IBT Staff Reporter

Kohl's Corp and Nordstrom Inc beat quarterly profit estimates and raised their 2009 earnings views, defying a still precarious environment for department stores in which both well-to-do and budget shoppers are paring back.

A new alternative energy system called Vivace is being tested to generate electric power from currents which flow slowly and cannot be used by modern technologies.

Private equity firm The Carlyle Group has agreed to pay $20 million to the State of New York and follow a new code of conduct rules for interacting with public pension funds to settle a corruption investigation carried out by the office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Nike Inc , the world's largest maker of athletic shoes and apparel, will slash 5 percent of its 35,000-strong global workforce, or 1,750 jobs, in the largest headcount reduction in the company's history.

(Correcrts third paragrah to indicate approximately 6,800 workers are at headquarters)

U.S. sales of video games fell 17 percent in April to $1.03 billion, research group NPD said on Thursday, the second steep monthly decline in a row.

General Motors Corp said on Thursday night it would most likely pursue the same legal strategy as Chrysler if it spirals into bankruptcy, while Chrysler unveiled details for slashing its dealer network.

Vornado Realty Trust’s Michael Fascitelli has officially taken on chief executive officer role after a vote by the firm’s board. Fascitelli, 52, succeeds Steven Roth, 67, who retains the Chairman title.

Toyota is moving toward launching experimental plug-in hybrid vehicles in Europe in 2009 as part of a three-year lease trial, ahead of rival GM, which plans to introduce its own version in late 2010.

Blockbuster Inc posted lower first-quarter earnings but beat expectations as the top U.S. movie rental chain reined in spending.

Pope Benedict will complete a Middle East pilgrimage on Friday with prayers at one of the holiest sites for Christians, a day after holding mass for tens of thousands in the Galilee town of Nazareth.

Coca-Cola announced Thursday it would test a new plastic bottle in North America partially made from plants.

In the first of five ambitious spacewalks to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA astronauts managed to remove a 16-year-old camera on Thursday that had taken many of the telescope's most famous images.

Poor countries already suffering from the impact of climate change urgently need up to $2 billion to help adjust and cope, a new report submitted to the United Nations said on Thursday.

German budget deficit will hit €90 billion by 2010, breaking Germany's post-war budget deficit record of €40 billion in 1996, the German Finance Minister said Thursday.

Hackers launched an attack on Facebook's 200 million users on Thursday, successfully gathering passwords from some of them in the latest campaign to prey on members of the popular social networking site.

Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc posted on Thursday a 32 percent drop in quarterly net profit that was above Wall Street's estimates and raised its 2009 profit outlook, sending its shares up nearly 4 percent.

The Great Wall of China just got greater, after a survey uncovered 1,000 miles of additional wall.The two-year survey by the Chinese government used infrared range finders and GPS equipment to map the course of the Great Wall.

Top U.S. movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc posted lower first-quarter profits on Thursday and warned that same-store sales would continue to be lower in 2009, but said it was still comfortable with its prior full-year outlook.

Visitors allowed to top of iconic monument from 4 July. The crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York City is to be reopened to visitors.

Islamist rebels and Somalia's western-backed government and allies exchanged mortar and small arms fire Thursday in the seventh day of clashes in the capital Mogadishu that have killed 139 civilians.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $96.7 billion measure to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30 as well as rush critical economic and security aid to Pakistan.

Tom’s objective was to secure a highly coveted pharmaceutical sales position. His main concern—one brought up in previous interviews—was that he lacked the preferred business-to-business (B2B) sales experience.

President Barack Obama raised the prospect on Thursday that China and other nations could stop buying U.S. debt and said the United States needed to tackle its deficit to avoid long-term economic damage.

The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday got into a public dispute with the CIA over what she knew about harsh interrogation techniques in 2002 in the latest twist in a Washington political firestorm.

Managing energy usage in a more efficient way would have a rebound effect reducing carbon and energy savings by half, according to a new study presented at a Cambridge University seminar on Thursday.

Private equity fund The Carlyle Group will pay a $20 million penalty to settle its role in a probe of investment firms that hired politically connected people to help them get chosen to manage New York state's pension fund, the state's attorney general said on Thursday.

Nike Inc will slash 5 percent of its 35,000-strong global workforce in a sweeping overhaul to boost competitiveness.

With the recession hitting the retail industry hard, an increasing number of retailers are now offering discount codes to consumers to differentiate themselves from High Street retailers and attract more customers, according to voucher code website.