IBT Staff Reporter

A senior Democrat in charge of tax writing at the U.S. House of Representatives released his $1.3 billion proposal to overhaul the tax system, raising taxes for the rich, cutting rates for many middle-income Americans and eliminating the alternative minimum tax.

British oil giant BP agreed to pay $373 million in fines and penalties on Thursday to settle charges related to manipulating U.S. energy markets, a Texas refinery explosion and a pipeline spill in Alaska, according to U.S. prosecutors.

The ongoing 30 hour railroad strike that is executed by the German train driver's union GDL is slicing the capacity of the passenger travel effectively to half.

New's Corp's proposed $5 billion acquisition of Dow Jones is coming under fire as the federal communications regulator said the deal raises competitive issues and may not be in the best interest of the public.

Chip giant Intel opened up the first of four 45nm fabrication plants today in Chandler, Arizona representing a $3 billion investment for the company.

Advanced Micro Devices gained market share on its larger rival Intel Corp. as third quarter results emerged.

The technology stocks fell on Thursday despite strong profit showings by big firms including Microsoft and EMC.

Japan's largest language school franchise filed for court protection from creditors as its debt swelled to nearly 50 billion yen.

Financial stocks declined on Thursday as difficulties in the credit market continued to weigh on the minds of investors.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as financial leaders such as American International Group and Merrill Lynch declined, fueling concerns that credit market losses will continue to hit financial shares.

President George W. Bush, visited San Diego and had an aerial view and tour of the damages caused by wild fires that have wrecked havoc across southern California, forcing more than 500,000 to flee their homes.

Microsoft Corp lifted its full-year estimates on Thursday after posting a 23 percent rise in quarterly profit on strong demand for both computers running its operating system and Halo 3, sending its shares up 12 percent. The world's largest software maker beat even Wall Street's most bullish forecast with a net profit of $4.29 billion. Revenue rose 27 percent to $13.76 billion.

California's largest bank, Bank of America (BofA) said that it will contribute to relief efforts in the Southern California fires by donating $1 million through its Charitable Foundation.Bank of America said that this donation is the first in a series of steps it will take to help fire victims and responders; and is now working with city leaders in San Diego and Los Angeles to determine the amount of assistance and resources needed in this endeavor."Southern California families, business and entire communities are in urgent need of immediate aid and we wanted to begin to begin to address that need as quickly as possible," said Janet Lamkin, President of Bank of America California.Chevron, based in San Ramon has also today announced a $500,000 to support fire relief efforts. It said that $400,000 will be given to American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and $100,000 will be directed towards local charities and relief efforts in the communities where Chevron operates.Chevron is also providing bottles of water and meals to evicted families.

The United States will consider further sanctions against Sudan if it continues "dragging its feet" over accepting a U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force, a top U.S. official said on Thursday.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will soon urge Indian officials not to move forward with a planned pipeline project that would bring Iranian natural gas to India, a senior Treasury official said on Thursday.

Merrill Lynch & Co Inc. may look to sell its 20 percent stake in Bloomberg LP to raise capital after writing down $8.4 billion of assets last quarter, some investors have said.

The dollar's drop is addressing problems - including a big trade deficit and slowing economy - with few ill effects.

Oil major BP will pay $373 million to settle U.S. charges stemming from a deadly Texas refinery explosion and an Alaska oil spill, as well as allegations it manipulated propane markets, the government said on Thursday. The settlement comes as the company seeks to set a new course with a restructuring aimed at improving its record on safety and the environment.

PetroChina, China’s largest oil producer, has set the price range of its A-share Initial Public Offering (IPO) between 15 to 16.7 yuan per share, the company announced on the HKEx on Wednesday.

Sony Corp said Thursday that its net profit for the second quarter soared on turnaround in its electronics operations.

Stocks were little changed on Thursday as a batch of weak economic data offset positive earnings from tech companies, including Motorola Inc. Data showed orders for durable goods declined unexpectedly in September. Another report showed a fall in initial jobless claims was smaller than expected. Finally, sales of new homes in September were below expectations.

Investors looking to gauge economic sentiment drew upon several government reports on Thursday indicating the state of home sales, durable goods investments and jobless claims.

The pace of new home sales rose in September from a weaker August number, and orders for long-lasting manufactured goods dropped, according to data released on Thursday that showed a slow-growing economy. Stocks rose after the home sales data suggested that the stumbling housing market was no worse than feared.

U.S. Treasuries eased on Thursday, after data on new housing sales came in just short of expectations and added little to existing chances of a modest Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week.

Japan's Nintendo Co Ltd nearly tripled its first-half profit and boosted its annual earnings outlook on Thursday as its popular Wii and DS game machines outsell rival Sony Corp's PlayStation.

Strong corporate earnings and speculation about another cut in U.S. interest rates boosted stocks on Thursday but the Bank of England issued a stark warning that all is not over in the credit crisis.

The dollar fell closer to a record low versus the euro on Thursday after a report showed an unexpected fall in September durable good orders, bolstering the view a slowing U.S. economy will prompt a cut in U.S. interest rates next week.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion will target multinational corporations in the first phase of its new push into the huge Chinese market, its co-chief executive said on Wednesday.

Google Inc has hit its stride with a strategy that focuses on Web search, advertising and applications, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday, as he downplayed possible threats.