IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi will roar off into space aboard a Russian rocket on Thursday to make history as the first tourist to make the odyssey twice.

Asian stocks rose to their highest in nearly three months on Thursday, led by energy and financial shares, and oil climbed on hopes the U.S. economic slowdown may be easing.

Bank of America Corp , the largest U.S. bank, is folding its Premier Banking unit into Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, laying off several hundred workers, the Wall Street Journal said.

Chances are you've never had a conversation with your house plants but if they could talk, what would they say? Water me.

The head of Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday that industrywide sales in the United States for this month looked set to be flat or worse than the weak results seen in February.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG has secured more than 96 percent of shares in Genentech Inc , effectively completing its $46.8 billion buyout of the U.S. biotech group.

Asian shares hit their highest level in 11 weeks on Thursday on hopes the U.S. economic downturn may be easing, while the dollar recovered after its latest wobble about its status as the main reserve currency.

The board of Satyam Computer Services has shortlisted about eight bidders, including IBM and private equity firm Apax Partners, for buying the fraud-hit outsourcer, the Economic Times said on Thursday.

In a bid to quash Wall Street excesses that nearly caused the collapse of the U.S. financial system, the Obama administration will propose tough restrictions on financial firms, hedge funds and derivatives markets.

Internet start-up Twitter is taking a much-anticipated first-step in its quest to parlay its popularity into revenue by offering certain customers an expanded range of services.

In an effort to quash Wall Street excesses that nearly collapsed the U.S. financial system, the Obama administration on Thursday will propose tough new restrictions on big financial firms, hedge funds and derivatives markets, officials said on Wednesday.

Google will revamp its online advertising network for the first time this week, promising to incorporate new tools to make advertisers more effective.

North Korea has positioned what is believed to be a long-range ballistic missile on a launch pad in what could be a preparation for launch, a U.S. counterproliferation official said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama lobbied fellow Democrats on Wednesday to support major initiatives in his $3.55 trillion budget proposal and the White House played down differences as lawmakers sought to trim the plan to reduce long-term deficits.

President Barack Obama will tell bankers on Friday we're all in the same boat while pressing them to support his strategy to unlock credit markets ahead of next week's G20 meeting of world leaders.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued a Pennsylvania prosecutor on Wednesday over his threats to charge three teenage girls with child pornography for allowing themselves to be photographed partly clothed with cellphone cameras.

NVIDIA Corp was raised to a ‘Buy’ from a ‘Neutral’ rating as higher revenues are expected in its future, according to Broadpoint.AmTech analyst, Doug Freedman.

The top 50 U.S.-based bank holding companies, which represent three fourths of all assets at such companies reported a aggregate loss of $67 billion in 2008, a Fed official testified on Wednesday.

The Group of 20 nations meeting next week is a make or break event for the global markets, investor George Soros said on Wednesday.

Stocks rose in a late rally on Wednesday as unexpectedly strong housing and durable goods data fueled hopes the economy is finally on the mend, offsetting concerns the United States may struggle to fund plans to pull the economy out of recession.

The world has more than enough reserves to help restore financial stability, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday, but a way needs to be found of unlocking the funds.

Several more employees are leaving the controversial financial products unit that brought American International Group Inc to its knees last year, according to a person with knowledge of developments there.

IBM will cut about 5,000 jobs in the United States, adding to similarly large cuts in the past few months, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Stocks rose in a late rally on Wednesday as unexpectedly strong housing and durable goods data fueled hopes the economy is finally on the mend, offsetting concerns the United States may struggle to fund plans to pull the economy out of recession.

The U.S. recession will drag on for some months before a recovery starts in late 2009 or early 2010, but the future is still clouded by risks, top Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday.

New orders for long-lasting U.S.-made goods rose in February for the first time in seven months and new home sales rebounded, government data showed on Wednesday, suggesting the economic downturn might be easing a bit.

Corrects to end-2008, not 2009, paragraph 5

Intel Corp Chief Executive Paul Otellini said IBM's discussions to acquire Sun Microsystems Inc are likely to succeed for one ringing reason: Money Talks.

Streaming video provider Boxee is moving past the Hulu debacle by rolling out new apps for Pandora, RadioTime, and PBS, and an alpha version of its site.