IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stocks racked up gains across a wide array of sectors on Thursday, aided by rising commodity prices and improving labor market conditions, along with a sharp drop in interest rates.

The senate on Thursday approved the tobacco regulation bill giving the federal government power to regulate manufacture and distribution of cigarettes.

Pregnant women who use cocaine or heroin while taking methadone to beat their addiction may weaken their placenta, opening the door to dangerous infections that could further harm an unborn baby, researchers said on Thursday.

Yahoo Inc. said late Thursday that Tim Morse, the former chief financial officer of chip maker Altera Corp., will become its new chief financial officer.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday backed a plan giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration power to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products, allowing the agency to curb advertisements, require stronger package warnings and inspect manufacturers.

Delta Air Lines said on Thursday that it will be cutting back on its system capacity this fall, targeting money losing routes with higher fuel prices, including some non-stop routes to Asia and Europe.

U.S. retail sales rose in May for the first time in three months and the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits last week hit a January low, fostering hope the recession was abating.

Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit has acquired local online media companies Patch Media Corp. and Going Inc. in a bid to increase its revenue in local advertising.

President Barack Obama on Thursday presented his plan to reform the healthcare system to the public to a town hall in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

U.S. stocks racked up gains across a wide array of sectors on Thursday, aided by rising commodity prices and improving labor market conditions, along with a sharp drop in interest rates.

Large U.S. chain restaurants, criticized for their role in the country's obesity epidemic, agreed on Wednesday to support legislation that would require them to disclose calories on their menus.

U.S. lawmakers accused the Treasury and Federal Reserve on Thursday of using threats and intimidation to force Bank of America to take over Merrill Lynch, a charge Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis denied.

You know the neighborhood straightaway – Chinese signage, glowing red lanterns everywhere, maybe even some neon: you’ve stumbled into another urban Chinatown.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, but were off their session highs, aided by rising commodity prices and improving labor market conditions, along with a sharp drop in interest rates. Earlier, after the government's 30-year bond auction met solid demand, all three stock indexes had risen above 1 percent.

The spread of the ‘swine flu’ also known as the H1N1 flu strain, was officially declared a pandemic on Thursday by the World Health Organization whose director said perhaps her greatest concern is how the virus will behave

The global economy will contract in 2009 by more than initially thought, given rising unemployment and underutilization of capacity, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Thursday.

Private equity firm Riverstone Holdings LLC agreed to pay $30 million to resolve its role in a corruption probe of New York state's pension fund, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.

The United States doubts a policy speech Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to deliver next week will satisfy President Barack Obama's peacemaking demands, Western diplomats said on Thursday.

A proposed $586 million settlement to end investor lawsuits over the pricing of initial public offerings during the late 1990s stock market boom has won preliminary approval from a federal judge.

Delta Air Lines Inc said on Thursday that it plans additional cuts in seat capacity this year as rising fuel prices and softer travel demand pressure business.

Oil prices extended a three-day rally to above $73 a barrel on Thursday on hopes for a recovery in world energy demand and worries refinery shutdowns could tighten U.S. gasoline supplies before summer driving season.

The Federal Reserve must work to keep 30-year fixed mortgage rates at historically low levels for the next year or the economy will remain in recession, according to a group of chief executive officers from leading U.S. companies.

U.S retail sales rose for the first time in three months in May and the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits last week hit the lowest level since January, fostering hope the recession was abating.

New York City plans to use more than $200 million of federal stimulus funds for Recovery Zone Facility Bonds to spur stalled industrial and commercial projects, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Wednesday.

Bank of America Corp. chief executive testified on Thursday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as they probed the bank’s purchase of Merrill Lynch

The Obama administration stepped up efforts on Thursday to push for measures to tie executive pay at all publicly traded companies more closely to performance, but faced some skepticism from lawmakers.

Stocks rose on Thursday as rising oil and other commodity prices lifted energy stocks, while retail sales and weekly jobless claims data bolstered optimism for an economic recovery.

News Corp's MySpace refused to comment on Thursday on a report the previous day that said the online social network will fire a massive number of employees.

The co-founder and former chief executive of Tesla Motors sued the company and its current CEO Elon Musk for libel, slander and breach of contract but the company says the lawsuit is fictionalized and inaccurate.