IBT Staff Reporter

Israeli start-up 3GSolar says it has developed the world's first commercial-size solar energy system that uses colored dyes to turn sunlight into electricity.

China's Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical Co and Zhejiang Wanma Cable Co on Thursday said they would list shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Friday, the first two initial public equity offerings in the Chinese stock market since last September.

An explosion outside a school south of the Afghan capital on Thursday killed at least 25 people, including 15 students, officials said, the worst toll from a single blast in a year.

A group of companies from Europe and northern Africa will meet in Munich on Monday to map out concrete steps for a series of large-scale renewable energy projects worth 400 billion euros ($560 billion) over 40 years.

Singapore's state investor Temasek TEM.UL is in talks with a unit of Bank of China to launch a $1 billion to $2 billion investment fund to focus on fast-growing infrastructure projects across China, sources said on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama said at the G8 summit on Thursday there is still time to close the gap with developing powers on climate change, after the U.N. chief criticised the G8 for not going hard enough.

Emulex Corp said on Thursday that its board had unanimously rejected Broadcom Corp's sweetened $912-million buyout offer, saying that it significantly undervalues the company's long-term prospects.

Major oil company Royal Dutch Shell urged the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to give oil refiners a bigger share of free pollution permits under a cap-and-trade plan to fight global warming than the House of Representatives provided in its climate change legislation.

The Bank of England decided on Thursday to stick to its program of pumping 125 billion pounds into the economy, defying expectations it would expand its bond purchases and boosting fears it may be about to end the scheme.

The dealmaking skills of Iberia's new executive chairman, Antonio Vazquez, could prove a prize asset for the Spanish flag carrier as it looks to revive stalled merger talks with British Airways.

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.