Business

An index of leading economic indicators rose in May, the New York-based Conference Board said Thursday.

Onboard computer maker Xata Corp. said it had received $6 million in new funding from private equity firm Trident Capital.

The Bush administration will delay a rule that Americans must present passports when crossing the U.S. border by land or sea, the Associated Press reported.

Initial jobless claims rose by 10,000 last week at 324,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Crude oil fell back by almost $1 a barrel following an Energy Department report that showed oil inventories jumped much higher than expectations last week, Bloomberg reported.

FedEx Corp. said Wednesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 7% to $610 million or $1.96 per share, from $568 million or $1.82 a year earlier.

Union members at a Freightliner plant in North Carolina have agreed to alternate lay-off weeks between first and second shifts, a move that will save about 1,500 jobs, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

A coalition of groups led by Public Citizen and the Teamsters union said Wednesday that the Department of Transportation was ignoring federal safety laws in implementing a pilot program that would allow Mexican trucks to travel throughout the United States.

Europe-based vehicle makers DaimlerChrysler and Fiat have signed an agreement calling for strategic cooperation to provide Daimler’s truck group with engine and powertrain technology from Fiat, the Associated Press reported.

The Senate approved legislation late Tuesday that would allow the federal government to sue OPEC oil cartel nations under antitrust laws, Bloomberg reported.