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U.S. stocks moved lower in late trading Thursday amid some nervousness ahead of the upcoming release of the March employment report, with Merck & Co. a notable decliner after a legal setback over its painkiller Vioxx. A rise in long-term interest rates and some concern over the inflationary impact of a surge in commodity prices were also weighing on sentiment. The Dow industrials (DJI) w ...

Apple Computer Inc.'s stock on Thursday extended sharp gains from the prior session, but technology stocks paused to hover near the unchanged mark. Apple shares continued to ride upbeat sentiment from Wednesday when it unveiled software allowing its newest Mac computers to run the Windows operating system from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Apple's stock (AAPL) gained 3.4%, or $2.25, to $39.46. Micr ...

U.S. stocks pulled above their worst levels of the day in afternoon trade, as the Nasdaq Composite turned positive amid heavy demand for such component stocks as Google Inc. Rambus Inc and Apple Computer Inc. However, sentiment remained slightly wary after mainly lackluster March retail sales, as Merck & Co. kept some pressure on the Dow Jones Industrial Average due to a legal setback for i ...

UK defence and aerospace group BAE Systems is to sell its 20% stake in European aircraft maker Airbus. It is expected to be bought by EADS, the Franco-German group that owns the rest of Airbus, the BBC has learned. Airbus employs 13,000 people in the UK, where it designs and builds wings for its fleet of large commercial jets. The sale means there will no longer be any British ownership of the huge manufacturing sites at Broughton in North Wales and Filton near Bristol. "There will inevitabl ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- LSI Logic Corp. said Thursday it will sell an Oregon production facility to ON Semiconductor Corp. for $105 million in cash, as part of a strategy to stop manufacturing chips. The sale -- a key element of LSI Logic's ongoing reorganization to cut costs and push into higher-growth markets -- is expected to close within 45 days, roughly three months ahead of the compa ...

By Marie-Louise Moller FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe's telecoms sector may argue that an EU plan to cut roaming fees, which people pay to make mobile phone calls when abroad, are unnecessary regulation, but popular support is almost certain to make this a fight the operators will lose. The European Union is expected to steamroll past industry objections and adopt the proposals, spurring analysts  ...

U.S. stocks were off their lows Thursday afternoon, although sentiment remained undermined by mainly lackluster March retail sales, as Merck & Co. freighted the Dow Jones Industrial Average due to a legal setback for its Vioxx painkiller. Nervousness ahead of the March employment report on Friday, and some concern over the inflationary impact of a surge in commodity prices -- bond yields re ...

BOSTON (Dow Jones) -- Mills Corp. said it's restructuring its finance and accounting team to reduce costs as the embattled real-estate investment trust continues to explore "strategic alternatives," including a possible sale of the company. The Arlington, Va.-based developer of retail destinations such as malls (MLS) said late Wednesday it's reducing its work force by about 70 people, bringing  ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- Boeing Co. shares reached a new high on Thursday after the world's largest aerospace company announced more orders for its popular 737 jets. The Dow component reached $79.99 at one point and was last trading higher. So far this year, Boeing (BA) stock has added on almost 13% on strong demand for jetliners and less austere Pentagon spending than had been expected.  ...

CHICAGO (Dow Jones) -- A later Easter weighed heavily on March same-store sales at J.C. Penney as the department store chain reported a slump of 1% in the key industry metric. While total sales at Penney (JCP) crept up to $1.55 billion from $1.54 billion, sales at stores open at least a year came in below the company's expectations, a drop it blamed on the three-week shift of the holiday into m ...