IBT Staff Reporter

In the first half of 2009, Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and General Motors [GM.UL] remained the world's two biggest automakers despite a more than 20 percent drop in sales from the year earlier.

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.

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.

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

Dow Chemical Co posted a second-quarter loss on Thursday as sales slumped and the company took large charges to revamp its operations.

Michael Jackson's mother will get custody of the late pop star's three children after reaching a agreement with her son's ex-wife Debbie Rowe, a lawyer for Katherine Jackson told CBS News on Thursday.

Airbus will help fund an extended search for flight recorders and debris of an Air France airliner that crashed into the Atlantic last month, France's crash investigation bureau said on Thursday.

Automakers in Europe and Japan unveiled weak results for the first half of the year on Thursday and are set to keep tight control over costs but most predict an improvement in conditions for the rest of 2009.

Hope and jobs are in short supply in Ohio eight months after President Barack Obama won the recession-battered state in the 2008 election with promises of a better future.

Auto dealership group Asbury Automotive Group Inc (ABG.N) posted a 47 percent drop in quarterly earnings on Thursday, but said the U.S. new vehicle market had essentially stabilized, though at very low levels.

A San Francisco attorney who interviewed imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff in a federal prison this week said on Wednesday he plans to amend a lawsuit to include possibly several fund managers who funneled investor money to Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Honduras' de facto ruler called on Wednesday for new talks to solve the country's political crisis and a source said he might be willing to allow the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya under strict conditions.

Senator John Kerry, a leading architect of climate change legislation being drawn up in the U.S. Senate, on Wednesday said the bill will have tough controls to stop abusive financial market speculation on pollution permits that will be traded among companies.

French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) swung to a worse-than-expected 2.712 billion euro net loss for the first half on Thursday, but now expects the world automotive market to contract less sharply this year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc unit PSE&G can spend $515 million of ratepayer money for 80 megawatts of solar power projects, New Jersey utility regulators ruled on Wednesday.

Iranian police arrested mourners who gathered at a Tehran cemetery to commemorate victims of the unrest that followed the country's disputed June presidential election, witnesses said on Thursday.

German luxury automaker Daimler released consensus-beating second-quarter results on Wednesday, but analysts are split on whether the figures signal the beginning of a turnaround for the carmaker or if its balance sheet problems will continue.

Healthcare and clean energy rank as bright spots in a bleak U.S. jobs market and both stand to generate even more employment under plans put forward by President Barack Obama.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (GT.N) posted a loss on Thursday that was smaller than analysts had expected as the downturn in the North American and European economies pressured results.

The U.S. climate bill would give states that are heavily reliant on greenhouse-gas emitting fuels, like coal, more carbon credits on a per capita basis than those that use clean fuels, according to an analysis of the legislation released on Wednesday.

Public support for President Barack Obama's healthcare reform is waning, polls showed on Thursday as Congress wrangles over how to overhaul an industry that accounts for one-sixth of the U.S. economy.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Wednesday an investment of up to $11.8 million for five projects to develop the integration of solar technologies into the U.S. electrical grid.

Stocks headed for a sharply higher open on Thursday following a string of stronger-than-expected quarterly corporate profits, a broker upgrade for General Electric Co and fresh signs that the economic slump is waning.

Leading investors have taken their holdings of stocks back up to levels last seen just before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a series of Reuters polls showed on Thursday.

Colgate-Palmolive Co's quarterly profit rose more than expected, as cost-cutting helped offset the impact of weaker consumer spending and the stronger U.S. dollar.

Stock index futures extended gains on Thursday after a government report showed a gauge of underlying labor trends fell for a fifth-straight week even as the number of new claims for jobless benefits rose slightly more than expected.

ExxonMobil, WaltDisney to report; Jobless claims rise; MasterCard net falls but revenue steady

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose slightly more than expected last week, but a gauge of underlying labor trends fell for a fifth straight week, government data showed on Thursday.

Exxon Mobil Corp reported a 66 percent drop in quarterly profit Thursday as natural gas and crude oil prices slid from a year ago and the global recession hurt demand for fuel.