UNITED STATES

Ericsson (ERICb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Carl-Henric Svanberg said on Friday the Swedish firm would eye any assets put up for sale by U.S. rival Motorola Inc (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), but would be very cautious about any deal.

The outlook for the economy dipped on Friday as employers cut 17,000 jobs non-farm jobs in January, the first drop in 4 and a half years, which overturned analyst estimates that 69,000 new jobs would be added to the economy.

Google, Inc shares fell 7 percent on Thursday after Internet search leader reported profit and sales that came in below Wall Street expectations due in part to lower paid ad clicks, and struggles to monetize social networking ad inventories.

Copper gained on Thursday as markets recovered and winter storms in China disturbed production.

Starbucks Corp. said Wednesday that it plans to stop providing warm breakfast and sandwiches at its stores to concentrate on healthy breakfast options and high quality baked goods.

Dell will close about 140 retail kiosks in the U.S., in an effort to adjust its evolving product distribution strategy.

Natural gas futures fell on Thursday amid concerns that demand will decline as the U.S. economy slows.

Crude oil fell on Thursday as traders worried that an economic slowdown could weaken oil and gasoline demand in the U.S.

Treasuries rose on Thursday as investors looked to safer investments as reports released today showed signs of a weakening economy, boosting the chance that the Fed will lower borrowing costs.

Amazon.com said Thursday it will buy Audible, a digital audio books provider, for $11.50 a share as in move to expand the online retailer's audio downloads available to users.

The dollar fell against the yen on Thursday after government reports showed softness in employment and personal spending ahead of a jobs report tomorrow.

Gold moved higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates, but weaker oil prices limited gains and prevented the metal from breaking recent record highs.

A suspected U.S. missile strike that killed up to 13 foreign militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan region this week had targeted second or third tier al Qaeda leaders, according to residents in the tribal area.

You may know actor Keith David for starring opposite Kurt Russell in the 1982 horror film 'The Thing', or for his Tony Award-winning role in the 1992 production of 'Jelly's Last Jam'.

A federal judge ruled to extend the U.S. government's antitrust oversight of Microsoft for two more years, shy of the five-year extension sought by states accusing the company of continuing monopolistic behavior.

Asian markets were mixed during a volatile session Thursday, with indexes in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney wavering between gains and losses as investors assessed the Federal Reserve's half-point reduction in a key interest rate overnight and the health of the U.S. economy.

Communication including internet and telephone services all over the Middle East and India went down on Wednesday following the cut of two submarine cable systems in the Mediterranean Sea.

Natural gas futures increased on Wednesday amid speculations that an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve might boost the U.S. economy and reduce energy demand.

Corn on Wednesday fell due to a decline in global demand of the grain for food, fuel and animal feed following speculations that the interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve might not stop the economy from going into a recession.

U.S. stocks plunged on Wednesday after earlier rallies in response to the Federal Reserves highly anticipated half-point rate cut and on speculation that bond insurers Ambac Financial and MBIA Inc. faced downgrades.

Gold futures rose in after market trading on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve slashed its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 3 percent which boosted the precious metal's appeal as a safe haven for investment.