BUSINESS

A massive Hamas rally in the West Bank on Thursday could signal new ties with Fatah.

Francois Hollande dismissed former Italian PM Berlusconi’s announcement last week that he may run again.

The rumor a Best Buy deal was imminent turned out to be an announcement that any deal will have to wait until February.

In a visit to the Bank of England, Queen Elizabeth II politely but firmly questioned the precise reasons why the Bank never saw the crisis coming while other regulators did little to prevent it.

Foreign investment banks are finding it hard to generate enough revenues to cover the high costs of doing business in Japan.

Apple is reportedly choosing to focus on display quality and resolution for its second-generation iPad Mini, expected to released in 2013.

Wal-Mart and Kroger have come forward as potential buyers of Hotess as the company liquidates and prepares for auction.

A new survey predicts by 2020 Chinese and Indians will together buy more of the precious rock than Americans.

U.S. consumer prices declined in November for the first time in five months, falling 0.3 percent, as gasoline price declines offset increases in other areas, the U.S. Labor Department announced Friday.

Egypt is at risk of descending into a cycle of economic crisis feeding into political crisis, as it had to delay asking for an IMF loan.

In total, 11 percent of banks admitted they charge more than 36 percent annual interest on small consumer loans of less than $2,500.

Alcatel Lucent SA, Nokia Corporation, Teradyne Inc, ASML Holding N.V, ARM Holdings Plc, Research In Motion Limited, Deutsche Bank AG and BP Plc are among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Friday.

The U.S. stock index futures signal a higher open ahead of the release of the Consumer Price Index for November.

India’s headline inflation declined moderately to 7.24 percent in November from 7.45 percent in October.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Thursday were Solazyme Inc, Adobe Systems Inc, NIC Inc, Star Scientific Inc and NuVasive Inc. The top after-market NASDAQ losers Thursday were Cytori Therapeutics Inc, TranS1 Inc, NII Holdings and Lattice Semiconductor Corporation.

Crude oil prices advanced in Asia Friday as sentiment was buoyed after a private survey showed an increase in China's manufacturing activity in December.

Japan’s industrial output rose in November, but less than expected, indicating the world’s third largest-economy continues to weaken.

Asian stock markets mostly advanced Friday after a private survey showed a pickup in Chinese manufacturing activity in December.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Thursday were AVG Technologies, Fortress Investment, Orient-Express Hotels, Magnum Hunter Resources and FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. The top after-market NYSE losers were Quiksilver, Verifone Systems, LaSalle Hotel Properties, Primero Mining Corp and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd.

China's manufacturing activity expanded to a 14-month high in December, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index released Friday.

Asian shares snapped a weeklong winning streak Friday, tracking global equities lower on worries that U.S. lawmakers are still too far apart to avert a year-end fiscal crisis.

Key players in the continuing Europe debt saga and financial crisis announced what amounted to Christmastime gifts to Greece and Britain.

S&P warns there is a one-in-three chance that it will strip the U.K. of its cherished AAA status within the next two years.

The Swiss bank is expected to announce it will pay a $1.5 billion fine Monday in the Libor scandal.

PepsiCo's got a brand new bag: Lay's newest flavor of potato chips, Pepsi-Chicken Chips.

Globally, aviation supports some 57 million jobs and $2.2 trillion in economic activity.

Airbus, Mitsubishi and Bombardier secured $15 billion worth of orders this week for greener, cheaper-to-fly jets.

More than half of all Pakistani adults are illiterate, while the figure for women is nearly 75 percent.

U.S. retail spending rose less than expected last month and stayed at roughly the same level it has been at since September.