IBT Staff Reporter

Gold hit record highs near $1,250 an ounce in Europe on Friday as investors bought the metal to protect against sovereign risk in the euro zone and instability in the foreign exchange markets.

(Reuters) - Parents worried about putting very young children into daycare got some reassuring answers on Friday -- children who have high-quality care see academic benefits lasting into high school.

Sales of video game hardware and software plunged 26 percent in April, industry tracker NPD said on Thursday, one of the largest declines over the past decade.

Beijing could have another window of opportunity over the next few days to make its long-awaited move on the yuan, in the wake of strong Chinese data and ahead of a Sino-U.S. summit.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose more than expected in April, raising cautious optimism that a recent bounce in consumer spending can be sustained.

Wall Street was poised to open lower on Friday, weighed by worries about the impact of heavy euro-zone debt loads on the global recovery.

The euro zone deficit crisis will prompt fiscal cuts that will hit demand for exports from central and Eastern Europe and undermine the region's recovery, the EBRD said on Friday.

Britain's Prudential Plc is expected to outline divestments of some Asian assets in its upcoming rights offering prospectus in an effort to appease shareholder concerns about its planned AIA acquisition, a source familiar with the process told Reuters on Friday.

Stock index futures fell on Friday on worries about the impact of heavy euro-zone debt loads on the global recovery, while investors were cautious ahead of retail sales data.

Sony Corp shares fell nearly 7 percent in their biggest tumble in a year after the electronics maker disappointed investors with a cautious forecast and worries mounted the euro could dull the pace of its recovery.

Stock index futures were lower on Friday as investors awaited a round of data, including consumer sentiment, that will provide a picture on the strength the economic recovery.

Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Josef Ackermann cast doubt on Greece's ability to repay its debt in a TV interview and said a $1 trillion euro zone rescue package will help stabilize Italy and Spain, while the situation in Portugal is more difficult.

Up to now, the main impediments to powering your home with solar energy have been cost and a confusing sales process, but Dave Llorens wants to change that.

The once sheltered children of the late Michael Jackson have become Internet sensations after home-made videos of two of his three children playing up for web cameras were leaked and appeared on YouTube.

Wild roller coaster rides tend to leave people unsteady on their feet, uncertain which way is up and unsure as to the precise location of their stomachs.

The global advertising industry is eager to capitalize on booming use of mobile phones for Internet access as more enhanced devices are coming to the market to get more consumers reachable online.

A lot of people sit quietly and say nothing to avoid rocking the boat, and they have the mindset that a pay rise will eventually happen on its own. Don't let this happen to you. You deserve to get paid as much as you can.

The euro languished near a 14-month low versus the dollar and European shares fell on Friday on speculation that fiscal austerity in some euro zone countries may stifle economic growth.

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, plans to unveil on Monday a much-awaited semiconductor investment plan, a source said, joining a growing list of firms raising spending on global economic recovery.

The beleaguered euro hovered just above a major support level of $1.25 on Friday as worries about Europe's debt problems plagued markets, pressuring stocks and pushing safe-haven gold to near record highs.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2 to 0.3 percent at 4:54 a.m. ET, pointing to a weaker start on Wall Street on Friday.

Sony Corp shares tumbled 7 percent on Friday after its forecast for annual operating profit fell short of analysts' expectations amid unfavorable currency rates and tough competition.

Chrysler Group LLC would need time to find a permanent and stable replacement for providing auto loans if it loses access to bank financing it shares with General Motors Co, Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp said it would close one of its four vehicle plants in Thailand as the economic crisis hammered exports, in a rare move for what was until a few years ago the world's fastest-growing carmaker.

The federal judge handling more than 100 lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corp over cars that raced out of control said on Thursday that he would decide by next week which plaintiffs lawyers would take a leading role in the massive litigation.

Egypt's GB Auto expects to double its profit in the second quarter of 2010 and plans to export buses to Middle Eastern and European markets by the end of 2010, executives said on Thursday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Wall Street banks used their own money to bet in financial markets against municipal bonds that they had sold, the Wall Street Journal said.

China restored full Internet access in its far western Xinjiang region Friday, the local government said, ending 10 months of blocked or limited access following deadly ethnic rioting there last July.

World oil prices continued its southern journey and dropped below $74 in Asian trade Friday mainly on demand concerns linked to European debt crisis. Light sweet crude for June delivery was seen trading at $ 73.75 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $ 79.77 a barrel in London.