IBT Staff Reporter

Oil jumped more than 4 percent to top $66 a barrel on Thursday as economic data sparked fresh optimism that the recession may be bottoming out.

With the once-resilient video game industry mired in a slump, investors are looking to big-name titles and potential price cuts for game consoles in the second half of the year to help spur a rebound in sales.

Security experts have uncovered flaws in Apple Inc's iPhone that they said hackers can exploit to take control of the popular device, using the tactic for identity theft and other crimes.

Major U.S. and European companies reported lower profits on Thursday, with most saying they did not expect a quick economic recovery, while U.S. and German jobless numbers, while both higher, offered differing clues about when the recession will end.

The Taipei district court plans to deliver a verdict on former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's corruption case on Sept. 11 this year, a spokesman for the Court announced on Wednesday, after the last hearing.

Bonuses paid to executives at nine banks that received U.S. government bailout money in 2008 were greater than net income at some of the banks, the office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.

Jonathan Spicer and Daisy KuAggressive cost cutting helped NYSE Euronext beat expectations for a second straight quarter on Thursday, although $442 million in one-time charges forced the transatlantic exchange operator to record a loss.

A handful of diversified U.S. manufacturers posted results that topped Wall Street estimates, boosting investor confidence as they coped with the worst recession in decades.

Bonuses paid to executives at nine banks who received U.S. government bailout money in 2008 were in some cases greater than net income, the office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.

Cablevision Systems Corp plans to spin off its Madison Square Garden unit by the end of the year, hoping to get a better valuation from Wall Street for assets including the New York Knicks basketball team and Radio City Music Hall.

U.S. stocks surged on Thursday as a drop in the number of Americans on jobless benefits and a batch of solid corporate profit reports bolstered hope for an economic recovery.

Oil rose above $64 a barrel on Thursday, boosted by stock markets in Europe and Asia, better than expected corporate results and data suggesting the economic downturn was bottoming out.

General Electric Co shares climbed more than 7 percent on Thursday after a powerful U.S. lawmaker said he saw no great need for the largest U.S. conglomerate to spin off its finance arm.

Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc post low second quarter profits as oil, natural gas prices and refining margins plunged. NRG Energy's net income increased helped by the acquisition of Reliant Energy's Texas retail business.

A Judge from the San Mateo County Superior Court struck down a request from Martin Eberhard, former chief executive officer of Tesla Motors, to be declared one of only two founders of the electric car maker, according to a statement from Tesla Motors Wednesday night.

Rainstorms have left at least 66 people dead, 66 missing and more than 30,000 relocated from their homes since the beginning of June in five of China southern provinces, official Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday ramped up her criticism of insurance companies, accusing them of unethical behavior and working to kill a plan to create a new government-run health plan.

Rumors about the Windows 7 RTM crack was confirmed by Microsoft after the latest intriguing news spread quickly.

Motorola Inc shipped more cell phones than expected in the second quarter and raised its target for cost cuts for the year, sending its shares up 9 percent.

Stocks Rebound, Exxon's Profit Sinks, MasterCard Beats

A new iPhone virus has been discovered on Thursday that could infect every iPhone in the world through Short Message Service (SMS), or text messaging.

MasterCard Inc , the world's second-largest credit card network, reported better-then-expected quarterly earnings Thursday as it raised fees charged to banks and cut expenses, sending its shares up 6.5 percent.

The number of Americans collecting long-term unemployment aid fell to the lowest in three months in mid-July, according to government data that implied a slowing pace of layoffs as the economy stabilizes.

In the past week the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose to numbers slightly above the expected numbers according to government data on Thursday. Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 584,000 in the week ended July 25.

An iPhone Virus is set to be unveiled at a cyber conference today in Las Vegas. Two researchers, Charles Miller and fellow cybersecurity researcher, Collin Mulliner, have found an iPhone bug that could infect phones virally through SMS.

Stocks advanced on Thursday as a string of solid corporate profits and a drop in the number of Americans staying on jobless benefits fueled economic recovery hopes.

Jonathan Spicer and Daisy KuAggressive cost cutting helped NYSE Euronext beat earnings expectations for a second straight quarter Thursday, and the company expects staff reductions to yield more savings.

Motorola Inc shipped more cell phones than expected in the second quarter and raised its target for cost cuts for the year, sending its shares up 9 percent.

A Mac security expert has discovered a technique that hackers could use to take control of Apple Inc. computers and iPhone's in order to steal data, disproving the long believed theory that Apple products are more secure than PCs.