BUSINESS

LG Electronics Inc said on Friday it would unveil its first Google TV next week, joining Sony Corp and Samsung Electronics Co in partnering with the search giant to get a foothold in the emerging Internet TV market.

MF Global's bankruptcy trustee, Louis Freeh, has refused to turn over some documents to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission , which is investigating what happened to an estimated $1.2 billion in missing customer funds, the Wall Street Journal said.

U.S. employment likely grew solidly last month, but the jobless rate probably rose from a 2-1/2 year low as improving conditions lured some Americans who had given up looking for work back into the labor market.

An exclusive group of funds at Fidelity Investments is seeking shareholder approval to extend the brief tenure of a former executive of MF Global Holdings Ltd on a board that oversees billions of dollars in assets, according to regulatory filings.

The price of pork in China could soon rival U.S. payrolls as the world's most watched economic indicator.

Former Olympus Corp CEO Michael Woodford said on Friday he will sue the Japanese camera and medical equipment maker for unfair dismissal and has instructed lawyers to start legal action in Britain.

A New York federal judge on Thursday damped hopes that he would throw out government wire tap evidence in the insider trading trial of Rajat Gupta, a former board member of Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble .

The securities industry, which has been gearing up for battle with the Department of Labor over its proposed higher fiduciary standard for retirement plan advisers, was hit with a litany of last-minute requests in December that they say may cause further delays.

Barnes & Noble Inc cut its Nook sales forecast and shocked investors by saying it may spin off its fast-growing digital business, sending its shares plunging 17 percent.

PepsiCo Inc is considering cutting about 4,000 jobs and reducing pension contributions in order to boost its earnings, the New York Post said, citing sources close to the situation.

The jobs recovery gathered pace as a measure of private-sector hiring surged in December and claims for unemployment benefits fell, suggesting the battered labor market may continue to strengthen in 2012.

A Bluefin tuna sold for nearly three-quarters of a million dollars at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market on Thursday. The fish caught off the northeastern Japanese shore, Oma, was sold for a record amount at 56.49 million yen (about $736,000) and a record $1,238 per pound.

In his first full day as chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray sought to lower the political heat around the agency, saying it would earnestly get to work targeting all the bad actors in the lending industry.

As Wall Street anxiously awaits the Labor Department's monthly employment report due on Friday, a decent bet has emerged. Odds are, the government will say it underestimated recent job gains.

Bank of America Corp shares surged more than 7 percent on Thursday, outpacing other U.S. banks on a day of positive job news.

The U.S. jobs recovery gathered pace as a measure of private-sector hiring surged in December and claims for unemployment benefits fell, suggesting the battered labor market may continue to strengthen in 2012.

French bank Societe Generale is set to announce an overhaul of its private banking unit that will see Daniel Truchi replaced as head of private banking, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Benchmark Co analysts downgraded Google Inc to hold from buy, citing a decline in advertising revenue from Europe and an uncertain outlook for the first half of this year.

U.S. stocks fell slightly on European debt worries on Thursday, but technology and financial shares rose on data pointing to a strengthening U.S. economy.

The following are comments by Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand, his first public remarks over a controversial currency trade made by his wife three weeks before he oversaw moves to impose a cap on the Swiss franc.

Investors in feeder funds who lost money with Bernard Madoff do not qualify as customers of the now-imprisoned swindler, a federal judge ruled.

ICANN, an independent body responsible for organizing the Internet, plans to press ahead with plans to expand the number of possible website addresses despite criticism from industry and concerns from some law enforcement groups.

U.S. stocks fell in choppy trading on Thursday after concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis overshadowed data suggesting a solid U.S. economic recovery.

In his first speech as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray said his agency will immediately begin overseeing lenders outside the banking industry, and will take a tough stance against any financial players that break the law.

Private employers added 325,000 jobs in December, easily beating economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Thursday.

Venerable bookseller Barnes & Noble said it will consider spinning off its thriving Nook business – its thriving e-book unit – while determining its own corporate future.

MF Global UK administrator KPMG plans to start returning to clients the $1.2 billion of cash and assets frozen at the defunct broker as early as this month in a move that will placate customers ahead of their showdown with KPMG next week.

With every new year come a new round of bold predictions for financial markets.

The Bernard Madoff bankruptcy trustee has sued California Attorney General Kamala Harris to stop her alleged interference with his efforts to recover money for the swindler's former customers.