IBT Staff Reporter

Real Madrid on Thursday closed the most expensive football deal in history after paying a $130 million dollars to Manchester United for player Cristiano Ronaldo.

American couples expect to retire later and have less leisure when they do, according to a study released on Wednesday by mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments.

Toyota Motor Corp expects to sell about 25,000 of its all-new dedicated hybrid car for the Lexus premium brand in the United States in the first 12 months of its sale, an executive said on Wednesday.

Financial players who abandoned U.S. solar energy projects last year during the throes of the banking crisis are beginning to return, potentially setting up a boom of new deals by the end of the year, several solar investors said on Wednesday.

The United States should pass a comprehensive energy plan to ensure the number of jobs in environmental fields, such as renewable energy and cutting air pollution, will keep rising as they did in the decade to 2007, a Pew report said on Wednesday.

Solar stocks rallied on Wednesday as investors bet that increased Chinese interest in solar power, higher oil prices and signs of improvement in lending and financing will help spur demand for the clean energy source.

The head of oil company Chevron Corp said efforts to cut U.S. carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 were unrealistic because so much current energy infrastructure would have to be replaced.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose in May and the number of workers filing new applications for jobless benefits fell for a fourth straight week last week, according to official data on Thursday that suggested the recession was abating.

Stocks headed for a flat open on Thursday after data on weekly jobless claims and May retail sales raised worries that the pace of recovery would be sluggish.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose in May and the number of workers filing new applications for jobless benefits fell for a fourth straight week last week, according to official data on Thursday that suggested the recession was abating.

Barack Obama has presented a fresh understanding of Islam not shown by predecessors, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in his first interview since the U.S. president addressed the Muslim world from Cairo.

The Australian Dollar opens largely unchanged from this time yesterday at 0.8015. The Aussie received a boost on Wednesday from a 12.7 per cent rise in May consumer sentiment – the largest monthly increase in 22 years.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose for the first time in three months in May as expected, lifted by strong gasoline and building material receipts, according to a government report on Thursday that bolstered views the recession was abating.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose for the first time in three months in May as expected, lifted by strong gasoline and building material receipts, according to a government report on Thursday that bolstered views the recession was abating.

Chinese investment surged in May, fanning hopes the world's third-largest economy may lead a global recovery, although a record slump in Japan's first quarter GDP reinforced expectations any rebound would be slow.

Wall Street was set to open flat to higher on Thursday, with investors eyeing retail sales and weekly jobless data for fresh insight into the state of the recession-hit economy.

U.S. car sharing company Zipcar is planning to launch a initial public offering of its shares next year, the New York Post reported.

World oil demand will contract by less than previously expected in 2009, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday in a further sign the economic outlook may have stopped deteriorating.

Wall Street was set to open flat on Thursday, with investors eyeing retail sales and weekly jobless data for fresh insight into the state of the recession-hit economy.

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp is interested in buying Ford Motor Co's Volvo car unit, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding a new name to a list of potential Chinese bidders for the Swedish luxury car brand.

Within weeks, the U.S. Air Force will launch a third attempt in eight years to replace its aging fleet of KC-135 aerial tankers and the new competition promises to be even more contentious than the last.

Microsoft Corp is getting ready to unveil a long-anticipated free anti-virus service for personal computers that will compete with products sold by Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc.

Soon after getting a green laptop distributed free to Aboriginal school children in hopes of combating illiteracy and truancy, Jericho Lacey learned his computer was good for more than just homework.

U.S. foreclosure activity for May ebbed from April's record, but mortgages still failed at a staggering pace as President Barack Obama's rescue programs had not had time to fully take root, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Oil firmed above $72 a barrel on Thursday after the International Energy Agency raised its estimate for 2009 oil demand, adding to signs the fall in consumption may have bottomed out.

U.S. foreclosure activity for May ebbed from April's record, but mortgages still failed at a staggering pace as President Barack Obama's rescue programs had not had time to fully take root, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

U.S. foreclosure activity for May ebbed from April's record, but mortgages still failed at a staggering pace as President Barack Obama's rescue programs had not had time to fully take root, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is being sued by two former clients for more than $190 million, alleging the failed bank deceived them about the market for auction-rate debt.

Will digital downloads kill the videogames store? That's the multibillion dollar question facing retailers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp to GameStop Corp, as Internet distributors continue to grow.