IBT Staff Reporter

Oil prices eased further on Thursday, pressured by bulging U.S. crude stockpiles and expectations that a strike in Nigeria would not slow shipments from the eighth largest oil exporter.

Sony Corp. expects a steep increase in the number of game titles released for its flagship Playstation 3 game console, aiming to help the unit's slumping sales, according to a published report.

MySpace Launches Instant Messenger News Corp.'s (NSADAQ: NWS) popular social networking site, MySpace, said it officially launched a test version of its instant messaging program, dubbed MyspaceIM.

H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) reported a fourth quarter loss on Thursday, on the poor performance of its mortgage lending arm, sending shares down nearly 4 percent.

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) may swap its popular social networking site for a stake in Yahoo! Inc. according to a published report.

Shares of graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) traded at an all time high on Thursday after the company gave an upbeat outlook for the near-term and it introduced a new high-end desktop product.

Gold extended losses on Thursday to slip to its lowest in nearly a week as a firmer dollar and rising bond yields triggered more selling, traders said.

Key plot details could be fake, warns a publisher of the eagerly awaited book.

Starbucks Corp.'s chief financial officer said on Thursday the high end of the coffee shop chain's 2007 earnings forecast will be 'very challenging' due to current market conditions, including higher dairy costs.

Sony Corp. expects at least 380 new PlayStation 3 games to hit the market this business year and says that should rev up demand for the console that has so far lost out to Nintendo's wildly popular Wii.

It has been said only half-jokingly that General Motors Corp. is actually a giant health-insurance provider - just one that happens to make cars.

After a frenzied four days of deals at the Paris Air Show, Europe's Airbus appears to have booked enough orders to move ahead of rival Boeing Co. in the sales race this year.

Private equity firm Blackstone Group's initial public offering was about seven times subscribed, boosted by demand from Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

IntercontinentalExchange Inc. on Thursday urged CBOT Holdings Inc. shareholders and members to reject the proposed sale of the company to Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc.

U.S. government debt prices were mixed on Thursday after data suggesting less tightness in the labor market offset downward pressure from worries over rising global interest rates.

The European Union's data watchdog will expand its investigation of Web search engines beyond sector leader Google and write to that company, a European Commission source said on Thursday.

H&R Block Inc., the largest U.S. tax preparer, on Thursday posted a fourth-quarter loss on the depressed value of a mortgage unit slammed by deterioration in the U.S. subprime market.

French winemakers are disappointed that President Nicolas Sarkozy is teetotal and fear his clean-living image gives the wrong impression of France.

A general strike to protest against a rise in fuel prices paralyzed most economic activity in Nigeria for a second day on Thursday, but unions spared vital oil exports.

The nations will review labor and environmental standards in a deal struck earlier in the year.

China on Thursday forgave Iraq's debt owed to the Chinese government and pledged to help rebuild the country's war-shattered economy.

Residents from the seaside resort of Rimini on Italy's Adriatic coast quietly admit that a short drive to nearby microstate San Marino has allowed many to hide cash from the taxman for decades.

Dow Jones & Co. Inc. said on Wednesday its board will take over negotiations related to a $5 billion takeover offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., a move that could bring a quicker resolution to the talks.

Lifecycle funds have become hugely popular with investors due to their simplicity but as more funds are launched, picking the right one is increasingly becoming a complex task for retirement plans.

Top U.S. consumer electronics retail chain Best Buy Co. Inc. is speeding up its expansion in China, banking on robust demand in a fast-growing market that it entered just one year ago.

Morgan Stanley, a top Wall Street firm, has raised an $8 billion real estate fund through its property arm to focus on North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers want to shift their emphasis away from current benign inflation to uncertainty about future price pressures, and are debating whether to stop calling inflation 'elevated' in their policy statements, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The shutdown of a Venezuelan television station critical of President Hugo Chavez may prove a windfall for the owner of a rival network: millions of dollars in advertising revenue.

U.S. businesses painted dramatically different portraits of a new trade deal with South Korea on Wednesday, some touting lucrative sales opportunities and others charging the Bush administration had brought home an abominable deal for U.S. workers.