IBT Staff Reporter

Apple Inc's iPad hit overseas store shelves on Friday, with buyers storming Japanese shops to be among the first in Asia to snap up the long-awaited tablet PC.

Johnson & Johnson

The Australian Dollar opens sharply higher today at 0.8510. Despite a surprise drop in new capital spending, which fell 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, the Aussie rallied from an intraday low of 0.8220.

Last month's recall of Johnson & Johnson's liquid children's medicines provides just the latest evidence of what U.S. health regulators say are systemic quality problems at the healthcare company and its McNeil consumer unit.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney hired a pair of top financial advisers from UBS, and also added advisers from Barclays Wealth to focus on Latin American markets.

Kenneth Starr, a New York investment adviser to celebrities such as movie director Martin Scorsese and actor Uma Thurman, was arrested by U.S. agents on Thursday on charges of running an alleged investment fraud of as much as $30 million, prosecutors said.

The U.S. economy grew at a slightly slower pace than previously estimated in the first quarter but the recovery still appeared solid, suggesting the economy could withstand fallout from the European debt crisis.

Corrects spelling of Scorsese and Leibovitz

Stocks rallied on Thursday as investor worry was eased after China refuted a report that it was reviewing its euro-zone bond holdings due to the region's debt crisis.

AT&T Inc said on Thursday that 40 percent of its iPhone sales since the beginning of the year have been to business customers, suggesting that the phone is encroaching on an area dominated by Research in Motion's BlackBerry.

Tiffany & Co and Signet Jewelers Ltd reported better-than-expected profits for the Valentine's Day quarter as shoppers resumed buying pricey jewelry.

Germany's national consumer-protection agency may take legal measures against Facebook if it finds that the social network's new privacy controls do not meet German data-protection standards.

Cheap stocks and robust consumption by its middle class are reason to buy into China now, even though markets have turned cautious on the world's No.3 economy, a fund manager at BlackRock told Reuters.

The Treasury's number two official vowed on Thursday to fight efforts to weaken the U.S. financial reform bill and said it should include the so-called Volcker rule which would separate banking from proprietary trading.

Stocks rose sharply on Thursday as investor worry was eased after China refuted a report that it was reviewing its holdings in euro-zone sovereign bonds due to the region's debt.

The Western multinationals that have dominated global trade for decades are going to have their lunch eaten in China and elsewhere, and many are unaware it's about to happen.

The U.S. economy grew at a slightly slower pace than previously estimated in the first quarter but the recovery still appeared solid, suggesting the economy could withstand fallout from a European debt crisis.

Kenneth Starr, a New York investment adviser to celebrities such as movie director Martin Scorcese and actor Uma Thurman, was arrested by U.S. agents on Thursday on charges of running an alleged investment fraud of as much as $30 million, prosecutors said.

Democrats in the Senate concerned about the impact of a proposed tax hike on investment fund managers have drafted new options that would tax a smaller slice of their income at ordinary tax rates, a Democratic aide familiar with the discussions said.

Major U.S. indexes advanced on Thursday as investors were soothed after China denied a report that it was reviewing its holdings in euro-zone sovereign bonds due to the region's debt crisis.

Stocks advanced more than 2 percent on Thursday after China denied a report that it was reviewing its holdings in euro-zone sovereign bonds due to the region's debt crisis.

Australia's rice output in the crop year ended March 31 is expected to touch around 205,000 metric tons or triple from 63,000 tons, according to the grains report by the New South Wales Industry & Investment department.

Warehouse club operator Costco Wholesale Corp and close-out retailer Big Lots Inc both posted higher-than-expected quarterly profits as consumers were willing to spend on more than just essentials.

Collateralized debt obligations are as hard to love as they are to fathom. The scourge of the financial world, these complex subprime mortgage-linked securities caused hundreds of billions of dollars in losses for banks, hedge funds and insurers.

Unemployment claims fell last week, suggesting the battered labor market is recovering but only slowly, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A small study suggests that a surgical treatment generally used on patients with tumors and certain brain disorders may put a stop to nosebleeds that won't stop any other way.

A free online service has been launched to connect willing study participants with Australia's scientific institutes and universities.

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer was unperturbed a day after rival Apple Inc shot past his firm as the world's biggest tech company by market value and said his aim was to develop a good product line and earn more profits.

Stocks surged 2 percent on Thursday after China denied a report it was reviewing its holdings in euro-zone sovereign bonds due to the region's debt crisis.