WASHINGTON—-WidePoint Corporation , a leading provider of advanced information technology, identity assurance and protection, and mobile telecom managed services, said it has received more than $12.5 million in new task orders, renewals, and contract expansions during the past four months adding to WidePoint’s overall backlog.

Iceland’s central bank cut official interest rates by 1 percentage point to 12 percent on Thursday as it attempts to bolster the tiny island nation’s recession-struck economy, defying warnings against further trims from the International Monetary Fund.

U.S. stock futures pared early gains Thursday as a number of retailers reported big drops in sales — a clear sign that the American consumer is still feeling the pain of a deep recession.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Thursday, rebounding from Wednesday’s decline, as investors await more economic data and monthly sales from retailers.

VALLEY FORGE, Pa.—-AmerisourceBergen Corporation today announced that J. Lawrence Wilson, 73, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors has chosen to retire from the Board effective immediately.

NATICK, Mass.—-BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. today reported that sales for May 2009 decreased by 4.7% to $783.4 million, from $822.0 million in May 2008. Comparable club sales for May 2009 decreased by 6.8%, including a negative impact of 10.8% from lower gasoline prices and volume versus last year.

The European Central Bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at a historic low of 1 percent on Thursday amid signs of a deeper than anticipated recession.

U.S. stock futures pared early gains Thursday as a number of retailers reported big drops in sales — a clear sign that the American consumer is still feeling the pain of a deep recession.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Thursday, rebounding from Wednesday’s decline, as investors await more economic data and monthly sales from retailers.

Worker productivity, the key ingredient to rising living standards, likely grew at a faster pace in the first quarter than the government previously estimated, while labor costs increased less.