IBT Staff Reporter

JPMorgan Chase & Co said it is cutting up to 14,000 jobs, more than previously disclosed, as it tries to reduce costs in the face of a slumping economy and higher credit losses.

The budget proposed by President Barack Obama includes funding aimed at improving the security of U.S. private and public computer networks. The document called for $355 million in funding for the Department of Homeland Security to make private and public sector cyber infrastructure more resilient and secure. The money would help support the operations of the National Cyber Security Division, as...

The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 rose on Thursday as news the Obama administration could request more money to shore up ailing banks sent financial shares higher, offsetting declines in healthcare companies. Banks, whose health has been a concern for investors and pulled the market to 12-year lows on Monday, were a standout. Shares of Bank of America gained 8 percent to $5.5...

Portugal's state-run bank Caixa Geral de Depositos on Thursday posted a 46 percent fall in 2008 net profit.

Visa Inc, the world's largest credit card network, said on Thursday that processed transactions kept growing at high single-digit rates in January, despite a global economic slowdown.

U.S. oil prices jumped more than 5 percent to over $44 a barrel on Thursday on expectations OPEC will cut output again and on signs of a rebound in gasoline demand in top consumer the United States. U.S. crude for April delivery gained $2.20 to trade at $44.70 a barrel by 1:45 p.m. EST. London Brent crude rose $1.60 to $45.89 a barrel. Support also came from U.S. government data released on Wedn...

The Palestinian Authority is to ask foreign governments on Monday for $1.33 billion to repair and renew homes, industry and other facilities in the Gaza Strip after last month's Israeli offensive.

Yahoo Inc Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen is leaving amid a broad reorganization initiated by new CEO Carol Bartz to dismantle the silos that slowed down the Internet company.

Abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has worsened sharply since President Barack Obama took office as prison guards get their kicks in before the camp is closed, according to a lawyer who represents detainees.

JPMorgan Chase & Co said it expects to cut 12,000 jobs as it integrates the former Washington Mutual Inc , 2,800 more than its previous estimate. The second-largest U.S. bank also said on Thursday it expects about $2.75 billion of savings from Washington Mutual, offset by $750 million of new investments. Retail banking chief Charlie Scharf said the bank expects t...

France, Germany and Britain are proposing extra EU sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, the Financial Times reported Thursday but France said no such measures would be passed any time soon.

Differences over Palestinian statehood are likely to scupper Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to forge a broad government with his main rival, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, an official from his Likud party said Thursday.

IBM affirmed its full-year profit outlook on Thursday and forecast growth in its services business in the first quarter, in sharp contrast to many technology companies that have scaled back expectations.

Thousands of supporters of former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif protested on Thursday, a day after a court ruling to exclude him and his brother from elected office raised fears of renewed political turmoil.

Mexico is sending up to 5,000 new troops and federal police to the country's most violent city, where law and order is on the brink of collapse in a brutal war between drug gangs aided by corrupt police.

The Taliban are willing to work with all Afghan groups to achieve peace, but the problems of Afghanistan can only be solved if foreign troops withdraw from the country, a senior insurgent leader said.

China denounced on Thursday U.S. criticism of its human rights record in an annual tit-for-tat exchange, saying the United States should put its own house in order first.

the largest share since 1945 when the country ran a shortfall of 21.5 percent of GDP.The budget was scheduled to be released at 11 a.m. EST but the White House released it early after details began to leak out in the news media.In 2010, the deficit would dip to a still-huge $1.17 trillion, but Obama promised to get the red ink under control within a few years through a combination of tax incre...

Warren Buffett has some explaining to do. Berkshire Hathaway Inc, his insurance and investment company, is in the midst of one of its worst stretches since Buffett took over the company in 1965.

Mutinous members of a paramilitary unit in the Bangladesh capital surrendered their weapons on Thursday as tanks surrounded their headquarters after a second day of gunfire in a mutiny that killed about 50 people.

Stocks rose on Thursday as news the Obama administration may request more money to shore up banks added to optimism that Washington would not nationalize major banks. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday reinforced the Obama administration's pledge that a bank rescue would not involve seizure of major banks. Optimism about the banks overshadowed another dose of fresh data that sho...

Oil rose above $44 a barrel on Thursday after the United Arab Emirates announced deeper cuts in crude supply to Asia for April in a possible signal that OPEC will cut output further at its next meeting in March.

General Motors Corp posted a loss of nearly $31 billion on Thursday for 2008 and said its auditors were likely to cast doubt on its viability as it seeks an expanded federal bailout to stay afloat. Revenue plunged by more than a third to $30.8 billion. GM burned through more than $5 billion in the fourth quarter and ended the year with $14 billion in cash, including the first $4 billion in loans ...

and companies including Harley-Davidson Inc . Berkshire teamed up on at least two of the investments with Chris Davis's money management firm Davis Selected Advisers LP. Buffett looks like he was, at best, early when he announced in October that he was plowing all his personal investments other than Berkshire shares into U.S. stocks. He has admitted error before. After 1999, a bad...

Top technology services company IBM affirmed its full-year earnings outlook and said results in January signaled growth in services contract signings in the first quarter, lifting the shares nearly 3 percent. Contract signings for its business services have grown so far this year, IBM said in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Recognizing that it is stil...

Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes slumped to a record low in January, while prices fell to their weakest level in five years, according to a government report on Thursday that highlighted the continued distress in the housing market. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 330,000 rate in January. The median sales price in January tumbled 13.5 percent to $201,100 from a ...

Top technology services company IBM affirmed its full-year earnings outlook and said results in January signaled growth in services contract signings in the first quarter, lifting the shares nearly 3 percent.

Ford Motor Co, which has not sought U.S. government emergency aid, said on Thursday it has adequate liquidity amid worsening industry conditions and has no doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.

Lost your job and looking for someone to punch up for causing the global financial crisis? A Japanese shrine offers down-on-their-luck visitors a chance to shake off the doldrums by hitting the God of Poverty.