Reuters - Merger activity in the United States dropped 29 percent in the second quarter, faring better than the 40 percent global slump, as corporations filled the void left by buyout firms and targeted big consumer brands such as Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc and Wm. Wrigley Jr Co .

Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Nasdaq fell more than 3 percent on Thursday as investors dumped technology shares after weak profit outlooks from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and software maker Oracle Corp .

Reuters - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in May and the glut of homes for sale shrank, but prices were off sharply from a year ago, suggesting the housing sector remains a big weight on the economy.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc shares fell to their lowest level in nearly a decade after a Goldman Sachs & Co analyst said investors should sell the largest U.S. bank's stock short as losses mount from troubled debt.

Reuters - Shares of General Motors Corp hit their lowest level since 1955 and dragged down the auto sector on Thursday after Goldman Sachs cut the struggling U.S. industry's largest manufacturer to a "sell" rating and warned it would have to raise capital.

Reuters - Oil prices surged to a record over $140 a barrel on Thursday after Libya said it was studying options to cut output in response to possible U.S. actions against producer countries.

Reuters - The state's highest court on Wednesday sided with former New York Stock Exchange chief Richard Grasso in his efforts to throw out key parts of a lawsuit seeking the return of more than $100 million of his pay.

Reuters - The London Stock Exchange plans to set up a pan-European, off-bourse trading platform with Lehman Brothers , the groups said, to fend off start-up rivals hurting LSE's business.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc may incur second-quarter write-downs of $9 billion and raise additional capital, said a Goldman Sachs analyst, who widened his loss estimate for the bank for the period.

Reuters - Fortis said on Thursday it plans to shore up its finances with measures worth more than 8 billion euros ($12.54 billion), including issuing new shares, hitting its stock on dilution worries.

Reuters - The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and signaled it was in no hurry to raise them, even as it voiced greater concern about inflation.