IBT Staff Reporter

Shareholders in Seven Bank Ltd, which operates ATMs in convenience stores owned by Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, raised $481 million after its IPO was priced at the top of its projected range, as investors rattled by the subprime crisis embraced its low-risk business model.

The leaders of the two top parties in Pakistan's recent election meet on Thursday to discuss forming a coalition government that could force President Pervez Musharraf out of power. Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 military coup in the nuclear-armed country and has been one of Washington's top Muslim allies against al Qaeda, is vulnerable to a hostile parliament after his supporters were heavily defeated in Monday's election.

Europe's biggest insurer, Allianz , is axing hundreds of jobs at its Dresdner Kleinwort investment bank and slashing its complex structured finance business, after suffering big fourth-quarter writedowns.

Reed Elsevier announced the acquisition of U.S. risk-management business ChoicePoint Inc for $4.1 billion including debt alongside its results, as well as a renewed cost-savings drive and the planned sale of an advertising-dependent information business. Shares in Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed, which have outperformed the DJ Stoxx European media sector by 5 percent over the past year, jumped 6 percent to 619 pence on the news on Thursday.

True to their reputation as Hollywood nonconformists, brothers Joel and Ethan Coen are bucking 80 years of Oscar tradition with a rare joint nomination for directing No Country for Old Men.

College student Li Aihua wears his tattered, grungy Li Ning basketball sneakers with pride.

All six major Hollywood studios are now in the Blu-ray DVD camp, a day after Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD and Blu-ray became effectively the only next-generation game in town. Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement issued Wednesday to The Hollywood Reporter: We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer, the statement read. As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on ...

Serbia rallied its people on Thursday for a mass protest against Kosovo's declaration of independence to show the world its anger at the loss of its religious heartland. Organizers expect hundreds of thousands to attend the People's Rally in the capital Belgrade, in what would be the biggest demonstration since half a million filled the streets in 2000 to oust nationalist autocrat Slobodan Milosevic.

Kenya's government said on Thursday it agreed in principle to creating a prime minister's post demanded by the opposition, a possible breakthrough in a political crisis some worry could explode into violence again. Local and international pressure has grown for a deal to end the standoff over President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election on December 27. The opposition has threatened to resume street protests next week if its demands are not met.

Copper declined on Wednesday on housing concerns, after the government reported permits in U.S. for new building fell and housing starts average remained low.

Toshiba's decision to quit the format war on Tuesday allows developments in high definition video to progress, however, analysts say consumers are the ones that bear the brunt of the costs.

Global consumer packaging company Rexam Plc has announced its full year results for 2007, posting an 11 per cent rise in sales from continuing operations, taking the total value of its annual sales to £3,566 million.

SABMiller Plc has said that it will not be making a bid for fellow brewer Scottish & Newcastle Plc (S&N). SABMiller said that while it had undertaken a preliminary evaluation of S&N, it had decided not to take further action.

High street sandwich chain Pret is said to be in talks with private equity firm Bridgepoint to buy out McDonald's 33 per cent stake in Pret.

Supermarket chain ASDA has announced it will be creating 9,000 new jobs in what it calls its biggest jobs programme in a decade. The jobs will be created through new store openings, extensions and business expansion.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said that the manufacturing sector is enjoying the longest run of sustained demand for 12 years and is bucking the slowdown in other parts of the economy.

Startup Vollee unveiled plans to bring Linden Lab's popular game Second Life virtual world to mobile phones, making the virtual world assessable from almost anywhere.

Microsoft's open development platform, XNA Game Studio, has now hit 800,000 downloads since it was first launched 18 months ago.

The greenback edged higher against the majors, climbing to 108.36 versus the yen and pushing the euro to 1.4615. A barrage of US economic data was released earlier in the session, with key indicators on inflation and housing

Microsoft will release a sequel to blockbuster Gears of War video game in November the company said today, giving it another key title to battle against rivals Nintendo and Sony.

As American Idol settles into its seventh season, controversy over one of the finalist's previous history as a signed artist who didn't pan out on her first chance at stardom is coming to light.

Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday after a choppy session, helped by gains in technology shares after Hewlett-Packard Co posted higher-than-expected earnings.

Nintendo is brining its physical fitness game to the U.S this summer, representatives said on Wednesday, as well as a downloadable game service.

An internal investigation by Societe Generale into a massive trading loss blamed on a single trader has found controls at the French bank lacked depth, a report published by the bank showed on Wednesday

Gold futures closed higher on Wednesday, reversing early losses, as the precious metal's appeal as an inflation hedge and a safe haven continued to attract investors.

Third place U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Nextel may introduce unlimited voice service for as slow as $60 per month to counterattack a wave of new plans charging $99, analysts say.

Social-networking site, MySpace is in talks with major record companies to create a service that would provide users with free music as it moves to distinguish itself from encroaching competitors such as Facebook, according to news reports.

Oil prices fell back on Wednesday from a record of $100.10 a barrel on speculation U.S. crude stockpiles will rise.

Bain Capital Partners said on Wednesday it withdrew its application for U.S. national security approval for its planned $2.2 billion acquisition of network-equipment maker 3Com Corp.