Reuters - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.25 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.45 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.2 percent at 5.16 EDT.

Reuters - Britain's financial watchdog slapped a 17.5 million pounds ($27 million) fine on Goldman Sachs on Thursday for inadequate disclosure of a U.S. probe into the Wall Street powerhouse.

Reuters - Projected U.S. economic growth for the rest of this year and next was revised down for a third month in a row by a panel of about 50 economists.

Reuters - Switzerland remains the world's most competitive economy, while the United States has fallen from second to fourth after losing the top spot last year, according to the World Economic Forum's annual rankings issued on Thursday.

Reuters - Australia's competition regulator blocked National Australia Bank's $12 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific for a second time, dashing NAB's efforts to cement its dominance in the world's fourth-largest wealth management market.

AFP - US stocks were slightly up on Wednesday after news of a successful Portuguese debt auction eased the previous day's concerns about the European economy.