Business Blog Posts

At 0952 GMT (4:52 a.m. ET), futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up between 0.8 and 1.2 percent.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of leading European shares was up 1 percent at 1,103.56 points, with heavyweight banks among the biggest risers.

The dollar fell against the euro after subdued U.S. inflation supported the Federal Reserve's case for quantitative easing, while Asian shares rebounded after an eight-day sell-off.

Ireland's central bank chief said he expected the country to receive tens of billions of euros in loans from European partners and the IMF to help shore up its shattered banks and stabilize the economy.

General Motors Co GM.UL shares will start trading after it pulled off the biggest initial public offering in U.S. history on Wednesday, raising $20.1 billion after pricing shares at the top of the proposed range in response to huge investor demand.

Under fire over their foreclosure practices, bankers head back to Capitol Hill, facing heightened pressure to find ways to keep borrowers in their homes. The hearings, which began in the Senate on Tuesday and continue on Thursday in the House of Representatives, have been the first appearances by executives from major lenders like Bank of America (BAC.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) since the furor over sloppy foreclosure paperwork erupted in September.

Weekly jobless claims data is due at 1330 GMT, giving an indication of the strength of the recovery in the world's biggest economy.

Leading indicators data is due at 1500 GMT.

Sears (SHLD.O) is expected to report a loss of $1.08 per share, slightly less than the $1.10 per share it lost in the same period one year ago. The market will want to know how the retailer plans to combat rising apparel costs.

Fashion retailer Gap (GPS.N) is expected to post a rise in third-quarter profit. Traffic trends have improved at stores.

Office supplies company Staples (SPLS.O) is among other companies set to report.

Due after the market closes, Dell's (DELL.O) results should have seen some benefit from easing component prices and still strong enterprise PC demand in the third quarter.

A late sell-off in banks on Wednesday saw U.S. indexes ending mixed.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 0.14 percent; the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX edged up 0.02 percent; the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 0.25 percent1.

Limited Brands Inc (LTD.N) shares rose 2.3 percent after the bell following its results.

(Reporting by Brian Gorman; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)