IBT Staff Reporter

The chief executive of BP Plc on Thursday outlined a plan to address industry-lagging profitability by slashing management layers, adopting consistent procedures for developing oil and gas fields and reducing unacceptably high costs.

Investors and fund managers bitten by the collapse in subprime mortgages are now looking for new opportunities to trade bonds linked to traditionally volatile commodity prices and risky emerging markets.

Whoever becomes Sprint Nextel Corp's next CEO, one thing is clear: Wall Street expects the U.S. mobile service provider to scale back its ambitious plans for a next-generation WiMax high-speed network.

Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's No 2 software services exporter, said quarterly profit rose by nearly a fifth but its shares tumbled 7 percent on market concerns over the rapidly rising rupee and the risk of a U.S. downturn.

Japan's Sanyo Electric Co Ltd said it has reached a basic agreement to sell its loss-making mobile phone business to Kyocera Corp, creating the world's seventh-largest cellphone provider.

Indians stay home as investors choose local hot stocks and lower tax domestic funds.

Royal Bank of Scotland board member Mark Fisher is nominated to replace ABN AMRO's outgoing Chief Executive, Rijkman Groenink, after the 70 billion euro ($99 billion) takeover of the Dutch bank.

Ambac Financial Group Inc, one of the world's largest bond insurers, warned on Wednesday it expects to report a third-quarter net loss after taking a $743 million write-down on its credit derivative portfolio.

Shares of Sony Financial Holdings Inc rose nearly 4 percent on their debut on Thursday, as a stock market rebound boosted demand for the financial firm that recently completed Japan's largest IPO this year.

U.S. farm officials pressed South Korea at talks in Seoul on Thursday to open its market fully to American beef and resolve a long-standing dispute between the two nations that has also threatened a separate free-trade deal.

Turkish PM to ask approval for Iraq iTurkey's prime minister will ask parliament next week to authorize a military push into north Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels amid Turkish anger on Thursday at a U.S. vote branding Ottoman Turk killings of Armenians genocide.

For a field about forecasting, economics has proved ironically to be one of the toughest awards to call -- partly because Nobel panelists historically have veered away from the fashionable economic ideas of the day.

The U.S. economy showed signs of resilience according to data released on Thursday, with exports surging to a record in August and a weekly labor market gauge showing the number of longer-term unemployed unexpectedly fell.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei met India's prime minister on Thursday in a long-scheduled trip as time started to run out for the government to press forward with a nuclear deal with the United States.

Turkey warned on Thursday that relations with its NATO ally the United States would be harmed by a U.S. House committee's approval of a resolution calling the 1915 massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks genocide.

Many of the leading U.S. retailers reported dismal September sales that missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by unusually warm weather, prompting some to cut their outlook for the entire quarter. Industry leader Wal-Mart raised its outlook for the quarter but said sales came in at the low end of expectations.

It wants to examine restrictions on the sale of U.S. films, music, books, magazines and newspapers in China for an upcoming meeting

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless aid fell a larger-than-expected 12,000 last week, the government said on Thursday, while the number of longer-term unemployed unexpectedly fell to its lowest level since June.

Crash tests of some popular midsize sport utility vehicles turned in an unexpectedly mixed performance in side-impact tests, a leading insurance group said on Thursday.

World stock markets raced ahead with their post-credit shock rally on Thursday and Wall Street looked set to join them, while gold and platinum hit highs on the back of the weaker dollar.

Large and small U.S. retailers have reported signs of cautious spending by consumers, who are feeling the pain of higher food and gasoline prices as the housing market decelerates after buoying consumer confidence and spending for years. Retailers Men's Wearhouse, American Eagle Outfitters Inc and PetSmart Inc cut profit forecasts on Wednesday after a wave of weak sales reports.

Stocks around the world extended gains on Thursday while the yen slipped against the dollar after the Bank of Japan decided not to change interest rates.

The Nikkei average gained 0.1 percent on Thursday despite some weak economic data out before the open.

Boeing Co. said Wednesday that it will delay delivery of its fast selling 787 Dreamliner jet by six months because of continued challenges in the plane's assembly, including parts scarcity.

Retail shares were mixed on Tuesday despite a strong performance from Costco Wholesale Corp, which rose sharply on expectations of higher profits.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes fell on Wednesday after setting new highs a day earlier as the latest earnings report season kicked off with lower profit expectations and news from blue-chip companies raising concern among investors.

Platinum rose, matching a record, after the dollar declined for a second day against the euro, enhancing the appeal of the metal as an alternative investment. Palladium also gained.

Wheat rose for the first time on Wednesday after prices dropped from a record high last month.

Gold finished about $2 higher on Wednesday as a decline in the value of the dollar boosted the appeal of the precious metals as alternative investments.