(Reuters) - General Electric Co posted an 80 percent rise in first-quarter profit that topped Wall Street's expectations, helped by a strong recovery in its finance arm. But the results, which followed a series of better-than-expected earnings reports from top U.S. manufacturers, failed to impress investors and shares of the largest U.S. conglomerate fell 2 percent on Thursday.

• Read more

(Reuters) - NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) directors on Thursday rejected a sweetened takeover offer from Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ.O) and IntercontinentalExchange (ICE.N), the second time in 11 days the board unanimously backed a lower bid from Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1Gn.DE). This week's revised bid "is substantially the same as what was previously rejected," NYSE Euronext Chairman Jan-Michiel Hessels said in a statement.

• Read more

(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week but held above the key 400,000 level, hinting at some loss of momentum in the labor market recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 403,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, unwinding some of the prior week's quarter-end jump. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims slipping to 392,000. The prior week's figure was revised up to 416,000 from the previously reported 412,000.

• Read more

(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) said higher costs for beef, bread and other items cut into its quarterly margins and that inflation for the year would be worse than expected. The inflation comments on Thursday sent shares of the world's largest restaurant company down 2 percent, even though strong sales helped McDonald's post a first-quarter profit that beat expectations. March sales at established restaurants also rose more than expected.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Glencore, the secretive commodities trader on the cusp of a record IPO, may pay a high price for its low profile, as corporate governance fears damage its ability to achieve a top price for its stock. Half of the respondents in a Reuters survey of 12 prospective investors said worries about how Glencore is managed have lopped as much as 20 percent off what they might have paid for a stake in the company, which is worth as much as $70 billion according to some sell-side analyst estimates.

• Read more

(Reuters) - BP and its partners involved in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have unleashed a $100 billion-plus barrage of legal claims a year after the rig blast killed 11 workers and created an environmental disaster. On the anniversary of the disaster, BP filed suits totaling more than $80 billion against Transocean and Halliburton. And in a separate action on Wednesday, BP sued Cameron International Corp, the maker of the blowout preventer, the so-called fail-safe device that failed to automatically shut down the well.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Skyrocketing fuel costs and disasters in Japan took a bite of out major U.S. airline earnings reported on Thursday, but higher fares helped the carriers, including United Continental Holdings (UAL.N), meet or beat Wall Street forecasts. United Continental, parent of United Airlines, posted a quarterly loss and said the decline in demand for travel to Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami lowered its first-quarter passenger revenue by about $30 million.

• Read more

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq composite index up over 2 percent, as a raft of solid earnings and profit outlooks bolstered optimism about the economic recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 188.76 points, or 1.54 percent, to 12,455.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 18.78 points, or 1.43 percent, to 1,331.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 56.09 points, or 2.04 percent, to 2,801.06.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose more than expected in March, a trade group said on Wednesday, suggesting the housing market's downward trend may be close to hitting a bottom. The National Association of Realtors said sales rose 3.7 percent month over month to an annual rate of 5.10 million units after an upwardly revised 4.92 million unit pace in February.

• Read more

(Reuters) - AT&T Inc survived the loss of its exclusive U.S. rights to sell the Apple Inc iPhone. The No. 2 U.S. mobile service, which is planning to buy T-Mobile USA, managed to eke out a slight increase in subscribers in the first quarter, surprising Wall Street even as some analysts said the growth came at too high a cost.

• Read more