UNITED STATES

The U.S. government said on Friday it is setting aside $1 billion to help companies develop a vaccine against the new strain of H1N1 influenza that is sweeping the world.

The costs of exploring for, developing and acquiring oil and gas reserves in Canada could drop by as much as 35 percent this year with drilling activity dwindling as companies cut spending, brokerage FirstEnergy Capital Corp predicted on Friday.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a climate bill on Thursday that aims to tackle greenhouse gas emissions in the United States to stave off global warming and shift the nation to clean energy technologies.

A U.S. appeals court has largely upheld a lower court ruling that cigarette companies, including Altria Group Inc and its Philip Morris USA unit, violated federal racketeering laws by conspiring to lie about the dangers of smoking.

Cheap valuations and glimmers of economic recovery are tempting cash-rich technology companies to seek acquisitions, and the second half of 2009 could see some steady dealmaking.

A U.S. 25-city home price index is stabilizing this year after plunging through most of 2008, and home prices in some cities actually rose in March, according to Radar Logic, a real estate data and analytics company.

Two Rome high schools have been ordered closed for a week after four students caught the H1N1 flu virus on a school trip to New York, Italy's Health Ministry said on Friday.

The value of good farmland in several U.S. Midwestern states fell by a

Small, nimble retailers are taking advantage of the recession and larger rivals' woes as they move into abandoned U.S. store fronts with short-term leases negotiated at a discount.

Stocks rose on Friday as investors snapped up shares of multinational companies, including McDonald's Corp, on hopes that a weaker dollar would underpin profitability.

MasterCard Inc will lose more than half of a $59 billion portfolio of U.S. debit card users to Visa Inc after JPMorgan Chase & Co shifted more business to its rival, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The United Nations launched an appeal on Friday for $543 million for more than 2 million people displaced by fighting in northwest Pakistan, where officials said villagers were turning against the Taliban.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi pleaded not guilty at her trial on Friday and blamed the regime's lax security for allowing an American intruder to swim uninvited to her lakeside home, her lawyers said.

Florida-based BankUnited , which was closed by the U.S. government and sold to investors, was conducting business as usual on Friday and there was no sign of panic among customers, its new chief executive said.

Vice President Joe Biden, the most senior U.S. official to visit Lebanon in 26 years, took a swipe at Hezbollah on Friday, but denied seeking to sway an election that may unseat a Western-backed coalition.

President Barack Obama, seeking to end the schedule delays and cost overruns that plague U.S. defense spending, signed a law on Friday to reform the way the Pentagon purchases major weapons systems.

Most U.S. banks will repay government bailout funds by the fourth quarter of 2009, and banks will likely issue more stock over the next few quarters, analysts at Morgan Stanley said.

Stocks jumped to session highs on Friday, recovering from an earlier drop, as investors snapped up energy shares and stocks of companies benefiting from a weaker dollar.

Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings said business will remain challenging for much of 2010 and it may not keep its U.S. credit card arm if the problems facing the business intensify.

OPEC ministers are expected to make no change to oil supply when they meet in Vienna next week as higher prices ease their concerns about overflowing fuel inventories and the deepest fall in demand for years.

Magna International emerged on Friday as the early favorite to acquire General Motors unit Opel after German officials said the Canadian car parts group had submitted a better plan than rival bidders Fiat and RHJ .