Business News - AP

WASHINGTON - Citigroup Inc. will buy back more than $7 billion in auction-rate securities and pay $100 million in fines as part of settlements with federal and state regulators, who said the bank marketed the investments as safe despite liquidity risks.

NEW YORK - The outlook for the back-to-school shopping season seemed grim Thursday, as retailers' July sales reports showed an increasing shift toward buying necessities like food and household supplies at discounters and away from discretionary spending on clothing.

NEW YORK - Oil prices jumped back above $120 a barrel Thursday, halting a steep three-day slide after Kurdish rebels claimed responsibility for a fire at key Turkish pipeline that supplies Western countries.

WASHINGTON - The nation's jobs market sent a fresh cry of distress as the number of newly laid off people unexpectedly hit the highest level in more than six years, a Labor Department report showed Thursday.

LUBBOCK, Texas - The Environmental Protection Agency has denied a request from Texas to temporarily reduce ethanol requirements for gasoline in hopes of bringing down corn prices.

TOKYO - Toyota said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit plummeted 28 percent, and the automaker stuck to its forecast that full-year profit will fall for the first time in seven years as it faces more problems from the weakening U.S. market.

WASHINGTON - The friendly skies are not so affable when it comes to using cell phones on commercial airliners.

FRANKFURT, Germany - The European Central Bank and the Bank of England left their benchmark interest rates unchanged Thursday under conflicting pressure from higher inflation and mounting concern about growth.

NEW YORK - Lexus once again stands alone atop a closely watched ranking of vehicle dependability after Buick slipped from the No. 1 spot it shared with the Japanese luxury brand last year, J.D. Power and Associates said Thursday.

WASHINGTON - A measurement of pending home sales rose in June in a rare piece of positive news for the beleaguered market.

VEVEY, Switzerland - Nestle SA, the worlds biggest food and drink company, reported 6.1 percent growth in first-half net profit Thursday despite rising transport and raw materials costs and slowing bottled water sales amid criticism from environmentalists.

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Kurdish separatist rebels claimed responsibility Thursday for sabotaging a critical Turkish pipeline, helping push global oil prices back above $120 per barrel.

SAN FRANCISCO - Blockbuster Inc.'s second-quarter loss deepened, but the struggling movie rental chain showed some signs of progress by wringing more revenue from its stores while lowering its costs.

MILWAUKEE - Sara Lee Corp. posted a fourth-quarter loss Thursday as it reduced the value of its bakery business, but analysts say sales increases show the food company is passing on price increases to consumers to offset rising commodity costs.

NEW YORK - American International Group Inc. posted its third straight quarterly loss, a rude awakening to investors hoping that troubles in the insurer's mortgage market investments were starting to level off.

TOKYO - Japan painted a darker picture of its economic health Thursday, warning of deteriorating exports, output and corporate profits — signals that may point toward a contraction of the world's second largest economy.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores says its July same-store sales rose 3 percent, slightly less than expectations, as tax-rebate checks dried up and consumers spent closer to their paycheck cycle.

SHANGHAI, China - China has issued new controls on transfers of foreign currencies, moving to contain inflationary pressures by curbing the speculative inflows, or so-called hot money, that has been flooding into the country in recent years.

FRANKFURT, Germany - Deutsche Telekom AG said Thursday its second-quarter net profit dropped 35 percent as the strength of the euro, the continued exit of traditional landline consumers and higher debt costs ate into revenue. However, Europe's biggest telecom maintained its full-year earnings forecast.