IBT Staff Reporter

General Mills is set to pay 800 million euros ($1.12 billion) for half the Yoplait yogurt brand, allowing the company to settle a management dispute and pursue emerging markets growth.

Actor Kevin Costner has been cast to play Jonathan Kent - the farmer from Kansas who takes in an alien infant who grows up to be Superman. Warner Bros. will revive Superman on the big screen in 2012, according to a report by the LA Times.

Brean Murray Carret & Co. reiterated its Hold rating and narrowed its loss estimate on apparel retailer New York & Co. (NYSE: NWY) after the company posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

Oil rose above $116 a barrel on Friday after the United Nations authorized Western-led attacks in OPEC member Libya and tension stayed high across the oil-producing Middle East.

Futures bounced back for a second day on Friday but Japan's nuclear crisis and rising oil prices on possible military action against Libya could keep Wall Street on track for its worst week in seven months.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 up 0.4-0.7 percent.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. announced an agreement to acquire smaller rival Celera Corp., a maker of diagnostic tests, for $8 per share to gain immediate access to genetic tests and pipeline of biomarkers.

Chelsea will face Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, while Real Madrid will face Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona are up against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced legislation, “The StartUp Visa Act of 2011,” H.R. 1114, to encourage innovation and economic growth by permitting immigrant entrepreneurs greater access to temporary U.S. visas. The bill matches legislation introduced this week by Senators John Kerry, Richard Lugar, and Mark Udall in the Senate.

Panic gripped the U.S. West Coast despite a fraction of media's active campaign to quell the fears of harmful radiation from earthquake-torn Japan blowing in the wind.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has cast fresh doubts on his future at the club beyond this summer, stating it will be very interesting to see his contract talks progresses this summer.

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft successfully entered orbit Thursday night marking the end of a six and a half-year journey to the solar system's innermost planet.

Impending 8-magnitude aftershock is yet to come and it may devastate Tokyo and surrounding regions, says UC Davis seismologist.

The following is a roundup of the effect on the energy and commodities sector of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeast coast of Japan.

Vanessa Hudgens' nude photo hackers have reportedly target a total of 50 actresses, including Scarlett Johansson, Miley Cyrus, and Ali Larter.

U.S. food company General Mills has won the bidding for a stake in Yoplait, and will pay 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) for 50 percent of a yogurt brand whose U.S. distribution rights it has long held.

Brent crude jumped by more than $1 to $116 on Friday on fears of rising geopolitical tension in the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa, after the United Nations approved military action to contain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

In a recent interview, director Gary Ross allayed all fears regarding the choices made to bring Suzanne Collins' best-selling trilogy 'The Hunger Games' into the big screen and casting of Jennifer Lawrence.

Private equity fund PAI Partners and French dairy co-operative Sodiaal confirmed they had entered exclusive talks with General Mills toward a sale of 50 percent of yogurt brand Yoplait.

Japan bought billions of dollars to restrain a soaring yen on Friday, kicking off joint market intervention by the world's richest nations to calm global markets made nervous by the threat of a meltdown at a nuclear power plant near Tokyo.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa reiterated the central bank's resolve to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy following Friday's Group of Seven agreement to join in a rare coordinated intervention to restrain soaring yen.

The grounds of the Springfield Technical Community College, which hosted the former Springfield armory over 40 years ago, would be tested for traces of radioactive material that may have been used at the weapons facility when in operation.

Brent crude jumped by more than $1 to stand above $116 on Friday on fears of rising geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa, after the U.N. approved military action to curb Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Microsoft Corp claimed credit on Thursday for taking down one of the biggest producers of spam e-mail in a joint effort with federal authorities across the United States.

Hawaiian tourism, a keystone of the state's economy just starting to rebound from a long slump, is taking a new hit from a plunge in Japanese leisure travel after the devastating earthquake and tsunami there.

The yen tumbled more than 3 percent on Friday after Group of Seven finance ministers agreed to immediately and jointly intervene against the Japanese currency's surge to a record peak, with Bank of Japan buying pushing the dollar above 81 yen.

CBOE Holdings Inc's second exchange, C2, could quickly boost its market share once it lists the exclusive Standard and Poor's 500 Index option, the head of a rival exchange said on Thursday.

The Group of Seven industrial nations agreed on Friday to jointly intervene in the currency market to stem a sharp yen rise that complicates Japan's battle with the devastation caused by last week's violent earthquake and an unfolding nuclear crisis.

General Motors Co said it would temporarily idle its pick-up truck plant in Louisiana due to a parts shortage stemming from the crisis in Japan.