IBT Staff Reporter

President Barack Obama, seeking to rescue the troubled U.S. economy and his own prospects for re-election, embarks on an uphill battle on Friday to win Republican support for a make-or-break $447 billion jobs plan.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday as investors remained skeptical about how much of President Barack Obama's $447 billion proposal to generate U.S. jobs would make it through Congress.

In statements issued after President Obama's jobs speech on Thursday night, Republican leaders struck a note very different from the uncompromising, line-in-the-sand rhetoric that has been dominating political discourse. Criticisms of Obama and fundamental differences of opinion were still evident, but there were also gestures toward conciliation and compromise.

A darkening euro zone economic outlook, a shrinking interest rate advantage and skepticism over European authorities' ability to resolve the sovereign debt crisis have raised the risk the euro will fall toward $1.30 before year-end.

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was 11 years old. I can't say when exactly I realized how young that was to understand the enormity of the attacks. But 10 years removed, I see it. For me, the world isn't divided into before and after the attacks, because there is no before.

Alibaba Cloud Computing, a unit of Alibaba Group, will release an English version of its mobile operating system this month and launch its tablet in the next two months, a top company executive said on Friday.

Motorola's highly anticipated offering, the Droid Bionic, after playing hide-and-seek for nine months has finally arrived.

Investors in Greek government debt worldwide will tell regulators on Friday whether and how they will participate in a bond swap aimed at giving Athens more time to emerge from a debt crisis, with officials expecting a take-up of about 70 percent.

A German court on Friday upheld an injunction requested by Apple barring the sales of Samsung Galaxy tablets in Germany.

The global economic slowdown has brought emerging Asia's rate-hiking cycle to a premature pause and the next step could be easing if the United States slides into a recession or Europe's debt troubles spawn a full-blown financial crisis.

The global economic slowdown has brought emerging Asia's rate-hiking cycle to a premature pause and the next step could be easing if the United States slides into a recession or Europe's debt troubles spawn a full-blown financial crisis.

While the Samsung Galaxy S2 is grabbing success in other parts of the world and is about to hit the U.S. market, Motorola Droid Bionic has hit the ground and Apple’s iPhone 5 is crawling through slews of rumors to reach the release date.

China's central bank has withdrawn at least 20 billion yuan ($3 billion) from some state-owned lenders via designated central bank bills, banking sources told Reuters on Friday.

Japan's economy shrank in the second quarter at a faster pace than initially reported as companies held back on capital expenditure due to worries about a rising yen and faltering global growth.

Policymakers in advanced economies should use all available tools to boost growth, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday, calling for bold action to weather a dangerous new phase of recovery.

Policymakers in advanced economies should use all available tools to boost growth, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday, calling for bold action to weather a dangerous new phase of recovery.

China's inflation pulled back in August from a three-year high while economic activity slowed, underlining expectations that the central bank can hold off on further tightening of monetary policy in the face of a global economic slowdown.

Bank of America Corp officials have discussed slashing roughly 40,000 jobs during the first wave of a restructuring, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the plans.

World number one Novak Djokovic was adjudged the victor after fellow-Serb Janko Tipsarevic retired with a leg-injury in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open and he will face Roger Federer in the semifinals.

Google Inc has bought popular dining ratings authority Zagat, adding a valuable brand to its content offerings and bolstering its push into the rapidly growing local commerce market.

World number two Rafael Nadal and breezed into the quarterfinals after an easy win against Gilles Muller in the delayed fourth-round.

World number three Roger Federer set up a semifinal meeting against top seed Novak Djokovic with a straight-sets win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, while Rafael Nadal will face Andy Roddick in the delayed quarterfinals.

Chinese rights activist Wang Lihong was sentenced to nine months in jail on Friday in a case that has drawn condemnation from critics who see her as a victim of the Communist Party's crackdown on Internet-spread dissent.

China's inflation pulled back in August from a three-year high, underlining expectations that price pressures have peaked and the central bank can hold off on further tightening of monetary policy in the face of a global economic slowdown.

Regulators are close to an agreement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to settle a case over disclosing their exposure to risky subprime loans, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

President Barack Obama challenged Congress on Thursday to enact a $447 billion package of tax cuts and new spending to revive a stalled job market but he faces an uphill fight to win over Republicans and restore public faith in his economic stewardship.

Sonia Gandhi, leader of Congress party, returned home on Thursday after more than a month of medical treatment in the United States which had left the government rudderless to deal with the biggest protests in decades

Nasdaq OMX has intensified its opposition to the planned tie-up of NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse , saying the deal would irrevocably destroy competition in Europe's listed-derivatives market, the Wall Street Journal said.

Michael Jackson fans were up in arms on Thursday over reports that promoters of a planned tribute concert had slashed ticket prices and apparently offered 2-for-1 ticket deals to the October event.