into competition in the wireless industry, a step that could lead to probes of other sectors.

On Wednesday, it was discovered that the latest version of Apple's OS X has clear built-in malware protection, which Apple confirmed.

PetroChina, the nation's largest oil company, has denied a recent scandal that their employees were involved in purchasing over 1,000 apartments with preferential treatment in Beijing, CCTV reports.

Stocks rose on Thursday, reversing earlier losses, as Boeing Co surged on encouraging news about its long-delayed 787 jetliner and oil prices rebounded.

A little girl kidnapped in 1991 from South Lake Tahoe has been found alive and in good health in Concord, California, according to the CBS News report.

The U.S. Federal Reserve asked a federal judge not to enforce her order that it reveal the names of the banks that have participated in its emergency lending programs and the sums they received, saying such disclosure would threaten the companies and the economy.

A senior executive from Apple Inc will meet France's consumer affairs minister on Friday to discuss a number of incidents in which screens on some of its popular iPhones were reported to have shattered for no obvious reason.

Tim Gunn, fashion guru and urbane mentor to the budding designers on TV's

China Everbright Bank's 11.5 billion yuan ($1.68 billion) private share placement has been approved by regulatory authorities, furthering the bank's quest for an initial public offering.

(Reuters.com) -- Shares in American International Group soared 30 percent on Thursday after new Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche told Reuters he did not favor a fire sale of the bailed-out insurer's assets and that in a year people will say AIG is performing well.

Banks watchlist grows; AIG chief defeds holiday; First Flight Jump

PHILADELPHIA - U.S. government scientists have for the first time found chemical contaminants in drinking water wells near natural gas drilling operations, fueling concern that a gas-extraction technique is endangering the health of people who live close to drilling rigs.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military wants to speed production of 10 to 12 huge bunker buster bombs, the Air Force said on Thursday, amid concerns over suspected underground nuclear sites in Iran and North Korea.