CHINA

Wall Street advanced to its highest levels since early August on Friday on optimism ahead of this weekend's summit of European leaders to tackle the region's debt crisis and as strong earnings from blue chips lifted investor sentiment.

According to Walter Isaacson's biography on Steve Jobs, Jobs reportedly met with President Barack Obama and told him his presidency was at stake if he could not redirect his policies towards business.

Mining strikes are proliferating around the world, hitting global mining companies as well as regional ones.

Stocks rose to their highest levels in more than two months on Friday in anticipation of a weekend European Union debt-crisis summit that could potentially remove a major cloud from markets.

General Electric Co reported earnings that met Wall Street expectations, but its shares slipped 1.4 percent as investors worried about declining profit margins at its energy equipment division.

Libya's National Oil Corporation has summoned Russia's Gazprom to a meeting in Tripoli to discuss what the Libyans said was a breach of investment obligations -- the first sign the new leaders are prepared to renegotiate Gaddafi-era contracts.

For the small club of companies who trade the food, fuels and metals that keep the world running, the last decade has been sensational. Driven by the rise of Brazil, China, India and other fast-growing economies, the global commodities boom has turbocharged profits at the world's biggest trading houses.

U.S. stocks rose to their highest in more than two months on Friday before a weekend European Union debt-crisis summit that could potentially remove a major headwind for markets and allow investors to focus on corporate results.

You may not understand the title of Coldplay's new album let alone be able to pronounce it, but Mylo Xyloto is a name music fans may have to get used to as the group launches a fresh assault on the world's charts.

Yue Yue, the two-year-old toddler who was hit by two vans and left ignored on the street in China, has died on Friday according to reports amidst the worldwide outpouring of rage and debate.

China may be the first country to own land on the moon.

The two-year-old Chinese girl Yue Yue who was hit by two cars in Guangdong province last week died early Friday morning. Doctors revealed that the toddler suffered from brain damage and died from severe organ failure.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Seagate Technology, Synaptics, China Ceramics, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and SanDisk. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Informatica, Rediff.com India, Acme Packet, LM Ericsson Telephone, and ASML Holding.

Stock index futures edged higher on Friday ahead of a much anticipated European Union weekend summit on the region's debt crisis and as results from General Electric Co did little to undermine hopes for a robust earnings season.

General Electric Co reported an 18 percent rise in quarterly profit that met Wall Street's expectations, as revenue rose across its big energy, aviation, healthcare and transportation arms.

POSCO <005490.KS>, the world's third-biggest steelmaker and backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, cut its 2011 investment plan and painted a dim outlook after posting a 6 percent rise in quarterly profit that met market expectations.

European leaders have put off crucial decisions on how to stop a sovereign debt meltdown in their currency zone, keeping markets on edge, to give German Chancellor Angela Merkel time to secure parliamentary support, EU sources said on Friday.

POSCO <005490.KS>, the world's third-biggest steelmaker and backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, cut its 2011 investment plan and painted a dim outlook after posting a 6 percent rise in third-quarter profit that met market expectations.

Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4S is set to face stiff competition from the world's thinnest smartphone, Motorola Droid RAZR, and the first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-powered smartphone, Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

POSCO <005490.KS>, the world's third-biggest steelmaker and backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, cut its 2011 investment plan and painted an uncertain outlook after posting a consensus-meeting profit for the third quarter.

The race for cash among foreign banks in China is heating up as some struggle to rake in enough yuan deposits to meet a regulatory requirement that kicks in at the end of the year.