IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. business leaders urged lawmakers on Thursday to act quickly on healthcare reform, saying American companies were losing out to other countries with cheaper healthcare and healthier workers.

Stocks rose for a third day on Thursday on relief that a ratings cut by S&P in General Electric was just one notch and that no further cuts loomed, while retail sales data showed some stabilization in consumer spending.

Israel's 22-day offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip killed 1,434 people, including 960 civilians, 239 police officers and 235 fighters, a Palestinian human rights group said Thursday.

Stocks rose for a third day on Thursday on relief that S&P's credit rating cut for General Electric was just one notch and that no further downgrades loomed, while data showed some stabilization in consumer spending.

Three crew members of the international space station had a close call with space junk on Thursday and were forced to take shelter in the Russian Soyuz capsule.

Oil rose more than 11 percent to top $46 a barrel on Thursday following better-than-expected U.S. February retail sales data and ahead of a weekend OPEC meeting.

Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges he orchestrated the biggest fraud in Wall Street history and was ordered to jail to await a sentence that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Nortel Networks Corp is still working on a strategy that will see it emerge from bankruptcy protection, even as the beleaguered telecom equipment maker mulls which of its assets to sell to narrow its focus, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said on Thursday the largest U.S. bank was profitable in January and February and said it should be able to ride out the recession without new help from the nation's taxpayers.

U.S. lawmakers pressured the top U.S. accounting rulemaker for new guidance on mark-to-market accounting within three weeks or face legislation to change the rule that has forced banks to record billions of dollars in asset writedowns.

Stocks rallied for a third day on Thursday on relief that a ratings cut by S&P in General Electric was just one notch and no further cuts loomed, while data showed signs of stabilization in consumer spending.

Oil rose more than 10 percent to top $46 a barrel on Thursday, following better-than-expected U.S. February retail sales data and ahead of a weekend OPEC meeting.

Stocks rose for a third day on Thursday on relief that a ratings cut by S&P in General Electric was just one notch and that no further cuts loomed, while data showed some stabilization in consumer spending.

Rescuers combed the frigid waters off Canada's Atlantic Coast on Thursday looking for survivors after a helicopter carrying 18 people crashed as it ferried workers to two offshore oil facilities.

Sirius XM Radio Inc looks to expand the reach of its satellite radio service with the second-quarter launch of an iPhone application as it explores a potential marketing partnership with satellite TV provider DirecTV Group.

Apple will hold an event next Tuesday to preview new software for the iPhone OS 3.0, the company said on Thursday.

Bank of America Corp's chief executive said on Thursday it would be a nightmare for U.S. banks to be nationalized, wiping out shareholders and perhaps bondholders, and further damaging an economy that might begin to recover as soon as this year.

U.S. stocks climbed for a third day on Thursday, rising more than 2 percent to session highs after Standard & Poor's cut General Electric's ratings by just a single notch and signaled no further downgrades loomed, while data suggested some stabilization in consumer spending.

Are you spending hours and hours on Facebook? If so, you are not alone.

Oil rose nearly 7 percent to top $45 a barrel on Thursday encouraged by U.S. February retail sales data and ahead of a weekend OPEC meeting.

Apple will hold an event next Tuesday to preview new software for the iPhone, the company said.

U.S. stocks gained for a third day on Thursday on relief that S&P cut General Electric's ratings by just a single notch and signaled no further downgrades loomed, while data suggested some stabilization in consumer spending.

It is buying up less than half of Genentech Inc for a whopping $46.8 billion, but Switzerland's Roche Holding AG may have clinched the best of this year's three big drug deals.

Stocks rose for a third day on Thursday after Standard & Poor's cut General Electric's credit rating by just one notch below AAA and signaled no further downgrades loomed while data suggested some stabilization in consumer spending.

General Motors Corp has told U.S. officials that it can survive through March without the additional $2 billion in emergency aid that it first requested, the automaker said on Thursday.

Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges he orchestrated the biggest financial swindle in Wall Street history and was ordered to jail to await a sentence that could last the rest of his life.

Satellite radio provider Sirius XM Radio Inc said on Thursday it expects 2009 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to exceed $300 million despite a terrible auto sales outlook.

Madoff will appear for sentencing on June 16, where he faces up to 150 years in prison for 11 charges he admitted to. Prosecutors estimated his securities business fraud drew in as much as $65 billion from investors.

Google announced the release of Google Voice, an application that will let users to store transcripts of text and voice-mail phone messages in Gmail and then be able to search those messages.