UNITED STATES

Sales at U.S. retailers rose more than expected in November as consumers stepped up spending on gasoline and a wide range of other goods, data showed on Friday, raising hopes of a self-sustaining economic recovery.

U.S. oilfield services company Superior Energy Services Inc said it planned to acquire British subsea services provider Hallin Marine Subsea International for about 96.5 million pounds ($157.4 million) in cash, sending Hallin's shares up 76.7 percent.

Fashion designer Tom Ford is best known for reinventing the house of Gucci in the 1990s and more recently, launching his own Tom Ford label.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose more than expected in November as consumers stepped up spending on gasoline and a wide range of other goods, data showed on Friday, raising hopes of a self-sustaining economic recovery.

President Barack Obama's bid to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system appeared to get a boost on Thursday when the top Democrat in the House of Representatives signaled interest in a Senate Democratic compromise.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose more than expected in November as consumers spent more on gasoline and a wide range of other goods, data showed on Friday, raising hopes of a self-sustaining economic recovery.

Australia will lift a five year ban on animal-to-human transplant trials at the end of 2009, the National Health and Medical Research Council said on Thursday.

The U.S. apartment vacancy rate is expected to remain high in 2010 and rent growth is not seen to resume until 2011, according to a forecast by CBRE Econometric Advisors.

Chemotherapy helps improve breast cancer survival in post-menopausal women, adding to a long-standing debate about how best to treat these women, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

Post-menopausal women who have three to four alcoholic beverages a week of any sort have a significantly higher risk that their breast cancer will come back, U.S. researchers said Thursday.

Stock index futures rose on Friday as investors awaited data that could provide a look at the health of the consumer, including reports on retail sales and consumer sentiment.

Flight Near for Dreamliner; Bailout Funds for Small Biz; U.S. Credit Remains Top Level

World stocks extended gains and oil rebounded on Friday as upbeat data from China and the United States underscored an economic recovery, weighing on safe-haven government bonds and the low-yielding yen.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening for Wall Street on Friday ahead of U.S. retail sales data, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq 100 up 0.4 to 0.7 percent at 4:37 a.m. EST.

Royal Dutch Shell and Malaysia's Petronas on Friday won the rights to develop one of the world's largest remaining untapped oilfields as Iraq staged its second auction of oil contracts since the 2003 U.S. invasion.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening for Wall Street on Friday ahead of U.S. retail sales data, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq 100 up 0.4 to 0.7 percent at 0937 GMT.

The top sovereign credit ratings of Britain and the United States are not under threat of a downgrade right now, but a worst case scenario foresees a cut by 2013, analysts from Moody's Investors Service said on Friday.

World stocks extended gains and oil rebounded on Friday as upbeat data from China and the United States underscored an economic recovery, weighing on safe-haven government bonds and the low-yielding yen.

Karen Cordova, a 17-year-old high school student and part-time supermarket cashier, admits she sometimes texts friends while driving home from work late at night, lonely and bored.

Asian stocks, oil and most metals rose on Friday after a slew of Chinese data showed the world's third-largest economy is on a brisk recovery path, while the yen dipped against the dollar.

The Obama administration plans to channel money from the government financial bailout fund to small businesses in an effort to stem the political and economic fallout of high unemployment, the Washington Post said in its Friday editions.