IBT Staff Reporter

Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department agreed to extend some portions of federal antitrust oversight by 18 months, to May 2011, according to court papers filed on Thursday.

Chinalco’s $US19.5 billion ($27 billion) deal with Rio Tinto are unlikely to trouble the government and its best assets will draw regulatory scrutiny, according to the Australian reports Thursday.

New Jersey regulators have approved an investment of about $1 billion for energy infrastructure projects administered by utilities which aim to create jobs and spur the state’s economy.

Sony Corp's Sony Pictures on Thursday became the sixth major studio to support a theater-chain upgrade to digitally convert 20,000 U.S. and Canadian cinema screens, at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion.

The results of tests to gauge how the top 19 U.S. banks would fare should the deep U.S. recession worsen will be publicly disclosed on May 4, a regulatory official said on Thursday.

In the past week both commercial banks and investment firms have borrowed less over the past week from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program, a hopeful sign some credit stresses are easing a bit.

Google Inc. on Thursday reported first quarter net income of $1.42 billion, or $4.49 a share, up from $1.3 billion or $4.12 a share in the same period last year.

In his second big trip abroad since becoming U.S. president, Barack Obama pledged strong support on Thursday for the Mexican government's fight against powerful drug cartels, who are waging turf wars along the border.

Stocks soared on Thursday as expectations of reassuring results from bellwethers, including Google, lifted technology shares, while JPMorgan's better-than-expected profit added to bank stabilization hopes.

Time Warner Cable Inc. is shelving its plan to bill customers based on how much Internet traffic they generate, until it can improve its customer education process, after receiving a poor response from consumers.

Google posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, sending its shares up more than 5 percent.

Rosetta Stone Inc shares rose 42 percent in their trading debut Thursday, following the company's initial public offering, putting it on pace for the strongest start of a new stock in a year.

The number of Americans claiming jobless aid hit a record in early April and groundbreaking for new homes slumped last month, but a top Federal Reserve official voiced hope the recession was ending.

Somali Prime Minster said Thursday they needs more help to fight against pirates and would be willing to share the pirates’ information with other countries.

The bankruptcy of the second-largest U.S. mall owner, General Growth Properties Inc, will have little immediate effect on its retail tenants, but could hurt them down the road.

Stocks climbed on Thursday as expectations of reassuring quarterly results from bellwethers, including Google , lifted tech shares, while JPMorgan's better-than-expected profit added to bank stabilization hopes.

JPMorgan Chase & Co posted better-than-expected quarterly profit, demonstrating the kind of resilience that allowed Chief Executive Jamie Dimon to assert the bank could pay back the government $25 billion immediately.

President Obama and his wife, Michelle, made $2.73 million last year and paid $855,323 in federal taxes, an amount that would increase by $102,000 if his budget plan were in effect.

Stocks jumped on Thursday as expectations of reassuring quarterly results from bellwethers including Google lifted technology shares, while JPMorgan's better-than-expected profit added to bank stabilization hopes.

Visits to the micro-blogging site jumped 131 percent in March to 9.3 million in the U.S., that’s more than5 million users from February, according to data from comScore.

MANAMA - Several foreign banks see huge untapped opportunities in Iran for Islamic finance, spurred on by hopes U.S. President Barack Obama's new approach toward the Islamic Republic will end years of sanctions hampering busines

On Thursday the nation's second-largest shopping mall owner, General Growth Properties, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to reach an out of court consensus on how to restructure its $27 billion debt.

IBM is no longer interested in buying smaller rival Sun Microsystems Inc at any price, CNBC reported on Thursday, although many investors appear to believe a deal was still possible.

The Swedish Pirate Bay Web site server used to serve Bit-torrent files was put display in museum for public viewing on Thursday.

New York Gov. David Paterson on Thursday introduced a bill to allow gay marriage in the state, likening the effort to civil rights struggles and brushing aside objections from religious leaders.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologized on Thursday for offensive emails about top opposition figures sent by one of his most influential aides, as the government tried to limit fallout before next week's budget.

Rosetta Stone Inc shares rose 42 percent in their trading debut Thursday, following the company's initial public offering, putting it on pace for the strongest start of a new stock in a year.

Washington's visiting Middle East envoy vowed on Thursday to vigorously pursue the creation of a Palestinian state, setting the stage for possible conflict with Israel's new right-leaning government.

Sun Microsystems shares rose 10 percent Thursday after its willingness to resume IBM acquisitions talks to complete the deal; however IBM is no longer interested.