IBT Staff Reporter

The Foreign Ministry has dismissed as groundless U.S. accusations that China is failing to crack down on copyright piracy, ahead of talks with top U.S. officials next week, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

Washington Mutual Inc and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp have reached a global settlement that will return $7 billion to the bank's creditors, a critical step in the bankruptcy involving the biggest bank failure in U.S. history.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he did not agree with current opinion that the sovereign debt crisis had become the biggest threat to the world economy, China's Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

Legg Mason Inc gave its biggest signal yet that its famed stock picker Bill Miller, who has underperformed in recent years, is preparing for retirement.

The U.S. Treasury Department has hired Lazard Ltd to advise the government on an initial public offering of General Motors Co, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Google TV, a service that will bring the Web to television screens, is likely to create more headaches for broadcast and cable executives already concerned with being sidelined by free online video shows on computers.

Google Inc has won U.S. approval to buy mobile advertising rival AdMob, after months of delay and rumor that the No. 1 Internet search engine was headed for a court fight with government officials over the $750 million transaction.

Research In Motion is poised to beat profit expectations over the next 12 months, powered by demand for its new BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone, a TD Newcrest analyst said on Friday.

Stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Friday as investors bought beaten-down shares including banks on bets the financial regulation bill won't be as onerous as some had feared.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc shares rose as much as 5.4 percent on Friday on rumors of a possible settlement with regulators and a feeling that the stock could be oversold.

The Senate approved a reform of Wall Street on Thursday and President Barack Obama may be signing into law the most sweeping changes to financial rules since the 1930s as soon as next month.

U.S. antitrust regulators gave Google Inc approval to buy mobile advertising rival AdMob, after months of delay and rumor that Google was headed for a court fight with government officials over the $750 million transaction.

Stocks rose on Friday, with bank shares leading a rebound as worries ebbed over the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and an overhaul of U.S. financial regulation.

Jim Owens, chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar Inc., is concerned that the U.S. is not on a path to sustain the global economic competitiveness our country has sustained for a long time.

U.S. antitrust regulators gave Google Inc approval to buy mobile advertising rival AdMob, after months of delay and rumor that Google was headed for a court fight with government officials over the transaction.

A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a ruling requiring Verizon Wireless customers to resolve disputes over alleged fraudulent cell phone charges individually through arbitration rather than as a class.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc shares rose as much as 4.5 percent on Friday morning on rumors of a possible settlement with U.S. regulators and a feeling that the stock could be oversold.

Stocks rose on Friday, with bank shares leading a rebound as worries ebbed over the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and an overhaul of U.S. financial regulation.

PepsiCo Inc plans to invest $2.5 billion in China over the next three years to expand its presence in a major, growing market where its drinks lag behind rival Coca-Cola Co .

U.S. state April unemployment rates were higher than a year ago in most states but fell from March 2010 levels in dozens of states, the Labor Department reported on Friday, as recession-fueled joblessness eased.

President Barack Obama will meet on financial reform on Friday with Senator Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate banking committee, and Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House financial services committee, the White House said.

U.S. regulators and Goldman Sachs Group Inc have not reached an agreement to settle civil fraud charges, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

A key lawmaker from Switzerland's largest party said on Friday he expected parliament to back a controversial Swiss-U.S. deal to end a bitter tax dispute over UBS.

Stocks rose 1 percent on Friday, with bank shares leading a rebound from earlier declines as worries ebbed over the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and U.S. financial reform.

Ann Taylor Stores Corp reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Friday, as demand at its women's clothing stores was stronger than anticipated and it benefited from more full-price selling.

Keeping expectations of future price levels intact is vital, especially when interest rates are very low, the Federal Reserve's number two official said on Friday.

Norwegian browser developer Opera Software is moving its data processing capacity to a newly-built center in Iceland, one of the first foreign investment deals for the crisis-hit island as it tries to rebuild its economy.

Six out of nine people who were in contact with a Hendra virus-infected horse at the Queensland Sunshine Coast have been cleared of infection based on the preliminary test results

Borders Group Inc said on Friday that a company controlled by financier Bennett LeBow has taken a $25 million equity stake in the struggling bookseller, making him its largest shareholder.