LONDON - Financial markets around the world were roiled Thursday after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the country was hit by a devastating tsunami more than two years ago.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Ralph Lauren Corp. reported a 35 per cent increase in fourth-quarter profit as the luxury retailer benefited from lower cotton prices. But economic challenges here and abroad and the move to eliminate some businesses to focus on the most profitable ones cut into sales.

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a level consistent with solid job growth.

TOKYO - Japan's financial markets gyrated wildly Thursday, underscoring the vulnerability of its economy to a loss of investor confidence as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attempts shock monetary easing to end two decades of stagnation.

The price of oil fell to near $93 a barrel on Thursday after a survey showed manufacturing activity in China falling to its lowest level in seven months, a sign that the recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is fading.

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar headed higher Thursday despite weaker-than-expected manufacturing data from China.

TORONTO - TD Bank Group (TSX:TD) says it had a "solid" second quarter, with growth in most of its major sectors, but came up short of analyst estimates.

BANGKOK - The price of oil fell below US$94 per barrel Thursday after a private survey showed manufacturing activity in China falling to its lowest level in seven months, a sign that the recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is fading.

WASHINGTON - House lawmakers are ready to pass legislation that links student loan rates to the financial markets in spite of a veto threat from President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON - The economy is recovering, the White House is dealing with multiple controversies, and President Barack Obama appears generally unaffected either way.

U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers Wednesday that the country's job market and economy are too weak to consider ending the central bank's extraordinary stimulus programs.

The government's effots to cool the housing market will have a negative impact on the economy and the range of industries that depend on house sales — everything from mortgage financing to furniture and appliance sales — the group that represents the mortgage industry says.

BEIJING, China - A survey shows China's manufacturing contracted this month, adding to signs a fragile recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing.

BANGKOK - Asian stock markets fell Thursday, weighed down by a contraction in China's manufacturing that adds to signs a shaky recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing.