IBT Staff Reporter

Private equity groups seeking to buy failed U.S. banks would have to maintain very high capital levels and remain owners for three years under tough guidelines proposed on Thursday that some bank regulators fear could deter needed investment.

John Edward former host of the TV Show Crossing over with John Edward has launched Infinite Quest, a new Web Site touted as visitors' own personal methaphysical GPS which gathers astrologists, numerologists and psychics to give information for simple and practical daily use, the website says.

Some main business events that took place today.

Markets tumble after dour jobs report, GM warns of liquidation if sale not approved, J&J buys stake in biotech firm Elan, acquires Alzheimer's research

China will research into policies that will allow domestic listing of overseas firms, in efforts to secure stable foreign direct investment, Jian Chen, Vice Minister of Commerce, said on Thursday.

Stocks tumbled on Thursday, driving the S&P 500 down to its third-straight weekly loss, as a steeper-than-expected slide in June non-farm payrolls revived caution about economic recovery prospects.

Intel Corp's former chief executive and chairman, Craig Barrett, said on Thursday it would take a few years to see whether Intel's technology partnership with Nokia succeeds. Last week Intel announced a technology partnership with Nokia that could potentially give the chip maker the breakthrough it has been looking for into the mobile market.

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $1 billion for an 18.4 percent stake in Irish drugmaker Elan Corp , and will acquire a major stake in Elan's portfolio of experimental drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Venus Williams, who will play for her third straight Wimbledon title on Saturday after winning her semi-final match on Thursday, thinks facing her sister Serena for the championship will be the hardest match of the tournament yet.

Oracle Corp plans to lay off up to 1,000 workers in Europe, or about 1 percent of its global staff, as the recession erodes the giant software company's earnings, French news agency AFP reported on Thursday.

Stocks tumbled on Thursday after a larger-than-expected slide in June non-farm payrolls signaled that hopes for a quick economic recovery may prove premature.

U.S. housing prices will fall by a double-digit percentage from already beaten-down levels, resulting in an overall 40 percent plunge by the time foreclosures peak in the second half of 2010, Barclays Capital economist Michelle Meyer said.

General Motors Corp would be forced into liquidation if its proposed asset sale were not approved despite urging from dissident bondholders that another course be pursued, the company's lead bankruptcy lawyer said on Thursday.

U.S. marshals began on Thursday the seizure of the luxury $7 million Manhattan apartment of imprisoned fraudster Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth Madoff, officials said.

Since Wednesday, June 24, natural gas spot prices fell at most market locations east of the Rocky Mountains, with decreases of as much as 89 cents per million Btu (MMBtu). Prices at the Henry Hub declined by 17 cents per MMBtu, or about 4 percent, to $3.63 per MMBtu.

Thieves are increasingly going after iPhones and other smartphones but victims now can fight back with technology.

Stocks plummeted on Thursday as a worse-than-expected slide in June non-farm payrolls fanned caution about economic recovery prospects.

Magna's board of directors is scheduled to approve on Tuesday a business plan for the acquisition of German carmaker Opel, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is leading a $2.9 million National Cancer Institute project to increase demand for evidence-based, Internet-based smoking cessation treatment for young adults aged 18 to 24 years.

Last spring, I was in Delhi on a business trip. I grew up in Delhi but that was eons ago. I have been living and working in San Francisco Bay Area for more than a decade now and nearly two since I left India.

U.S. marshals began on Thursday the seizure of the luxury $7 million Manhattan apartment of imprisoned fraudster Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth Madoff, officials said.

Facing real world debts, a trusted figure in a popular online game stole money from the virtual bank he ran and exchanged it for cash through the black market.

June job loss rate rises, Exelon Corp. raises offer to buy NRG, J&J buys stake in biotech firm Elan, acquires Alzheimer's research

Natural gas stockpiles rose 70 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 26 to 2.721 trillion cubic feet .Exelon Corp.rised its offer to acquire NRG Energy Inc. by 12 percent to $7.45 billion concluding is its best and final offer. NACEL Energy Corporation entered into a four long term wind development rights agreement for its Leila Lakes power generation facility

Intel Corp's former chief executive and chairman, Craig Barrett, said on Thursday it would take a few years to see whether Intel's technology partnership with Nokia succeeds.

J&J buys stake in biotech firm Elan, acquires Alzheimer's research; Rio Tinto overcomes 2009/2010 debt problems, completing rights offer; Boeing Steady with plane deliveries, 125 in 2Q

The European Central Bank kept euro zone interest rates at 1.0 percent on Thursday, bolstering expectations they will stay there well into next year, and said it would start buying bonds next week.

Stocks slid on Thursday after payrolls data showed much worse-than-expected job losses for June, a sign that hopes for a quick economy recovery may be premature.

Comedian and talk show host Jay Leno has won a cybersquatting case against a Texas man found by a U.N. agency to have misused the domain name thejaylenoshow.com to direct Internet users to a real estate website.