MARKETS / FINANCE

U.S. employment growth was likely too weak in October to pull down the nation's lofty jobless rate, though it may have been strong enough to suggest some economic momentum is building.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street, with futures for the S&P 500 flat, Dow Jones futures up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.2 percent at 1008 GMT (6:08 a.m. EDT).

World stocks and the euro rose on Friday, boosted by expectations that Greece will avoid a referendum on a new bailout package, easing imminent concerns of a Greek default and its potential shockwaves through the euro zone.

India's Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Ramalinga Raju, founder and former chairman of outsourcing firm Satyam Computer Services Ltd, in a $1.5 billion financial fraud case, after the federal investigative agency failed to file charges on time.

World stocks rose on Friday, boosted by expectations that Greece will avoid a referendum on a new bailout package, easing imminent concerns of a Greek default and the possible shockwaves through the euro zone.

Following MF Global's sudden meltdown, the company's board of directors is under harsh scrutiny.

Commerzbank will accelerate a pullback from euro zone nations and cut risky assets to avoid another state bailout after a 798 million euros ($1.10 billion) impairment on Greek assets pushed it to a third-quarter operating loss.

MF Global 's operations in Asia and Australia have received nearly 40 credible offers and a sale is expected to be agreed by the end of the weekend, the provisional liquidator for the brokerage's Hong Kong unit told Reuters on Friday.

U.S. regulators are launching a broad review into the business practices of failed futures brokerage MF Global Holdings Ltd as their hunt continues for over $600 million in missing customer money.

Olympus Corp said on Friday it would delay its July-September earnings announcement from November 8 as it needs more time after appointing an external panel to look into its past M&A deals.

Google, Microsoft, Citigroup, IBM, GE and other top-tier American companies on Thursday urged the United States to fight for trade rules that protect the free flow of information over the Internet.

Investors want to lift the shroud of secrecy over the proposed $8.5 billion settlement of Bank of America Corp's mortgage-backed securities liability in the coming weeks, a lawyer said on Wednesday.

Shares of Embraer , the world's third-largest commercial planemaker, suffered the worst drop on Brazil's benchmark stock index on Thursday after reporting weak results and disclosing a bribery investigation.

Insurer American International Group lost more than $4 billion in the third quarter, as its aircraft leasing unit took an impairment charge on a portion of its fleet and the fair value of the company's one-third stake in Asian insurer AIA fell.

The government of Switzerland has proposed a multibillion-dollar settlement with U.S. authorities over allegations that it helped wealthy Americans avoid billions of dollars in U.S. taxes, according to sources briefed on the matter.

Activist investor Carl Icahn revealed an increased stake in WebMD Health Corp , a day after the company adopted a shareholder rights plan.

Fewer Americans filed new claims for jobless benefits last week while the country's vast service sector continued to grow last month, according to data on Thursday that showed the U.S. recovery was on track, though not speeding along.

The question arises as pressure mounts on Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to step down after an odd couple of days in which he announced then withdrew a proposal to put the latest Eurozone rescue deal before the Greek citizenry as a referendum vote.

The government of Switzerland has proposed a multibillion-dollar settlement with U.S. authorities over allegations that it helped wealthy Americans avoid billions of dollars in U.S. taxes, according to sources briefed on the matter.

Groupon Inc is set to price one of the year's most closely watched initial public offerings late Thursday, to strong demand for the scaled-back stock market debut of the largest daily deal company.

Hackers used a server in Belgium to collect data stolen from machines infected with the Duqu computer virus, after authorities shut down another rogue collection system in India, according to security experts.

Jefferies, responding to its plunging shares and growing fear over its stability, said it had no meaningful net exposure to European sovereign debt and that it was, in fact, positioned to profit should credit quality there deteriorate further.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter point to 1.25 percent in a surprise move on Thursday and President Mario Draghi said the euro zone could subside into a mild recession in the latter part of 2011.

Bank of America Corp , which earlier this week canceled plans to charge a $5 monthly fee to use a debit card after loud protests, was not sure how to implement the plan and disclosed it only in an effort to be transparent with customers, a bank executive said.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s massive Grasberg mine in Indonesia is producing copper, gold and silver ore at 5 percent of its full capacity, a senior official at the energy and mineral resources ministry said on Thursday.

Gold prices surged two percent Thursday after a surprise interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and Greece's prime minister abruptly dropping a widely denounced plan for a referendum on accepting bailout money.

Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by growth in its non-air revenue, and raised its full-year revenue outlook, sending its shares up as much as 36 percent.

Hackers have been using a server in Belgium to collect data stolen from machines infected with the Duqu computer virus, after authorities shut down another rogue collection system in India, according to security experts.

If Greece decided to leave the euro, it would also have to quit the European Union, according to the terms of the EU's treaties, the European Commission said on Thursday.