IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks were set to drop at the open on Friday, and a mixed report on the U.S. labor market could make trading volatile.

Hewlett-Packard announced today that it was getting back into the tablet business with the launch of the Slate 2, a Windows 7-based device geared specifically towards enterprise users, with its expanded touch capabilities enhanced multitasking performance and embedded security. Pricing for the Slate 2 starts at $699, with the tablet expected to be available worldwide later this month.

Research in Motion (RIM) launched BBM Music this week, a music-sharing app a spokesman for the company has said evolves the mixtape. Seeking to capitalize upon - and perhaps revive - its BlackBerry Messenger network of 45 million users, RIM's newest app allows users to choose 50 songs from an extensive cloud-based library of content licensed from music giants Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI, as well as from smaller independent labels.

Stocks were set to drop at the open on Friday, and a mixed report on the U.S. labor market could make trading volatile.

Private sector activity in the euro zone shrank at its fastest pace in 28 months in October as the debt crisis sapped new business and soured sentiment in an economy looking like it is heading into a slump, survey data showed on Friday.

EU regulators are investigating whether Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc have breached EU antitrust laws with patent infringement claims in their global legal battle, the European Commission said on Friday.

Private sector activity in the euro zone shrank at its fastest pace in 28 months in October as the debt crisis sapped new business and soured sentiment in an economy looking like it is heading into a slump, survey data showed on Friday.

U.S. employment rose less than expected in October, but a drop in the jobless rate to a six-month low of 9.0 percent and upward revisions to prior months' job gains pointed to underlying strength in the labor market.

Canada's economy unexpectedly ditched in October almost all the jobs gained the month before as a sluggish economy led to layoffs in manufacturing and construction, according to Statistics Canada on Friday.

Canada's largest carrier Air Canada reported a 12 percent drop in third-quarter operating income, hurt by higher fuel prices.

MF Global Holdings Ltd Chief Executive Jon Corzine resigned, four days after the futures brokerage filed for bankruptcy protection.

China should await workable plans from Europe before Beijing puts money into any bailout package, an adviser to the Chinese central bank said on Friday, adding that China should insist on certain controls over how the money will be used.

The uncertain outcome of Greece's sovereign debt crisis and its implications for Europe's economy kept U.S. stock futures mixed on Friday, with indexes little changed following two days of steep gains.

Bharti Airtel is confident of growing its high-speed mobile data business and turning around its struggling African operations after the Indian mobile market leader reported a bigger-than-expected fall in fiscal second-quarter profit that was its seventh consecutive quarterly profit drop.

Royal Bank of Scotland is to further shrink its investment bank arm and cut more jobs after the euro zone debt crisis saw third quarter profits slump, hampering its turnaround.

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.

Groupon Inc. raised $700 million after increasing the size of its initial public offering, becoming the largest IPO by an Internet company since Google Inc raised $1.7 billion in 2004.

Arsenal are linked to some interesting players toady, even though the mid-season transfer window is a good two-months away.

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.

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.

Last month, the Obama administration announced a partnership with Facebook intended to help Americans find jobs and employers find employees via social media. Experts say it could make a dent in the unemployment rate.

Telecom equipment gear maker Alcatel-Lucent scaled back its profitability goal for the year, saying operators were cutting spending on their networks in reaction to macroeconomic uncertainty, especially in Europe.

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.

India's top mobile phone carrier, Bharti Airtel, on Friday posted a bigger-than-expected 38 percent fall in fiscal second-quarter profit, hit by higher interest costs and losses on foreign exchange and in its African operations.

Japan's top drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co <4502.T> posted a 17 percent fall in second-quarter operating profit, hurt by currency losses and worries over calls for new warnings on its top-selling diabetes pill Actos.

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

Japan's top drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co <4502.T> posted a 4.8 percent fall in first-half operating profit as currency losses and worries over a call for new warnings on its top-selling diabetes pill Actos offset higher revenue from treatments recently launched at home.