BUSINESS

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG), the largest U.S. mall landlord, said Friday its profits more than tripled in the first quarter as the value of its properties rose and higher rents and occupancy rates boosted its revenue.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), the second-largest U.S. carmaker, said Friday profit fell 20.5 percent, missing analysts' predictions, on lower European sales, plunging South American profit and a drop in Ford Credit profit.

Steve Carter, a 35-year-old software salesman, has found himself on a missing children's website. Carter, who was adopted at age 4 from an orphanage in Honolulu, was browsing online one day and came across a missing children's website when his curiosity got the best of him.

Apple's plans to build a sprawling new campus in Austin, Texas, looks to be in trouble. After several delays in approving an incentives deal by the Travis County Commissioners Court, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker is getting very frustrated.

Shares of Hon Hai Precision Industries (TPE: 2317), more widely known as Foxconn and as the main contractor for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, plunged Friday.

Ernst Welteke, one of the architects of Greece's entry into the monetary union in the mid-2000s, said that if Athens were to abandon the euro the European Monetary Union (EMU) would survive.

The lawyer for Trayvon Martin's parents wants George Zimmerman's bail revoked after it was revealed the defendant did not disclose the more than $200,000 he received in web donations.

Consumer sentiment rose slightly in April as more Americans took a positive view of a long-term recovery, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index released Friday.

The first-quarter earnings season has so far generated big waves of positive surprises, which fueled the upward momentum in the stock market. However, investors should take these earnings beats with a grain of salt.

U.S. health regulators rejected the application by Amgen Inc, the world's biggest biotechnology company, to expand the use of the drug Xgeva to delay the spread of tumors to the bone in patients suffering from advanced prostate cancer.

Tech analysts are busy predicting that laptop sales are expected to go down and tablets and smartphones would gain prominence in the coming years. However, top notch wireless manufacturers are still in no mood to stop introducing the new flagship models of their lineups.

Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) said Friday first-quarter profit fell 4.7 percent diminished gold production and higher costs offset higher selling prices.

Challenger Francois Hollande and incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy are apparently seeking to attract those who cast ballots for Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election's first round on April 22. The way these voters break most likely will determine the winner of the second round on May 6.

Consumer sentiment was little changed in April as Americans expected the economy to slowly improve, though they were less cheery about the state of their own finances, a survey released on Friday showed.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) annouced Friday the acquisition of prime broker Merlin Securities LLC for an undisclosed amount. The move is the bank's first move into prime brokerage services, which provides clients such as hedge fund managers to records-handling and trade-clearing services.

South Korean tech giant Samsung announced Thursday that its upcoming Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy S3, would get Exynos 4 Quad boost up. The company said in a press release that the new processor is already in production and is scheduled to be adopted first into Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone that will officially be announced in May.

Bond investors brought the governments of Spain and Italy to the brink of crisis Friday as the cost of borrowing rose to nearly unsustainable levels.

India will file a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization against the US over its visa policy, which India says is discriminatory to Indian companies, the Wall Street Journal has reported quoting a Ministry of Commerce official.

Canadian miner Iamgold Corp said Friday it agreed to buy gold exploration company Trelawney Mining for about C$585 million in cash, in a move aimed at expanding its asset base within politically safe jurisdictions.

Stock euphoria over Amazon.com's (Nasdaq: AMZN) first-quarter earnings surprise sent shares of the No. 1 e-retailer soaring, triggering a big rise in the Nasdaq and other averages that eased slightly by midday.

The U.S. economy expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in the first quarter, reflecting a deceleration in inventories and nonresidential fixed investment that was partly offset by the biggest gain in consumer spending in more than a year.

Gold prices slipped back towards $1,650 an ounce on Friday as investors cashed in gains after a three-session rally, with confidence in the metal still soft as consumers in major Asian bullion-buying centres held off making fresh purchases.

Egyptian daily Al Ahram Thursday published an opinion piece that contained news about a new law known as the Farewell Intercourse Law which Egypt's parliament is considering to enact.

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), the world's largest consumer-goods company, said its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 16 percent, weighed down by higher commodity prices and restructuring-related costs.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Friday are: Expedia, Amazon.com, Zynga Inc, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Ford Motor, Western Digital, Seagate Technology, Starbucks Corp and Fedex Corp.

Child-marriages have been illegal in India since the 2006 passage of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, but the practice persists unabated, particularly among the rural poor.

Asian stock markets ended lower Friday as renewed concerns about the debt-laden Eurozone offset better-than-expected US pending home sales data and corporate earnings.

After reporting record profit for the first quarter of 2012, South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics has achieved yet another outstanding feat. The company has become the world's number one handset vendor, thereby ending Finnish firm Nokia's 14-year run as the global leader, according to a latest research from Strategy Analytics.

Futures on major US stock indices remained range-bound Friday ahead of the release of the economic data, which include key GDP figures.