AP - Asian markets advanced Thursday, with Hong Kong jumping more than 5 percent in a catch-up rally, as the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $819 billion stimulus bill that investors hope will help lift the American economy out of its worst crisis in decades.

Reuters - Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) and NEC Electronics Corp (6723.T) posted quarterly losses and warned of further pain as the global chip sector's worst-ever downturn shows little sign of abating.

AP - Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, has reported a $2.81 billion net loss for the fourth quarter as the price of oil fell sharply and it wrote down the value of its inventory.

AFP - OPEC members need an oil price above 50 dollars a barrel to make exports worthwhile, the head of the cartel said Thursday, adding that more production cuts were possible later this year.

AFP - Europe's main stock markets fell at the start of trade Thursday, shrugging off gains across Asia in the wake of US lawmakers' approval of a multi-billion-dollar stimulus package.

AP - Asian markets advanced Thursday, with Hong Kong jumping 4.6 percent in a catch-up rally, as the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $819 billion stimulus bill that investors hope will help lift the American economy out of its worst crisis in decades. European markets opened lower.

Reuters - Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) plans cost cuts by $3.3 billion next business year by slashing capital spending and contract jobs, as the chip sector doldrums and a global slowdown put the electronics group on course for its worst-ever annual loss.

AP - Wall Street turned cautious Thursday as weak profit reports from a range of companies offered the latest evidence of the economy's toll on business.

AFP - Europe's main stock markets fall sharply on Thursday, pulled down by the banking sector which ended a brief rally on profit-taking, traders said.

AP - Bank stocks dragged European markets down Thursday, with investors booking profits on big gains earlier this week. The passage of a $819 billion economic stimulus package by the U.S. House of Representatives overnight failed to cheer European markets.

Reuters - Diversified manufacturer 3M Co said on Thursday quarterly profit and sales fell due to the economic downturn and that it would cut capital expenditures by 30 percent in response to lower demand.

AP - Occidental Petroleum says its fourth-quarter profit fell 69 percent from a year ago as results were hammered by lower oil and gas prices.

AP - Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, said Thursday it swung to a net loss of $2.81 billion in the fourth quarter, hurt by the sharp fall in oil prices and writedowns on inventory.

AP - Altria Group Inc. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 69 percent from year-ago results that included its overseas unit, which has been spun off.

AP - Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. said Thursday it swung to a loss in the fourth quarter on charges from buying cancer-drug maker ImClone Systems Inc.

AP - Eastman Kodak says it is eliminating 3,500 to 4,500 jobs, or 14 percent to 18 percent of its payroll, as it posted a $137 million loss for the fourth quarter.

Reuters - Continental Airlines posted a quarterly loss on Thursday as it lost money on some fuel-hedging contracts and made pension payments to pilots taking early retirement as the company pares back its flight schedule.

AP - Newell Rubbermaid Inc. said Thursday it swung to a loss in the fourth quarter due to falling sales and a large asset impairment charge.

AP - Continental Airlines Inc. lost $266 million in the fourth quarter as the recession bit into traffic, and fuel and labor costs increased.

Reuters - Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) plans cost cuts by $3.3 billion next business year by slashing capital spending and contract jobs, as the chip sector doldrums and a global slowdown put the electronics group on course for its worst-ever annual loss.

AP - Wall Street turned cautious Thursday as weak profit reports and record unemployment claims offered the latest evidence of the economy's struggles.

Reuters - Toronto's main stock index is seen falling at the open on Thursday as underlying commodity prices may pressure the heavily-weighted materials and energy issues.

AP - Media General Inc., a newspaper publisher and television station operator, said it lost $85.5 million in the fourth quarter on an impairment charge and a steep drop in publishing profits due to declining advertising sales.

AP - American Electric Power said Thursday that its fourth quarter earnings fell 34 percent after it was ordered to refund some sales from a six-year period to a number of subsidiaries.

Reuters - Altria Group Inc posted a quarterly profit in line with Wall Street estimates on Thursday and suspended its share repurchase program as it tries to refinance loans that funded its UST Inc acquisition.

Reuters - Toronto's main stock index fell more than 1 percent on Thursday morning as the sliding price of crude and weak results in the oil patch pressured energy stocks, while fading optimism for a U.S. stimulus package and the economy weighed on financials.

AP - Consumer products maker Newell Rubbermaid Inc. said Thursday that it lost nearly $257 million in the fourth quarter as a hefty asset impairment charge and falling sales weighed down results.

Reuters - Eli Lilly and Co reported flat fourth-quarter sales on Thursday and said earnings fell on charges related to its acquisition late last year of biotechnology company ImClone Systems Inc.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Thursday, stalling a four-day run-up in the S&P and the Nasdaq, as investors worried about a sharply worsening economy, sending shares of bellwethers, including Boeing , tumbling.

AFP - London stocks fell sharply on Thursday as financials beat a retreat and bleak US government reports sparked concerns among investors.

AP - Textron Inc. announced 2,000 new job cuts after posting a fiscal fourth-quarter loss Thursday, as the maker of Cessna jets, Bell helicopters and E-Z-GO golf carts forecast continuing gloom in 2009.

AP - Even in times like these, cigarette makers can raise prices and many customers will still buy them.

AP - Deep capacity cuts, checked bag fees and aggressive fare sales couldn't stop the airline industry's bleeding from the impact of bad bets on fuel hedges and the drop-off in demand due to the weak economy. After more carriers posted losses Thursday, the total fourth-quarter red ink for the top nine U.S. carriers by traffic rose to $4 billion.

AP - Oil's rapid decline to close out 2008 has stung major producers on both sides of the Atlantic, as Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported its first quarterly loss in a decade and Occidental Petroleum said its profit fell nearly 70 percent in the final three months of the year.

AP - Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter expectations Thursday, but analysts say they're waiting for a regulatory hearing next week to gauge the company's near-term health.

Reuters - Toronto's key stock index ended lower on Thursday as nagging economic concerns hurt weighty bank shares and lower oil prices hit the energy group, forcing the TSX to undo nearly all its gains from the prior session.

AP - Information technology management software maker CA Inc. said Thursday its fiscal third-quarter profit grew, helped by the company's broad product line as well as lower expenses.

AP - Despite fourth-quarter earnings reports that appeared solid, large job cuts at AstraZeneca and a steep sales slide for Eli Lilly's top-selling medicine offer foreboding reminders of the pharmaceutical industry's uncertain future.

AP - After the worst annual loss in its 105-year history, Ford Motor Co. still doesn't plan to seek government aid, but it's borrowing more money and hinting at further restructuring to brace for a tough 2009 and any surprises from the unpredictable economy.

AP - Most world stock markets ended lower Thursday as the latest dose of grim U.S. economic data spooked investors and triggered a round of profit taking on recent gains.

AP - International Paper Co. reported a fourth-quarter loss as a deepening recession forced it to shut mills that are struggling with tepid demand for paper and packaging.

AP - Broadcom Corp. fell to a $159.2 million loss in the fourth quarter as the chip designer took big charges for an acquisition and a write-down in a division's value.

AP - Consumer products maker Newell Rubbermaid Inc. said Thursday that it lost nearly $257 million in the fourth quarter as a hefty asset impairment charge and falling sales weighed down results.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co posted a deeper-than-expected $5.9 billion quarterly loss on Thursday but said it would have the cash to survive the worst downturn in auto sales in decades without a U.S. government bailout.