IBT Staff Reporter

Crude oil fell more than $2 on Thursday as the dollar gained, lessening demand for commodities and prompting profit taking sales.

High oil and natural gas prices pushed ConocoPhillips' first-quarter profits up 17 percent, the Houston-based company said today on Thursday.

Spot prices at all market locations (outside the Rocky Mountain Region) are trading above $9 per million Btu (MMBtu), with a majority of the points registering prices in excess of $10 per MMBtu.

Gold futures fell to a three-week low after the dollar extended gains against the euro and falling oil prices eroded the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Triarc Companies Inc, the parent company of Arby's restaurants, agreed to acquire the Wendy's International Inc. fast food chain for about $2.3 billion in an all stock deal.

U.S. stocks gained on Thursday for a second day, with the Dow at its highest since January, after financial shares reversed losses and Merrill Lynch & Co. said it has enough capital to maintain its dividend, while retailers got a boost from lower oil prices.

Ford Motor Co. produced a profit of $100 million in the first quarter in a surprise turnaround for the struggling auto giant that has been embroiled in deep losses since 2007.

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch faces challenges following media ownership rules that the Federal Communications Commission recently adopted, as it nears completion of a deal to acquire Newsday.

BHP Billiton chief Marius Kloppers launched a contemptuous attack on its takeover target Rio Tinto on Wednesday, after reporting figures that showed BHP's iron ore production was at a record high and criticized Rio's growth projections.

A former vice-president at the Pharmaceutical Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. was indicted as the U.S. Department of Justice said he lied to the federal government about a patent deal related to the blood-thinning drug Plavix.

Alcon Inc. reported global sales increased 16.2 percent on the first quarter of 2008 to $1.54 billion and it announced greater foreign exchange gains.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. the largest car rental group worldwide said on Wednesday its first quarter earnings narrowed benefiting from international activity and cost cuts.

Skype users were relieved after receiving strange error messages from Microsoft security products over the past week, after Microsoft admitted that it was a mistake.

Liberty Mutual Group, a diversified insurer, agreed to buy Safeco Corp. for $6.2 billion on Wednesday, which would make Liberty Mutual the fifth largest U.S. insurer.

A California woman sued Nalge Nunc International on Wednesday, the maker of hard-plastic bottle which contains a chemical which has raised health concerns among consumers.

Technology stocks rose on Wednesday, driven by gains in information technology firm EMC Corp., VMware Inc., and Apple Corp.

Dollar recovered from record low against the Euro after soft economic data and comments from European policymakers

Sterling fell against the dollar as the expectation of rate cut remained unchanged even after the release of BOE minutes.

Research In Motion (RIM), maker of BlackBerry will expand its research and development capabilities by setting up a new facility in Western Europe.

By Geena Paul Increased production of biofuels has been cited as one of the reasons for the global surge in food prices.

By Gary DorschIn the futures markets, crude oil is up 80% from a year ago, unleaded gasoline up 40% natural gas up 39%, Soybeans are up 83%, corn up 65%, wheat up 95%, sugar up 30%, Gold up 36%, and rough rice is 125% higher from a year ago

Circuit City Stores Inc. has been advised that Blockbuster Inc. cannot complete its bid to acquire the electronics retailer due to the current difficult financing environment.

Microsoft chief said on Wednesday that the firm was ready to abandon its $43.6 billion bid for Yahoo in case both companies fail to agree on a price.

US technology giant, Apple, reported a profit gain of 36 percent in consumers cash in on Macintosh computers and iPod players.

The State Council of China said on beginning tomorrow, the securities trading tax will decline to 0.1 percent from current 0.3 percent.

Sam's Club wholesale store announced it will limit customers to buy up to four bags of rice due to Supply and demand trends the company said.

Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest Internet retailer, on Wednesday reported second-quarter profit rose 29 percent, beating analysts' expectations, citing stronger sales in the U.S. and abroad amid co

The five-year conflict in Darfur may have left as many as 300,000 people dead a steep increase from the previous estimate of 200,000 according to U.N. officials.

The Spanish tuna fishing vessel hijacked over the weekend is still held by Somali pirates and no ransom demand had been made as yet, the Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said on Wednesday.