BUSINESS

Oil giant BP has lost its attempt to shift over $15 billion of costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill onto contractor Transocean, increasing the possibility BP may have to foot the entire $42 billion clean up bill.

Argentina's chaotic bankruptcy a decade ago triggered riots, looting and dozens of deaths. The prospect of that horror scenario playing out in Greece is focusing minds across Europe as the threat of default remains all too real.

The U.S. economy is growing at 2-3 percent but still faces big challenges to repair damage wrought by the financial crisis, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Friday.

Twitter announced Thursday that it would begin restricting Tweets in specific countries, renewing questions about how the social media platform will handle issues of free speech as it rapidly expands its global user base.

Stock index futures pointed to a steady open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.02 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.05 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.2 percent at 4 a.m. ET.

The broad asset rally which the U.S. Federal Reserve inspired by pledging to keep rates low decelerated on Friday as investors awaited the outcome of Greek debt talks and U.S. gross domestic product data.

Oshkosh Corp and activist investor Carl Icahn square off at the U.S. truckmaker's annual meeting on Friday, when shareholders vote on the billionaire's proposed slate of six directors.

A federal judge on Thursday said BP Plc must indemnify Transocean Ltd for some compensatory damage claims over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Ener1 Inc , which received a $118.5 million Department of Energy grant to make lithium-ion and other batteries for electric cars, filed for bankruptcy protection amid heavy competition and after the demise of a large customer.

Starbucks Corp's reported a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street's view after global economic worries failed to weaken demand for drinks and other products from the world's biggest coffee chain.

Security software maker McAfee rejected a claim that several large corporate customers had recently switched over to using products from rival Symantec Corp.

A New Zealand court granted bail on Thursday to two associates of the founder of online file-sharing website Megaupload, accused of being involved in a scheme that allegedly made more than $175 million from Internet piracy and illegal file sharing.

Caterpillar Inc reported a 58 percent rise in quarterly earnings that blew away Wall Street expectations on record sales of construction and mining equipment, and projected strong growth for 2012.

In 2009, federal investigators finally arrested Houston financier R. Allen Stanford. For twenty years, Stanford allegedly had run a $7 billion Ponzi scheme from his offshore bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua. U.S. authorities had been nosing around Stanford's empire for longer than a decade but hesitated to open a full-blown probe.

A month-long rally on Wall Street appears to be sputtering as stocks slipped on Thursday in what investors called a possible warning of weakness ahead.

New orders for manufactured goods rose in December and a gauge of future business investment rebounded, showing the economy ended the year with more momentum than previously thought.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to start selling a new single-serve beverage maker, according to an analyst report on Thursday, sending shares of rival coffee system maker Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc down more than 4 percent.

Eric T. Schneiderman, the so-called Sheriff of Wall Street as New York state's attorney general, is heading a new, consolidated effort to find the criminality that led to the housing crisis.

The woman who is accusing Greg Kelly, broadcast journalist and son of NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, of sexually assaulting her is also alleging that she became pregnant as a result.

Stocks fell on Thursday, interrupting a recent rally, as investors booked profits after weaker-than-expected housing data.

A New Zealand court granted bail on Thursday to two associates of the founder of online file-sharing website Megaupload, accused of being involved in a scheme that allegedly made more than $175 million from Internet piracy and illegal file sharing.

Netflix Inc won back Wall Street's affections on Thursday after adding more U.S. subscribers than expected in the fourth quarter, a rebound that prompted analyst upgrades and the company's biggest one-day stock jump in two years.

Below are highlights from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's news conference following the Fed's policy meeting on Wednesday.

The World Economic Forum's signature closed-session on banking saw financiers increasingly hopeful that the euro zone's debt crisis can be resolved and confident of a deal to ensure Greece's now inevitable debt default will be orderly.

Wall Street dipped on Thursday as housing and financial stocks declined after weaker-than-expected housing data gave investors reason to pause after a recent rally.

American International Group Chairman Steve Miller said on Thursday the bailed-out insurance giant may eventually want to buy a life insurer outside the United States, including possibly a larger stake in the spun-off subsidiary AIA Group , as confidence in its turnaround grows.

Since the start of the year, one phrase has tripped off the lips of European leaders more than any other: jobs and growth. After two years of debt crisis and budget austerity, there is a strong desire to shift the narrative on.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday talks between the Greek government and its private creditors were on track but next Monday's EU summit would focus on how to boost growth and employment in Europe rather than Greece's predicament.

Online recruitment firm Monster Worldwide Inc forecast a weak start to the year and said it will cut jobs, as it does not expect the global job market to improve drastically in the near term.