UNITED STATES

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is the front-runner to buy Citigroup's Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial Securities in a deal that could be announced as early as May, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Business activity in European countries fell in March, but the pace slowed as efforts to revive economies took hold and pessimism ebbed after a plan by world leaders to kick start a global recovery.

The struggling U.S. economy probably continued to bleed jobs at a rapid rate in March, continuing to drive up the jobless rate at a startling pace.

Oil rose above $53 a barrel on Friday after surging by nearly 9 percent the day before, as global markets continued to see the outcome of the G20 summit as positive for an eventual recovery from economic recession.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday, as investors were poised to book a portion of their recent hefty gains ahead of key U.S. monthly jobs data.

World stocks slipped on Friday, handing back some of the gains made after Group of 20 leaders presented a united front to combat the financial crisis as investors grew cautious ahead of a key U.S. jobs report. At their London summit, G20 leaders pledged $1.1 trillion of additional funds to the International Monetary Fund and other institutions and to boost trade finance.

Oil slid to under $52 a barrel on Friday, retreating from the previous session's near 9 percent surge, as expectations of a continued weakness in near-term energy demand prompted investors to take profit.

Median cash salaries and bonuses for chief executives of 200 big U.S. companies fell 8.5 percent in 2008 to $2.24 million, the Wall Street Journal said, citing an analysis prepared for it by Hay Group, a management consulting firm.

G20 leaders convinced investors they were united enough to keep a risk-taking rally alive on Friday, lifting Asian stocks a fourth day, but the U.S. dollar fought back from early losses ahead of the latest U.S. payrolls number due later in the day.

World leaders drew praise on Friday not so much for the boldness of their $1.1 trillion package to help revive the global economy as for at least not making the crisis worse by failing to agree.

Efforts by G20 leaders convinced investors that policy makers were united enough to keep a risk taking rally alive on Friday, pushing up Asian equities for a fourth day and knocking the yen to a six-month low against the Australian dollar.

Oil slid to under $52 a barrel on Friday, retreating from the previous session's near 9 percent surge, as expectations of a continued weakness in near-term energy demand prompted investors to take profit.

Hollywood and Washington have long enjoyed a close, if often tense, relationship. There is, of course, the old saying that Washington is Hollywood for ugly people.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that the United States was ready to discuss different ideas on the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in Europe, which Moscow strongly opposes.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a federal budget that embraces President Barack Obama's initiatives on healthcare, energy and education but leaves the government deeply in debt for the foreseeable future.

President Obama called the G20 summit on Thursday a turning point in the effort to pursuit of global economic recovery and praised the nation's joint efforts as a historic step on the road to stability.

Riot police clashed with hundreds of protesters on Thursday ahead of a NATO summit of world leaders, firing repeated rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowds.

Online video games maker Changyou.com closed up 25 percent in its trading debut on Thursday, making it the most successful stock launch in nearly a year.

General Electric Co and Intel Corp have joined forces to develop devices to help doctors monitor patients' health remotely, an area they believe could become a multibillion-dollar business.

North Korea's missile preparations suggest Pyongyang could launch a satellite into space as early as Saturday, an American defense official said on Thursday as the U.S. military monitored the situation.

World leaders clinched a $1.1 trillion deal on Thursday to combat the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and said financial rules would be tightened to stop it happening again.