UNITED STATES

Facebook is preparing to open its books this year or early in 2012 to give investors a glimpse into the financial workings of the world's No. 1 social network, after it sealed an oversubscribed $1.5 billion round of financing led by Goldman Sachs.

Fund companies are poised to report higher profits for the December quarter compared with a year ago as rising markets pushed up total assets.

U.S. stocks delivered mixed results Friday, General Electric led the way among blue chip stocks with a stronger-than-expected earnings, while financial sector stocks turned in mixed results.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Friday as General Electric Co's earnings put a positive tone on the economic recovery, snapping a two-day losing skid for the benchmark index.

The much anticipated pullback is finally under way, some investors say, after a mid-week wobble. But the market is showing it still has some juice left -- if earnings can meet towering expectations.

The much anticipated pullback is finally under way, some investors say, after a mid-week wobble. But the market is showing it still has some juice left

Sprint Nextel is expected to reward long-suffering investors with its first quarterly subscriber growth in more than three years, but the celebration may be short-lived.

The Obama administration is forging ahead with its plans to bolster alternative energy sources in the U.S., advancing a loan of $967 million to help build the world’s largest photovoltaic solar generating plant.

Jeffrey Immelt’s appointment by President Obama to head his new White House economic council has some labor leaders concerned, given the perception that the boss of General Electric (NYSE: GE) is hostile to the union movement and is committed to outsourcing American jobs to foreign (cheaper) workers.

Job losses and fear about what lies ahead persists on Main Street America, despite official pronouncements that the 'Great Recession' ended over a year ago, the head of a U.S. mayors group said this week. The group was in Washington to lobby President Obama and federal officials for billions of dollars in grants and investments.

Shares of U.S. regional banks rose on Friday after SunTrust Banks Inc and BB&T Corp reported higher-than-expected quarterly profits.

Sprint Nextel is expected to reward long-suffering investors with its first quarterly subscriber growth in more than three years, but the celebration may be short-lived.

As the battle over pension reform in cash-starved cities and states intensified, the Mayor of New York City fired another salvo by threatening municipal unions with huge layoffs if they don’t cooperate with his sweeping proposals to overhaul the system.

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of unionized American workers dropped to 11.9 percent from 12.3 percent, with the loss of 612,000 members in 2010. In 2008, unions lost 771,000 workers.

Merrill Lynch's fourth-quarter revenue surged as the No. 2 U.S. brokerage bolstered its ranks of financial advisers and added client assets.

Chinese President Hu Jintao took his roadshow to the U.S. Midwest, where executives from the two countries were set to sign up to 60 deals on Friday to underscore the message that China is open for business.

Rutherford B. Hayes is running for President of the United States in 2012. So is Jeff Davis, Robert Lee of Virginia, and Jonathon “the Impaler” Sharkey.

The World Trade Organization will issue a confidential final ruling on January 31 concerning European claims that Boeing benefited from unfair aircraft subsidies, sources familiar with the case said on Friday.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Friday as General Electric Co's earnings bolstered views the recovery was gaining traction and helped set the market back on its up trend after two days of declines.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's latest $600 billion bond-buying program is built on the idea that most of the stubbornly high unemployment rate is reversible, if only borrowing costs are pushed low enough.

Stocks gained on Friday as General Electric Co's earnings bolstered views the recovery was gaining traction and helped set the market back on its up trend after two days of declines.