IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stocks were set to open higher on Thursday as a sharp fall in the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits spurred optimism about the labor market and the pace of an economic recovery.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, a government report showed on Thursday, boosting views the labor market and the economy were stabilizing.

U.S. crude prices fell below $72 on Thursday on oversupply worries, retreating after hitting the highest level since late June, and North Sea Brent crude briefly touched a record for 2009.

Jobs situation looks better, Britain 'prints' more cash, 'Clunkers' Day of Truth

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler was airlifted to a hospital after falling from stage during a concert in South Dakota.

India will examine a uniform domestic price for natural gas, which is now sold at rates ranging from $1 to $5.73 per million British thermal units (mBtu) depending on source, Oil Minister Murli Deora said on Thursday.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk reported forecast-beating second-quarter profit and raised its guidance but disappointed investors by not giving more solid news on the U.S. approval process for its new diabetes drug.

The directors of Canadian Hydro Developers said on Thursday they are actively considering other options as they again urged shareholders to reject an unsolicited bid by TransAlta Corp.

The Bank of England will decide whether to expand its quantitative easing program later on Thursday, and economists are split down the middle over the central bank's choice.

China Metallurgical Group plans to seek dual listings in Hong Kong and Shanghai as early as September to raise up to $4 billion, said sources with direct knowledge of the deal, which could be the world's second-largest fundraising this year.

A monthly gauge of online labor demand in the United States edged lower in July and its decline slowed on a year-over-year basis, suggesting some stabilization in the jobs market, a private research group said on Thursday.

A group of small U.S. manufacturers and trade associations is endorsing a bill it says will boost the number of green manufacturing jobs in industries like wind and solar power in the United States.

Comcast on watch, Costco looks down, First fruits of Chrysler-Fiat

The weekly jobless claims report for the week ending July 31 was released today at 8:30 a.m. by the U.S. Department of Labor. Claims fell 38,000 to a much better-than-expected level of 550,000. The current level is right at the four-week average of 555,250.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, a government report showed on Thursday, boosting views that the labor market and the economy were stabilizing.

Comcast Corp , the No. 1 U.S. cable operator, reported higher quarterly profit on Thursday due to improved cost controls and a tax gain, but lost basic video subscribers amid the weak economy and competition from phone and satellite operators.

Will Wright, the creator behind top-selling videogame The Sims, is eyeing life outside the virtual world.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday with investors eyeing a government report on weekly jobless claims and corporate earnings, one day after Wall Street ended a four-day rally.

The European Central Bank and Bank of England both kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday but the latter said it would pump more money into the UK economy by buying bonds, driving sterling lower.

The U.S. Senate will vote on Thursday on extending the popular cash for clunkers auto sales incentive bill after an agreement with Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.

News Corp, which is trying to stem newspaper revenue declines, could charge for access to its news websites by the middle of next year, and might break off its relationship with Amazon.com Inc's Kindle e-reader if it cannot get better terms.

The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold at a record low on Thursday as it waits to see the impact of efforts so far to revive the economy and credit flows.

Imagine waving your cell phone and being admitted through the turnstile of a subway station, or ordering and paying for a gift without once having to open your wallet or enter a credit-card number.

The Bank of England took a far bigger step than expected to boost Britain's recession-hit economy on Thursday, expanding its quantitative easing program to 175 billion pounds from 125 billion.

The Bank of England extended its quantitative easing programme on Thursday, raising the size of its bond purchase scheme to an unexpectedly large 175 billion pounds from 125 billion, and held interest rates at 0.5 percent.

U.S. stock index futures edged slightly higher on Thursday with investors eyeing a government report on weekly jobless claims and more corporate earnings, one day after Wall Street ended a four-day rally,

Hong Kong's power plant operator GCL-Poly Energy Holdings will invest about $200 million to build a solar wafer plant in the Chinese city of Xuzhou, banking on a recovery in polysilicon prices and robust demand from China.

British cable operator Virgin Media lost twice as many customers as expected in the second quarter but pushed their average spend to a record high, keeping revenues flat and in line with market expectations.

Lenovo , the world's No. 4 PC brand, relied on Chinese government-backed demand boost to cut quarterly losses and was wary on its outlook, underlying the fragility of its recovery.