IBT Staff Reporter

A U.S. federal judge has refused to approve a settlement between regulators and Bank of America Corp related to the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, stating that it could be unfair to the public.

General Motors Co unveiled plans to launch a plug-in SUV for its Buick brand in 2011, its latest move away from gas-guzzling vehicles in response to higher fuel-economy standards.

Italian fashion house Gianfranco Ferre's young label will dress the Rome-based S.S. Lazio soccer team for official off-field events during the 2009/2010 season, the designer said in a statement.

AIG's former Chief Executive Maurice Hank Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle government allegations that he had cooked the books to inflate the insurer's earnings in the first half of this decade, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

Twitter Inc., the fast-growing microblogging service, was inaccessible Thursday morning, struck by a denial-of-service attack, the company said on its status blog. Meanwhile, Facebook's site has been sluggish and unresponsive on Thursday.

The number of laid-off U.S. workers submitting new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, fanning hopes the fragile labor market was on the mend and that the broader economy was stabilizing.

People concerned about their careers should be extra careful about what they post on the Internet during a recession, career counselors say.

AIG's former Chief Executive Hank Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle government allegations that he had cooked the books to inflate the insurer's earnings in the first half of this decade, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

U.S. stocks have entered a new bull market, and the S&P 500 index could rise as much as 10 percent from current levels by the end of this year, Goldman Sachs strategist Abby Joseph Cohen said on CNBC on Thursday.

Former American International Group, Inc. chief Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle charges that he violated antifraud and other provisions of securities laws.

Twitter is down because of a denial-of-service attack and Facebook's been sluggish and unresponsive on Thursday.

Worldwide PC chip sales on Thursday soared 10.1 percent in the second quarter, but it still is in weak condition, according to IDC.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday issued a final rule to fight oil market manipulation, saying such fraudulent conduct can have wide-ranging ramifications throughout the U.S. economy.

August is do-or-die month for both President Barack Obama and his hopes of overhauling U.S. healthcare, and the battle will be fought not in Washington, but across the country.

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on Thursday for an extension of $2 billion for the Cash for Clunkers program that is quickly consuming its first $1 billion investment sooner than expected.

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

U.S. presidential couple Barack and Michelle Obama, Brad Pitt and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy all made the cut for an annual list of the world's best dressed -- and gave a few tips on where to find bargains.

U.S. stocks fell for the second day on Thursday as Cisco's cautious outlook for a recovery and falling telecom stocks offset optimism about the economy spurred by a steep drop in the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits.

Senior officials from Apple Inc had begun negotiations with China Unicom in Beijing, a source close to both sides told Netease on Monday night, noting that the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS will be introduced to China at the same time.

Sirius XM Radio Incon Thursday posted a second-quarter loss on debt-related charges and the auto industry slowdown, but the pay-radio operator said it sees signs of a recovery and raised its 2009 outlook for operating earnings.

Two roadside bombs in Afghanistan's most violent province killed five revelers heading to a wedding and five policemen, officials said on Thursday.

PC Antispyware 2010 is a fake antispyware claiming to be a valid antispyware system. It is a “scareware” which tries to fool PC users and send out information prompting user with false information.

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 morning.

U.S. stocks have entered a new bull market, and the S&P 500 index could rise as much as 10 percent from current levels by the end of this year, Abby Joseph Cohen, the head of Goldman Sachs' investment policy committee, said on CNBC on Thursday.

China is winning a global race to create green collar jobs, six months after countries worldwide launched $500 billion spending plans to drive a low-carbon economy.

U.S. stocks have entered a new bull market, and the S&P 500 index could rise as much as 10 percent from current levels by the end of this year, Abby Joseph Cohen, the head of Goldman Sachs' investment policy committee, said on CNBC on Thursday.

Below is George Sodini's self help video posted more than a year ago in YouTube.

American International Group Inc's former Chief Executive Hank Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle regulators' allegations of improper accounting transactions, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

No. 1 U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp lost more video subscribers than expected in the second quarter amid the weak economy and stiff competition from phone and satellite companies, but profit beat forecasts due to better cost controls and tax gains.