Reuters - Wall Street rose at the open on Thursday on strong earnings from companies including Exxon Mobil and after a drop in weekly jobless claims offered hope for the anemic labor market recovery.
Reuters - Exxon Mobil Corp reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit on Thursday, as oil prices and margins to process crude into fuel rebounded from a year earlier and production rose.
Reuters - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week, offering a ray of hope for the anemic labor market recovery.
Reuters - Motorola Inc posted quarterly earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations driven by products such as mobile network equipment, sending its shares up 1 percent.
Reuters - Japan's Panasonic Corp (6752.T) said it would buy out subsidiaries Sanyo Electric (6764.T) and Panasonic Electric Works (6991.T) for up to $9.4 billion in cash and shares to accelerate its push into greener businesses.
AFP - Billionaire investor George Soros is close to sealing a 40-million-dollar deal to buy Dubai Holding's 4.0 percent stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
AP - Southwest Airlines Co. added an upbeat note to a strong quarter for the airline industry by reporting a $112 million profit for spring and early summer.
AP - Italian officials are seeking to raise some euro25 million (about $32 million) in private money to finance the restoration of one of the countrys iconic landmarks: the Colosseum.
AP - Loan officers at banks will be required to provide their names and fingerprints to a national database as part of an effort to crack down on shady operators who fed the real estate bubble.
AP - Greek police used tear gas Thursday to disperse protesting fuel-truck drivers, whose strike is hurting tourism and industry, after the government issued an emergency order to force them back to work.
Reuters - Amazon.com said its best-selling Kindle device was currently out of stock, leading one Internet analyst to surmise the online retailer was poised to launch a new version.
Reuters - Foreclosures rose in 3 of every four large U.S. metro areas in this year's first half, likely ruling out sustained home price gains until 2013, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
AFP - World oil prices were higher on Thursday, winning support from firmer equities and the weaker dollar after recent falls that were sparked by downbeat news in key consumer the United States.
AP - President Barack Obama on Wednesday cast his latest economic pitch as a matter of patriotism, urging the Senate to ditch its partisan mode at least long enough to pass a package of tax cuts and loan relief for small businesses. "This is as American as apple pie," the president said.
AP - Toyota is recalling 412,000 passenger cars, mostly the Avalon model, in the U.S., and another 16,420 vehicles in Japan for steering problems, the automaker said Thursday.
BusinessWeek - When Petr Vojak was deciding where to settle down with his family last year, his aim was clear. He wanted somewhere peaceful yet central. Eventually, they decided on a new flat in a northern district along the Vltava river, which flows through Prague.
