IBT Staff Reporter

Many U.S. retailers posted smaller-than-expected sales declines for March in a sign that shoppers may be regaining confidence to open their wallets after more than a year of recession.

Stronger emerging economies are likely to pull further ahead from weaker peers following the moves by global leaders to augment the lending capacity of the International Monetary Fund.

U.S. officials will not look to close any banks based on the results of stress tests being conducted to determine how the largest U.S. banks would fare under more adverse economic conditions, a source familiar with official talks said on Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp plans to announce a major overhaul of its U.S. operations, bringing sales, manufacturing and engineering under one powerful executive, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc said on Thursday that it planned to buy privately held Tidal Software Inc for about $105 million in cash and incentives, to bolster its range of products and services for corporate data centers.

Volkswagen AG could launch the Up! mini-car in the United States, the German automaker's U.S. Chief Executive Stefan Jacoby said on Wednesday.

Fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd's annual revenues appear to be about $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion, three sources who have analysed data provided by the outsourcing firm to bidders said on Thursday.

Most U.S. retailers posted lower March sales at stores open at least a year, as shoppers remained focused on necessities and put off spring purchases because of a later Easter holiday this year.

Wells Fargo & Co said it expects to post a $3 billion first-quarter profit, sending its shares soaring, lifting a wide range of stocks, and providing a welcome jolt to the troubled banking sector.

Private equity house CVC Partners will pick up a rare commodity if it pulls off a purchase of Barclays' iShares exchange traded fund (ETF) unit, which analysts say has strong growth potential.

A spate of bossnappings by French workers has put President Nicolas Sarkozy in a tight spot, caught between the need to enforce the law and the risk of exacerbating unrest during the economic downturn.

Oil rose above $52 a barrel on Thursday as rallies on global stock markets revived thoughts of economic recovery and subsequent increased demand for oil.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will inaugurate the country's first nuclear fuel production complex later on Thursday, an Iranian official told Reuters.

President Barack Obama set up an executive office for healthcare reform at the White House on Wednesday, saying the overhaul was one of the biggest priorities for the first year of his presidency.

Taxi drivers joined growing anti-government protests in Thailand on Thursday, blocking roads and causing gridlock across Bangkok, as supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra threatened to disrupt an Asian summit.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will inaugurate the country's first nuclear fuel production complex later on Thursday, an Iranian official told Reuters.

Stocks added to gains on Thursday, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up more than 3 percent, as surprisingly upbeat preliminary quarterly results from Wells Fargo fueled hopes that stabilization may be returning in the banking sector.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless aid fell last week, but the number of people on unemployment rolls surged to a record in March, data showed on Thursday, suggesting the labor market's decline has not yet hit bottom.

Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer quit on Thursday after his security blunder forced police to bring forward a major operation to thwart a suspected al Qaeda plot involving Pakistani nationals.

Japan's Sharp Corp and Pioneer Corp said they would set up a joint venture to merge their optical disc businesses, aiming to beef up one of their focus operations and take a leading position in the growing Blu-ray disc market.

Wells Fargo & Co said on Thursday it expects to report net income of about $3 billion for the first quarter.

A U.S. Navy destroyer arrived off Somalia on Thursday to apply pressure for the release of an American ship captain taken hostage in the first seizure of U.S. citizens by increasingly bold pirates.

A pending asset sale and a clean bill of health from its financial regulator has calmed fears Barclays will need to raise cash, and backed up the bank's pledge to emerge as a victor from the financial crisis.

South Korea's central bank kept interest rates steady for a second month in a row on Thursday and cited signs that the economy was regaining its footing, but said it may still cut rates further from their record lows.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's third-largest bank, said it expects a full-year net loss of $3.9 billion and will sell shares to raise up to $8 billion, after being hit by losses on stock holdings and a deepening recession.

It has neither train station nor cinema, but this Bavarian town has not been bypassed by globalisation. Ambition and leverage have brought it to its deepest crisis since World War Two.

Stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday, sending the S&P 500 up more than 2 percent, as surprisingly upbeat preliminary quarterly results from Wells Fargo fueled hopes that stabilization may be returning in the banking sector.

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is buying iShares asset management business from Barclays for 3 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) in a deal that will be 70 percent funded by the British bank.

A $6 cardboard box that uses solar power to cook food, sterilize water and could help 3 billion poor people cut greenhouse gases, has won a $75,000 prize for ideas to fight global warming.