IBT Staff Reporter

Leaders of the world's richest nations and major developing powers meet on Thursday to seek common ground on global warming and international trade, with the poorer countries seeking concessions.

Validus Holdings Ltd said it agreed to buy Bermuda reinsurance rival IPC Holdings Ltd for $1.65 billion in cash and stock, beating out Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd in a bidding war.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett said in an interview aired on Thursday unemployment could hit 11 percent and a second stimulus package might be needed as the economy struggles to recover from recession.

Four employees of Australian miner Rio Tinto have been arrested in China on charges of stealing state secrets, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday, citing Shanghai's state security authorities. The suspects included Stern Hu, an Australian national and Rio Tinto's top iron ore salesman in China.

Chevron upcoming, Jobless claims and retail sales effects

Chinese President Hu Jintao, forced to abandon a G8 summit in Italy by ethnic violence in restive Xinjiang, said that maintaining social stability in the energy-rich region was the most urgent task, state television reported on Thursday.

A fresh wave of cyber attacks that slowed U.S. and South Korean websites this week hit more targets on Thursday, a web security firm said.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday named nine fund managers to run so-called public-private partnerships that could buy up as much as $40 billion of toxic securities from banks.

Cybersecurity analysts raised doubts on Wednesday that the North Korean state launched recent attacks on U.S. government and South Korean websites, saying industrial spies or pranksters could be the villains.

The European Union needs new rules for Internet downloads that would make it easier for people to access music and films without resorting to piracy, the bloc's telecoms chief said on Thursday.

Even if President Lula da Silva is wrong when he said God must be Brazilian, the country is still experiencing miracles in terms of its notable economic progress while a greater part of the world has lagged due to the economic recession.

Sales fell at many U.S. apparel retailers and warehouse club stores in June as the weak economy and cool, rainy weather dashed interest in summer shopping for consumers across the country.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week but the data was distorted by an unusual pattern of layoffs in the automotive industry, which amplified the decline.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday after jobless claims dropped and better-than-expected Alcoa results gave a positive tone to the start of the second-quarter earnings season.

Some huge, hard-to-believe numbers coming from the Chinese - if I had a nickel for every time I wrote that... I could melt all those nickels, sell it on the spot market and buy enough gold to plate my new ZH decal.

Sales fell at many U.S. apparel retailers and warehouse club stores in June as the weak economy and cool, rainy weather dashed interest in summer shopping for consumers across the country.

American International Group Inc has resumed talks to sell its American Life Insurance Co unit to MetLife Inc in a transaction that could help the stricken insurer raise more than $15 billion, the Financial Times said.

Oil rose by more than $1 on Thursday to trade above $61 a barrel, halting a six-session losing streak which has seen prices decline by 15 percent on concerns about the timing of any economic recovery.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week but the decline was amplified by seasonal adjustments mainly connected with fewer-than-expected layoffs in the automotive sector, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Google Inc plans to attack Microsoft Corp's core business by taking on the software giant's globally dominant Windows operating system for personal computers.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday after Alcoa posted better-than-expected quarterly results and gave a positive tone to the start of the second-quarter earnings season.

The Bank of England surprised markets on Thursday by keeping its quantitative easing program unchanged at 125 billion pounds, boosting speculation that it may soon finish its unprecedented asset-buying scheme.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday after Alcoa posted better-than-expected quarterly results and gave a positive tone to the start of the second-quarter earnings season.

The Bank of England surprised markets by announcing no expansion of its quantitative easing scheme on Thursday as it left interest rates unchanged at a record low of 0.5 percent for a fourth month running.

The Bank of England surprised markets by announcing no expansion of its quantitative easing scheme on Thursday as it left interest rates unchanged at a record low of 0.5 percent for a fourth month running.

China said on Thursday detained staff from Australian miner Rio Tinto had harmed China's economic interests in a case that has rattled currency markets and raised questions about China-Australia relations.

Investors bet on Thursday the United States would not go as far as shutting down UBS there in a dispute over tax, instead expecting the Swiss bank to be hit by a hefty fine as part of a swift out-of-court settlement.

Man Group , the world's biggest listed hedge fund firm, said investors have continued to withdraw their money although private investor sales have picked up, as flows in the battered industry slowly improve.

Costco Wholesale Corp on Thursday reported an in-line 6 percent fall in sales, hit by a slide in demand during the recession for higher ticket items such as cameras and cell phones.