(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn put Clorox Co in play on Friday, offering $10.2 billion for the bleach maker and suggesting that its rivals should consider paying much more for the company. Icahn's offer of $76.50 per share represents a 12 percent premium to the stock's Thursday closing price and a 15.5 percent premium to its price back in February, before Icahn announced his stake in the company. Clorox shares rose 8.8 percent to a new high of $74.50 in brisk morning trading.

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(Reuters) - Wall Street stocks rose on Thursday as higher profit from JPMorgan (JPM.N) offset concern after Moody's threatened to downgrade the United States' top credit rating if the federal borrowing limit is not raised. A report showing new claims for U.S. jobless benefits fell slightly last week also helped buoy stocks. JPMorgan's results were welcomed by investors who have been buffeted by worries about excessive government debt at home and in Europe. The bank's forecast-beating quarter came as it wrote off fewer bad mortgages and credit card loans, sending the shares up 3 percent to $40.82.

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(Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming initial unemployment benefits dropped last week but remained elevated and retail sales barely rose in June, suggesting the economy will struggle to regain speed in the second half. Other data on Thursday showed wholesale inflation ebbed last month as energy prices fell, which could boost consumer spending in the months ahead.

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(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co posted a higher-than-expected jump in second-quarter profit as it wrote off fewer bad mortgages and credit card loans. The second-largest U.S. bank managed to make more loans during the quarter than in the first quarter and added staff, signs that bright spots are emerging in a sector long plagued by credit losses and questions about future profitability. The bank's shares rose in premarket trading.

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(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke renewed his promise on Thursday that the central bank could put more monetary stimulus into play if the economic recovery stumbles. On the second day of delivering the Fed's semiannual monetary policy report to Congress, Bernanke is also expected to repeat his warning that a debt default would be devastating for the U.S. and the global economy.

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(Reuters) - Italy's austerity budget passed its first parliamentary hurdle Thursday but the opposition says Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government is in a shambles and should resign after it is finally approved. The four-year package, which has been increased to 48 billion euros ($68 billion) from 40 billion euros in the last 24 hours, is aimed at balancing the budget by 2014. The upper house approved it by a margin of 161-135. It is due to be approved by the lower house Chamber of Deputies on Friday and signed into law several hours later.

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(Reuters) - Euro zone countries continued to grapple with the thorny issue of involving the private sector in tackling Greece's debt pile as they prepared for a meeting to decide support for the country next week. "The principle of having a euro chiefs' meeting is accepted by the main players, including Germany," said one EU diplomat, adding that it was likely to happen next week despite earlier signals from Berlin that there was no rush to finalize a second package of aid.

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(Reuters) - ConocoPhillips (COP.N) will split itself into two by spinning off its refining arm, the third-largest U.S. oil company said on Thursday, sending its shares up more than 7 percent. With the move, ConocoPhillips becomes the first of the so-called super majors to shift away from the strategy that led the industry to consolidate into a handful of players with global reach in the oil and gas production and oil products businesses.

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(Reuters) - Google Inc's profit margins and its newly released social networking service will be in the investor spotlight when the Internet company reports its quarterly results after Thursday's market close. The world's No. 1 Internet search company has boosted spending and embarked on an acquisition spree in recent months as it battles rivals such as Facebook, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Groupon.

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(Reuters) - Wall Street stocks rose on Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested policymakers are actively considering further stimulus for the economy if it is needed. Major indexes rose more than 1 percent while the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 8.2 percent to 18.23. The S&P 500 had lost about 2.3 percent over the past three days on concerns about Europe's debt crisis.

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