AP - The dollar climbed against the yen in Asia Thursday on a sharp rebound in Japanese stocks, supporting views that recent exchange-rate volatility will ease and make yen-carry trades more feasible.

AP - Japanese stocks rebounded sharply Thursday, led by blue-chip exporters like Toyota and Canon as the yen weakened.

Reuters - Costco Wholesale Corp. on Thursday said its quarterly profit fell, hurt by charges for expensing stock options.

FT.com - London equities continued to recover on Thursday amid a rally in the beleaguered mining sector.

AFP - European stock markets moved higher on Thursday, following bumper gains earlier in Tokyo, as investors regained confidence after a recent slump in global equities.

Reuters - Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. posted a quarterly loss on a 24 percent fall in revenue, as its housing group witnessed its lowest shipments since 1961.

AFP - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has called on China to push through ambitious reforms of its financial markets a week after heavy losses on the Shanghai bourse roiled global equities.

AP - The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.75 percent on Thursday, despite subdued inflation and volatile global stock markets.

Reuters - BMW , the world's largest premium carmaker, is raising its dividend by more than 9 percent after record 2006 earnings that were buoyed by a one-off gain, the company said on Thursday.

Reuters - Tech Data Corp. , the world's second largest computer products distributor, said its quarterly profit rose more than 22 percent over the year-ago period when it recorded a restructuring charge.

AFP - BMW said Thursday that it achieved record sales and earnings last year as cost-cutting measures and booming demand for its cars helped offset negative effects from the weak dollar and high oil prices.

FT.com - The tentative recovery in Wall Street stocks moved apace on Thursday with strong gains in early trading as investors cheered the rise in overseas equities and pondered updates from the big retailers.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday, sending both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite indexes up more than 1 percent, as a recovery in financial shares led a broader market advance.

AP - The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75 percent on Thursday, in a move aimed at keeping growth in check and inflation at bay.

AP - Warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter profit declined 16 percent as costs grew faster than revenue.

AP - The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate a quarter point to 3.75 percent Thursday and set the stage for another hike, in a move aimed at keeping inflation contained amid strong economic growth.

Reuters - Stocks halved their gains on Thursday as market rumors that subprime mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. may file for bankruptcy revived some of the risk aversion that sent global equities tumbling last week.

FT.com - Mining stocks led the FTSE higher on Thursday with Antofagasta, the copper producer focused on Chile, up 3.1 per cent to 476p on talk that a special dividend of up to 40 US cents a share could be paid when full-year results are announced on Tuesday.

FT.com - US and European government bonds softened on Thursday as world equity markets continued to strengthen while the European Central Bank raised interest rates and left the way open for more increases.

FT.com - European equities rose on Thursday, helped by encouraging corporate results and strength in the financial sector. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 1.3 per cent to 1,486.10.

AP - As the markets dropped sharply last week, sending volume soaring and backing up trades handled by the New York Stock Exchange, at least one stock market player was resting easy.

AP - Wall Street extended its recovery from last week's big plunge, rising Thursday after several stable sessions helped buttress investor sentiment and allay some concerns about the economy.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday as a rebound in global equity markets helped boost financial shares and robust monthly sales from some retailers relieved worries about the economy's health.