IBT Staff Reporter

The trip sounded like a dream; dragons and dolphins, clear blue skies stretching to a horizon broken only by an occasional uninhabited island. For four days we were to float upon the azure seas at God's mercy, with a reliance on an ancient engine and a toothless captain.

The Nasdaq Stock Market and BATS Exchange said in separate statements on Thursday they will voluntarily stop offering so-called flash orders, a controversial service that gives certain firms an advance look at market-bound trading orders.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday, $377 million in funding for research centers across the country to advance solar energy, biofuels, transportation, energy efficiency, electricity storage and transmission, clean coal and carbon capture and sequestration, and nuclear energy technologies.

Sprint Nextel will sell Samsung Electronics phones including an advanced display technology that will improve battery life and video and photo quality, according to executives for the companies.

Advanced Micro Devices free OpenCL development tool for x86 CPU is now open for download as part of its ATI Stream SDK 2.0 beta version, according to the second largest chip maker.

Is the cruise industry trying to resuscitate its image? The old adage that cruise goers are either, newlywed, nearly dead or over fed is no longer accurate with the creation of the mega liner.

A Sarah Palin signature Xbox 360 worth $1.1 million than the Xbox itself has been auction in EBay by a Canadian user, David Morrill.

U.S. retailers reported their 11th straight month of sales declines in July as shoppers continued to search for bargains and basics in the downturn.

Tech outsourcing company Affiliated Computer Services Inc posted a slightly stronger than expected quarterly profit thanks to new business signings.

Shares of Netflix Inc (NFLX) rose on Thursday after the company's board of directors announced it was authorizing a $300 million program to repurchase the company's stock.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will push South Africa to use its influence with neighbor Zimbabwe, while also seeking closer ties with Pretoria after strained relations with the Bush administration.

The Obama administration will soon have another $2 billion to spend on consumer rebates for car purchases, but automakers are saying little about production increases and experts see only a short-term boost to the economy overall.

The federal government's cash-for-clunkers program is expected to generate more sales in the U.S. asset-backed securities market as consumer trade-ins of old gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient models generate new car loans.

A former soldier in the first Gulf War married the woman who two decades ago, when she was 13 years old, became his pen pal when he was in the war.

American Express Co raised hopes for a battered credit card industry after estimating that bad loans were easing, but analysts cautioned that the sector is not out of the woods yet.

China's main stock exchange plans to launch an international board next year that would allow foreign companies to sell shares denominated in Chinese currency for the first time, a strong move to promote yuan as a more global currency, local news said.

The first-time filings for state unemployment benefits declined by 38,000for the week ending August 1 to a seasonally adjusted 550,000, while the number of people who continued to collect regular benefits rose by 69,000 to a seasonally adjusted 6.31 million the prior week according to a Labor Department report released Thursday.

Stocks fell on Thursday as investors turned cautious a day ahead of a crucial government report on July employment, and took profits after recent strong gains.

Stocks fell on Thursday as investors turned cautious a day ahead of a crucial government report on July employment, and took profits after recent strong gains.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday, $377 million in funding for research centers across the country to advance solar energy, biofuels, transportation, energy efficiency, electricity storage and transmission, clean coal and carbon capture and sequestration, and nuclear energy technologies.

President Barack Obama is unlikely to tip his hand as soon as financial markets would like on whether he plans to name Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to another term.

AIG's former CEO Maurice Hank Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle government accusations that he altered AIG's financial records to inflate its earnings between 2000 and 2005, U.S. securities regulators said on Thursday.

Energy traders and companies will face fines of up to $1 million a day if they manipulate oil markets, the Federal Trade Commission ruled on Thursday in a crackdown on fraud that they said causes widespread damage to the U.S. economy.

A federal judge refused to approve a settlement between a top U.S. regulator and Bank of America Corp over executive bonuses, the latest twist in the bank's star-crossed takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.

A former Credit Suisse broker testified on Thursday that he and his former business partner lied to corporate clients and sent them incorrect information in emails to cover up investments in risky debt.

Twitter, which shut millions of users from using the online messaging service on Thursday morning, has come back online. However, efforts to defend against and investigate the attack continue, according to the company's blog.

China will spend more than 15% ($88 billion) of the country's 4-trillion-yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package on cutting carbon emissions by the end of 2010, China's chief climate change negotiator said on Wednesday.

Jobs look up, Greenberg's fine, Blackstone's loss

U.S. oil prices fell back slightly from a six-week high on Thursday, pulled lower by weakness on Wall Street and gains in the U.S. dollar.