BUSINESS

Consumer prices rose the most in 10 months in February as the cost of gasoline spiked, but there was little sign that underlying inflation pressures were building up.

Stocks pared early gains to briefly trade negative on Friday after data showed consumer sentiment fell in March.

British politicians visiting Wall Street would once have been only too happy to have their photograph taken with the head of Goldman Sachs. This week in New York, Prime Minister David Cameron met Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and other bankers in private.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall's Russell Brand had a warrant out for his arrest in New Orleans on Wednesday after he allegedly threw a photographer's iPhone through a law firm's window on Monday. Brand was released on a $5,000 bond after turning himself in on Thursday. The actor was booked on misdemeanor charges of two counts of simple criminal damage to property.

The euro zone may raise the combined lending power of its bailout funds to close to 700 billion euros from 500 billion in a trade-off between German opposition to committing more money and calming markets, euro zone officials said.

Consumer prices rose by the most in 10 months in February as the cost of gasoline spiked, but there was little sign that underlying inflation pressures were building up.

Stocks were set for a modestly higher open on Friday as data showed inflation remained in check as the domestic economy continues to improve.

Industrial production was unchanged in February as a sharp drop in mining output offset a third straight monthly gain in factory production, the Federal Reserve said on Friday.

Consumer prices rose by the most in 10 months in February as the cost of gasoline spiked, but there was little sign that underlying inflation pressures were building up.

Stock index futures edged higher on Friday ahead of data on consumer sentiment and after the benchmark S&P 500 index closed above 1,400 for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.

The Icelandic government said on Thursday it would repay early a fifth of the billions of dollars of loans it received from the International Monetary fund and its Nordic neighbors in the wake of the collapse of its banking sector in 2008.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday ahead of data on consumer sentiment and after the benchmark S&P 500 index closed above 1,400 for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.

European stocks hit their highest level since July on Friday, keeping the benchmark global equity index near a 7-1/2 month peak, while crude oil rebounded as this week's robust economic data from both sides of the Atlantic attracted investors to risky assets.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open for equities on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 staying almost unchanged.

World stocks held near the previous day's 7-1/2 month high on Friday and crude oil rebounded, sticking with a rally in riskier markets this week due to robust economic data from both sides of the Atlantic.

United Parcel Service said it was in constructive talks to buy Dutch rival TNT Express and reiterated its intention to make an offer, having last month proposed a 9 euros per share deal worth 4.9 billion euros ($6.4 billion).

Several banks including Goldman Sachs have shown an interest in buying American International Group Inc's complex and troubled assets tied to the insurer's bailout, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Britain is poised to cooperate with the United States on a release of strategic oil stocks that is expected within months, two British sources said, in a bid to prevent fuel prices choking economic growth in a U.S. election year.

Asian shares steadied on Friday while the dollar took a breather after its recent broad rally spurred profit-taking, with some investors wondering if a fresh batch of encouraging economic data would put further upward pressure on U.S. yields.

Here's a look at how Apple devotees spent their time before the tech giant opened its doors on Friday.

Asian shares edged higher on Friday while the dollar took a breather as its recent broad rally spurred some profit taking, with a fresh batch of encouraging U.S. economic data further underpinning investor sentiment.

Economic growth showed signs of becoming more self-sustaining as the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week and manufacturing activity in the Northeast picked up this month.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday released a new economic analysis that will be used to justify a critical final rule that will determine which companies will face new regulations of their derivatives trading.

Boeing Co said it will move production of the horizontal tail of its 787-9 Dreamliners from Seattle to Salt Lake City, Utah, and to Alenia Aermacchi of Italy by late 2012.

United Parcel Service and TNT Express are unlikely to announce a deal on Friday when they need to update the market about the status of their merger talks, but a deal could come soon after that, sources close to the talks said.

Britain is poised to cooperate with the United States on a release of strategic oil stocks that is expected within months, two British sources said, in a bid to prevent fuel prices choking economic growth in a U.S. election year.

A consultant at A.T. Kearney on Thursday pleaded guilty to trading on confidential information about private-equity firm Carlyle Group's planned acquisition of vitamin company NBTY, Inc.

The trustee liquidating MF Global's broker-dealer is asking a bankruptcy court for permission to distribute an additional $600 million to U.S. exchange customers whose accounts were frozen when the futures broker collapsed.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 topping the 1,400-mark for the first time since the financial crisis on a strong run of economic data.