U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with energy shares leading the advance as crude oil rebounded off a sharp decline, while investors bet that companies would top lowered expectations this earnings season.
North America
Cirque du Soleil in advanced deal talks with private equity
Cirque du Soleil is in advanced talks with two private equity consortia about selling a majority stake in what is the largest theatrical production company in the world, according to people familiar with the matter.
LinkedIn to buy online education company lynda.com for $1.5 billion
Professional social network operator LinkedIn Corp (LNKD.N) said it would buy privately held online education company lynda.com in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion.
PayPal, eBay to stay interdependent for five years after split
PayPal, eBay Inc's electronic payments division, said the two firms had agreed that eBay would not reduce the volume of transactions it channels through PayPal, while continuing to get better rates for its merchants for five years after the two split.
Amazon gets green light from U.S. regulators for new drone tests
Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) has won approval from U.S. federal regulators to test a delivery drone outdoors, less than a month after the e-commerce powerhouse blasted regulators for being slow to approve commercial drone testing.
Latest News
Oil prices rose on Thursday on strong German economic data and uncertainty about negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, even as a strong dollar curbed oil's bounce a day after futures tumbled 6 percent.
A diamond brooch given by Spain's King Alfonso XII to his wife as a wedding gift and ruby ear pendants once owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis are among highlights of an auction of precious jewels that could fetch more than $80 million, Christie's said on Thursday.
Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) "beautiful" and "stylish" smartwatch could make life easier for people on the move, reviewers say, but the gadget gets poor marks for battery life and slow-loading apps.
Some of the biggest dollar bulls in the global bond fund sector have reversed course in recent weeks, cutting exposure to the greenback amid concern the U.S. Federal Reserve will delay a widely-anticipated interest rate hike.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) agreed to buy smaller rival BG Group (BG.L) for 47 billion pounds ($70 billion) in the first major energy industry merger in more than a decade, closing the gap on market leader U.S. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) after a plunge in prices.
Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) has rejected a contract offer from the United Steelworkers (USW) local chapter representing hourly workers at the company's Beaumont, Texas, refinery and renewed its offer of a six-year contract, a union official said on Wednesday.
Twitter Inc's (TWTR.N) shares jumped 5 percent and activity in its options surged on Tuesday on unsubstantiated market chatter about the company fending off a takeover bid.
Japan and Taiwan have imposed trade restrictions on poultry and poultry products from Ontario, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Tuesday, a day after bird flu was confirmed in the Canadian province.
Wall Street is greeting what is expected to be the worst earnings season since 2009 with a gigantic shrug. Though there has been some selling in recent weeks, there's been no panic dumping of stocks, even though forecasts for S&P 500 first-quarter earnings have tumbled since Jan. 1, thanks to the surging dollar, falling oil prices and another severe winter. The earnings season unofficially kicks off Wednesday with results from aluminum company Alcoa (AA.N).
