IBT Staff Reporter

China promptly denounced a proposed trip to Taiwan by the Dalai Lama on Thursday, saying any such visit by a man Beijing brands a separatist threatened to sabotage improving relations.

Senator Edward Kennedy called providing health insurance for all Americans

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on a visit to Germany on Thursday that one lesson Israel drew from the Holocaust was that threats to its existence could not go unchallenged and must be nipped in the bud.

German carrier Lufthansa is expected to receive European Union regulatory approval on Friday for its planned takeover of ailing Austrian Airlines (AUA), a source said on Thursday.

Family members of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy gathered on Thursday for a private Mass at the seaside home where the 77-year-old towering figure in Democratic politics died two days ago.

A senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) broke ranks with the government over the future of Opel on Thursday, saying Canadian automotive firm Magna is not necessarily the best bidder for the carmaker.

Italy's anti-trust watchdog said on Thursday it was opening an investigation into Google's Italian news website after local papers complained that they were forced to appear on the site (http://news.google.it).

Energy Conversion Devices Inc swung to a quarterly loss as demand for its products continued to fall, sending shares of the solar company down 5 percent.

Afghan officials said on Thursday they had delayed releasing further results from the nation's disputed presidential poll, adding further confusion to a contest which appears headed for a second round.

NEW YORK - Time Warner Inc's (TWX.N) AOL division named a former Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N) executive as its chief financial officer ahead of the expected spinoff of the Internet unit later this year.

NEW YORK - Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose 0.02 percentage point in the latest week, according to a survey released on Thursday by home funding company Freddie Mac (FRE.N).

Oil pared early gains to drop to near $71 a barrel on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session as rising U.S. crude stockpiles and a dip in equity markets outweighed bullish economic data.

The $10.5 million pay package for American International Group Inc's new chief executive Robert Benmosche will likely be approved formally by the U.S. government's compensation czar Kenneth Feinberg next week, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

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BANGALORE - Garmin Ltd (GRMN.O) has chosen a wireless carrier for its long-awaited navigation-enabled smartphone set for a fourth-quarter launch in the United States, but the navigation device maker stopped short of naming the company.

Stocks defying gravity?; Reconciliation at AIG; Airlines Recovering

The U.S. economy appears to have stabilized and may not need all the stimulus the central bank had planned to offer, Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker said on Thursday.

Wall Street opened little changed on Thursday after data showed the U.S. economy shrank less than expected in the second quarter and initial jobless claims fell, but not as much as forecast.

The world's largest handset maker, Nokia unveiled on Thursday its first phone running on Linux software, aiming at improving its offering at the top end of the market.

British house prices rose for the fourth month running and at their fastest monthly rate in 2-1/2 years in August, the Nationwide Building Society said on Thursday, in a further sign the housing market is picking up.

Wall Street was set to open little changed on Thursday after data showed the U.S. economy shrank less than expected in the second quarter and initial jobless claims fell, but not as much as forecast.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc reported a wider quarterly loss on Thursday, reflecting charges for writing down land values.

Japan's main opposition Democratic Party looks set to win an election on Sunday by a huge margin and could even secure a two-thirds majority in parliament's powerful lower house, a newspaper survey showed on Thursday.

Discount-store operator Fred's Inc (FRED.O) reported a second-quarter profit in line with Wall Street estimates, as lower expenses offset a worse-than-expected sales decline.

CHICAGO - An Abbott Laboratories Inc (ABT.N) unit that makes genetic tests will work with Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) to develop a test to screen non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors to determine which patients are good candidates for a novel cancer therapy being developed by Pfizer.

NEW YORK - NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) said on Thursday the trans-Atlantic stock exchange will acquire NYFIX Inc (NYFX.O) in a deal valued at $144 million, to optimize trading efficiency.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to 570,000, and those collecting long-term unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level since April, government data showed on Thursday.

With the U.S. economy mired in recession, workers are finding themselves stuck in bad jobs with such annoyances as managers who berate employees and bosses who hold meetings in bed.

As global PC brands fight it out in the market for cheap, mini-laptops, Acer's quarterly results show not all is good news even in a robust market.