UNITED STATES

European stock markets rose on Friday as a ban on short-selling financial shares prompted investors to creep back into battered banking shares, although concerns over the health of French banks kept the mood edgy.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) to disclose which employees knew of its decision to downgrade U.S. debt before it was announced last week, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Korean company Samsung Electronics will go to a German court on August 25 to try to overturn a ban on it selling flagship Galaxy tablets in most of the European Union.

China is worried about challenges that the European Union faces in the next two months and urged the bloc as well as the United States to hold down government debt, its trade minister said on Friday.

Japan may lack the implicit approval of G7 nations to spend big in any future efforts to stem sharp yen rises and will have to rely on limited opportunistic strikes to prevent a build-up of aggressive bets on its currency.

Korean company Samsung Electronics will go to a German court on August 25 to try to overturn a ban on it selling flagship Galaxy tablets in most of the European Union.

European stock markets struggled early on Friday as a ban on short-selling of financial sector shares failed to put a lid on concerns over banks and the spread of the euro zone's debt crisis to France.

Falcon HTV-2, the unmanned hypersonic glider developed for U.S. defense, was lost over the Pacific Ocean yet again, after it was launched atop a rocket on Thursday.

Kids who get lots of antibiotics from their doctors are more likely to harbor the MRSA superbug, although it's still rare, a new study of British youngsters has found.

Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) still faces tough challenges with tight public spending and fears of a new economic downturn, analysts warned, after the giant Silicon Valley company ended a year's worth of disappointing sales forecasts.

Bank of New York Mellon (BK.N) was sued by two U.S. states on Thursday over allegations that the company overcharged pension funds on foreign exchange transactions.

In the wake of the 2007-2009 economic recession, investors in the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market have been rattled by predictions of possible bankruptcies.

Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers gave Wall Street a set of quarterly results investors could cheer about for the first time in over a year.

Solar industry revenue will shrink before it begins to rise again because dramatic price declines on solar panels will outweigh corresponding volume increases, according to a new report by Lux Research.

Spot gold reversed early losses, putting it back on track for its best week since January 2009 as worries about the euro zone debt crisis and global growth drive investors to safe havens.

The summer's not over, but the box office will look a little Fall-ish this weekend, with a Civil Rights-era drama, a horror-film sequel and several other niche titles hitting theaters.

British newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror will report first-half results on Friday and give an update on current trading expected to show a benefit from the closure of rival News Corp's News of the World.

Three grandsons of a congressman from California who were abducted in 2007 have been returned to the United States from Mexico, where they were living with his son's ex-wife, authorities said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama distanced himself from a deeply divided U.S. Congress on Thursday, pledging to deliver fresh ideas to create jobs and slamming lawmakers for "bickering" that gets in the way of recovery.

Residents of a London housing estate laughed at a televised plea by police for parents to call their children and help rein in the youths who looted and burned swathes of the city.

Eight Republican presidential hopefuls duked it out on Thursday night in a Fox News and Washington Examiner sponsored debate in Ames, Iowa.The debate ranged from the recent Standard & Poor's downgrade of long-term U.S. to illegal immigration. Here are the night's winners and losers: