UNITED STATES

President Barack Obama said on Friday the latest U.S. unemployment figures showed the worst may be over in the economic crisis but acknowledged there was more work to be done to put the economy back on track.

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday after stronger-than-expected non-farm payroll data lifted investor optimism and pushed the S&P 500 to a 10-month high.

Stocks rallied, driving the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a 10-month high on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report added to recent data pointing to an economic recovery.

AIG, the giant insurer bailed out by the U.S. government, posted its first profit in seven quarters on Friday, helped by large investment gains as financial markets improved, sending its shares up 18 percent.

Merck & Co shareholders overwhelmingly approved the drugmaker's planned merger with Schering-Plough Corp, and the deal remains on track to close in the fourth quarter, Merck said on Friday.

Malaysia denied on Friday that a proposed Internet filter would be used to police blogs and websites, saying it would be used only to block pornography.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton encouraged South Africa Friday to press for reform in Zimbabwe and said Washington would build closer ties with Pretoria after strains under the Bush administration.

As information poured in on Friday that Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed two days ago by a U.S. missile strike, a whole series of questions arise over what it would mean for Pakistan, Afghanistan and U.S. policy and Western military forces in the region.

Pakistan believes Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head, was probably killed with his wife and bodyguards in a missile attack two days ago, the interior minister said on Friday.

Royal Bank of Scotland reported more losses on Friday as investment banking profits failed to offset bad debts, and the state-controlled lender warned of more poor results to come before a lasting recovery.

President Barack Obama delivered a pep talk to a bipartisan group of senators negotiating a healthcare overhaul on Thursday as the U.S. Senate headed on vacation without a deal on his top domestic priority.

U.S. employers cut 247,000 jobs in July, far less than expected and the least in any month since last August, according to a government report on Friday that provided the clearest evidence yet that the economy was turning around.

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday after the government reported fewer workers lost jobs in July than expected, fueling hopes of an economic recovery and providing solid footing for a recent market run-up.

U.S. employers cut 247,000 jobs in July, far less than expected and the least in any month since last August, according to a government report on Friday that provided the clearest evidence yet that the economy was turning around.

Hispanic whites seeking emergency treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses wait twice as long to see a doctor compared to non-Hispanic whites, new research shows.

LG Chem Ltd will have the capacity to build battery cells that could support up to 250,000 electric vehicles in the United States when its first U.S. plant becomes fully operational in 2013, the chief of the U.S. unit said on Thursday.

The fate of a U.S. climate change bill will send signals to the rest of the world as to whether upcoming global climate talks will be serious or not, one of the bill's co-authors said on Thursday.

No final out-of-court settlement has yet been been reached in a tax-evasion dispute pitting the U.S. government against Swiss bank UBS AG , a U.S. Justice Department attorney said on Friday.

The U.S. Senate approved and sent to the White House on Thursday a $2 billion extension of the cash for clunkers autos sales incentive program.

Wall Street opened higher on Friday after the government reported fewer workers were laid off in July, providing fresh evidence of an economic recovery and the sustainability of a recent market run-up.

Recovery more certain, AIG soars, No final tax deal