IBT Staff Reporter

Wall Street is heading into another earnings blitz next week and the prospects of strong results from bellwethers like Caterpillar Inc and 3M Co should propel indexes to new recovery highs.

G20 finance leaders said on Friday they had secured a better-than-expected global economic recovery but were wary of overconfidence as Greece's debt crisis put the focus on worsening public finances.

Senate Republicans vow to oppose a Democratic effort to begin debate next week on a proposed crackdown on Wall Street unless a bipartisan accord is reached, senior Republican aides said on Friday.

An Italian inventor, Luciano Marabese has combined faith and ingenuity to come up with a way to keep church traditions alive for the faithful without the fear of contracting swine flu -- an electronic holy water dispenser.

Fetuses begin moving at around 7 weeks of pregnancy, but it's only after around 16 to 18 weeks that expectant mums start to feel any kicking or movement.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and other bank officials have been sued by shareholders in two lawsuits related to fraud allegations brought by the federal government.

A U.S. government watchdog will investigate the Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud lawsuit against Goldman Sachs Group Inc, the SEC's inspector general said on Friday, while two shareholders sued the bank over the fraud allegations.

G20 finance leaders said on Friday they had secured a better-than-expected global economic recovery but were wary of overconfidence as Greece's debt crisis put the focus on worsening public finances.

Income taxes withheld from paychecks earned by people who work in New York City rose 7.1 percent in the first quarter versus a year ago, indicating financial companies in the first quarter showed restraint in handing out cash bonuses, the city comptroller said on Friday.

Proposals to hit banks around the world with new taxes to help pay for bailouts split world finance leaders on Friday.

U.S. stocks rose to a 19-month high on Friday as Merck eased concerns about the impact of healthcare reform, saying its costs will be relatively low.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc sued Nomura Holdings Inc on Friday, saying the Japanese bank is not entitled to recover $760 million it claims, and instead owes it tens of millions of dollars.

Ford Motor Co will recall 33,256 of its 2010 model year cars and SUVs to replace potentially faulty front seat recliner mechanisms that could lead to injuries in an accident, according to a notice filed with U.S. safety regulators.

New orders for durable U.S. manufactured goods excluding transportation posted the largest gain in over two years in March while home sales hit an eight-month high, hinting at a pick-up in the pace of growth.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Crackberry is no joke.

The Army has canceled a joint Raytheon Co-Lockheed Martin Corp precision attack missile program 90 percent of the way through a six-year, $1 billion-plus development phase, Raytheon said Friday.

The U.S. Army has canceled a joint Raytheon Co-Lockheed Martin Corp precision attack missile program 90 percent of the way through a six-year, $1 billion-plus development phase, Raytheon said Friday.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc sued Nomura Holdings Inc on Friday, saying the Japanese bank is not entitled to recover the $720 million it claims, and instead owes it tens of millions of dollars.

A Goldman Sachs Inc director told hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam about Berkshire Hathaway's $5 billion investment in Goldman before the deal became public, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a person close to the situation.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday as news from Merck soothed worries about the corporate cost of healthcare reform and energy shares were boosted by higher oil prices.

The U.S. Treasury, signaling that its debt issuance has likely peaked, on Friday asked its primary bond dealers for advice on how best to reduce coupon sizes as the government's fiscal outlook improves.

Chinese consumer reaction to electric cars made by Volkswagen AG will determine the fate of the German group's plans to lead the industry in battery-powered vehicles, the group's CEO said on Friday.

A former senior official at Moody's Corp on Friday said he did not know hedge fund manager John Paulson was shorting a Goldman Sachs derivatives product when he was rating it.

Drug regulators are immediately investigating the flu vaccine used for children to check for its safety following the announcement by Australia's chief medical officer to halt immunization for children under five years of age.

Johnson Controls Inc raised its fiscal-year earnings forecast on Friday after posting a better-than-expected quarterly profit amid increased auto production.

According to sex experts, most men say they are up for it whenever but the art of seduction appears to have been diminished.

The season flu shots for children less than five years of age have been suspended in Tasmania, following the other states across the country, informed Tasmania health authorities.

The lawyer representing the family of a 27 year-old man who died after being sedated and restrained at the Townsville hospital last week, says they will be suing Queensland Health over the man's death

The Dow and S&P 500 edged higher on Friday, led by gains in energy and healthcare stocks.