ECONOMY & MARKETS

A new team of U.S. trade enforcers will make countries think twice about building unfair barriers to American exports, said President Barack Obama's top trade official, who noted the team will include intelligence officials as well as representatives of multiple agencies.

Exxon and TonenGeneral aim to complete the deal around summer, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Growth in the U.S. gross domestic product during the fourth quarter of last year was estimated at 2.8 percent -- slightly below the consensus expectation of 3.0 percent, but still the best reading in 2011. However, most of the growth came from inventory rebuilding, which can support GDP growth only temporarily.

A Chrysler 300C once used by President Barack Obama is for sale on eBay with the opening bid of $1 million.

January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

Pedro Gonzalez began to miss the simple foods within a couple years. In 2003, doctors diagnosed Gonzalez with celiac disease, a genetic autoimmune disease triggered by consumption of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, according to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

The majority of real estate investment trusts (REITs) are expected to post positive earnings for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2011 as rent growth continues, according to analysts.

European shares ended down on Friday as disappointing U.S. economic data prompted investors to cash in January's gains, dragging the blue-chip index to its first weekly loss since mid-December.

Greenpeace alleges TransCanada's Canadian and U.S. filings demonstrates the company used 'false or misleading' job creation numbers to bolster approval for the Keystone XL pipeline.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday after data showed the U.S. economy grew less than expected in the fourth quarter, while weak earnings from Ford and continued caution over Europe's debt crisis also weighed on the market.

The Indiana right-to-work bill's supporters trumpeted the argument that making Indiana a right-to-work state would encourage businesses to relocate there. But a survey of the available data suggests that the link between right-to-work and job creation is not as clear as its proponents claim.

The University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters Index of consumer sentiment, a widely followed metric that measures how consumers perceive both the economy and their own finances, rose to 75.0 in January, according to the organizations behind the monthly survey.

Eastman Chemical is buying Solutia for $4.7 billion, including debt, in an effort to expand into the specialty plastics and chemicals market as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. economy expanded at its fastest pace in the fourth quarter of last year, as consumers loosened their purse strings, companies rebuilt inventories and housing construction perked up.

Joblessness has particularly struck Spanish youth – nearly half (48.6 percent) of people between the ages of 16 and 24 are now without work.

Ford Motor Co reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Friday due to higher commodity costs and losses in its automotive operations in Europe and Asia.

Treasury debt prices rose on Thursday, and five-year note yields dipped to the lowest level since at least the 1960s, a day after the Federal Reserve said it will likely hold interest rates near zero at least through late 2014.

World stocks held steady near a 5-1/2 month high on Friday as investors anticipated an imminent conclusion to Greek debt talks while lower Spanish bond yields and a fall in Italy's six-month borrowing costs also supported the euro.

Stock index futures pointed to a steady open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.02 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.05 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.2 percent at 4 a.m. ET.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may intervene in the forward foreign exchange market, in addition to the spot market, to help manage liquidity in the banking system, a central bank source said on Friday.

The top after-market NASDAQ Losers Thursday were: 1-800 FLOWERS.COM, Riverbed Technology, BroadVision, Rambus, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, TeleNav, Cbeyond, Oclaro, CIENA Corp and Aruba Networks.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Thursday were: Cepheid, Informatica Corp, QLogic Corp, Illumina, Star Scientific, Dreamworks Animation SKG, Seagate Technology, Sigma-Aldrich, Silicon Motion Technology and Seattle Genetics.

The top aftermarket NYSE Losers Thursday were: DeVry, Juniper Networks, Delek US Holdings, Freescale Semiconductor Holdings, Robert Half International, Dynex Capital, Radian Group, Cliffs Natural Resources, Cypress Sharpridge Investments and Wesco Aircraft Holdings.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Thursday were: Transocean, Emulex, Buckeye Technologies, Penn Virginia, Ivanhoe Mines, Basic Energy Services, Newell Rubbermaid, HyperDynamics, Magnum Hunter Resources and D.R. Horton.

The broad asset rally which the U.S. Federal Reserve inspired by pledging to keep rates low decelerated on Friday as investors awaited the outcome of Greek debt talks and U.S. gross domestic product data. Asian stocks paused.

The rupee touched a two-and-a-half month high on Friday, aided by firm local shares, as demand for riskier assets was spurred by hopes Greece will soon reach an agreement on restructuring its debt.

The BSE Sensex rose 0.7 percent on Friday and was on track to post its fourth weekly gain in a row, on expectations improving global risk appetite will draw in more portfolio investments.

A broad asset rally inspired by the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to keep rates low paused Friday, as investors sought to gauge how sustainable the burst of optimism will be while waiting for the outcome of crucial Greek debt talks.

The U.S. economy is not robust by any means, but the recent manufacturing-driven recovery, if tepid, is finally beginning to erase memories of the disappointing slowdown in 2011. On the wings of the recent gains, growth in most sectors of the economy is likely to continue - and maybe even pick up momentum towards the end of the year.