IBT Staff Reporter

Tens of millions of Mexicans could find their cellphones disconnected this weekend if the government goes ahead with a new law meant to fight crime by forcing people to register their identities.

British election officials will for the first time use Facebook to encourage more people to register to vote on May 6 after turnout fell to historic lows in the last two ballots, a watchdog said on Friday.

A reevaluation has been called on mass vaccinations against influenza by a leading health expert.

Australia's Macarthur Coal postponed a shareholder vote on whether to take over a smaller rival, leaving the door open for major coal producers to bid for Macarthur, the world's top producer of a cleaner coal sought after by steelmakers.

A new study has discovered obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of preventable diseases in Western Australia.

Australian health officers said an anesthetist at a Melbourne clinic might have deliberately infected at least 12 women who had abortions there with Hepatitis C.

Airbus parent EADS is close to a decision on bidding for a deal worth up to $50 billion to supply air tankers to the United States backed by a U.S. supplier, sources close to the matter said on Friday.

U.S. stock index futures were higher on Friday, with shares of natural resource companies poised to outperform as the U.S. dollar retreated, sending crude oil and other commodities higher.

Greece continued to resist market pressure for it to seek emergency aid from the EU and IMF, as the country's manufacturing base contracted sharply in February despite growing signs of upturn in the global economy.

Greece is not at the point where it needs a financial bailout and is in no danger of defaulting, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said in an interview on Friday.

Major U.S. banks temporarily lowered their debt levels just before reporting in the past five quarters, making it appear their balance sheets were less risky, the Wall Street Journal said, citing data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed off a new smartphone operating system on Thursday that features an advertising platform to compete with Google's, and revealed stronger-than-expected sales of 450,000 units for the iPad.

U.S. private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Bain Capital are preparing for initial public offerings of Toys R Us and NXP SemiConductors , the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the deals.

Australian miner Macarthur Coal rejected a $3.5 billion bid from rival New Hope Corp , opting to press on with an earlier plan to take over a smaller coal firm and ally itself with commodity trader Noble Group .

Good morning dear traders, well, it was not overwhelming with yesterday´s trading day.

China might increase interest rates as early as this month, but Beijing will probably not resume yuan appreciation as soon as that, a senior government economist said on Friday.

U.S. newspaper publisher Tribune Co said on Thursday it has agreed with creditors on a plan that would help it exit bankruptcy protection later this year.

Asian stocks edged closer to a 22-month high on Friday, supported by strong U.S. retail sales data, while the yen retreated after rising the previous day on talk that China was close to allowing a modest rise in the yuan.

ZURICH - After the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, Switzerland's largest bank was teetering. UBS, which was more than three times bigger than Lehman in terms of assets, had to write down some $50 billion during that tumultuous period.

Federal Reserve officials again reiterated their commitment to low interest rates for an extended period on Thursday, given the fragile nature of the economic recovery, and suggested a reduction in the size of the central bank's balance sheet could take as long as two decades.

News Corp's New York Post and Wall Street Journal are offering discounted advertisement prices, the Financial Times wrote, citing people familiar with the plan.

Consolidation is no silver bullet for what ails the airline industry, but mergers are inevitable and the business would benefit from a smaller number of carriers, the chief executive of American Airlines parent AMR Corp said on Thursday.

Yahoo Inc's chief technology officer and head of products is stepping down, the company said on Thursday.

Near-death experiences like seeing a bright light at the end of a tunnel, feelings of peace and joy may occur because of high carbon dioxide levels in the blood, according to researchers writing BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care.

Corporate earnings should top forecasts again in the first quarter, but the extent of the stock market's rally means investors are expecting a lot from companies.

A man whose parents both had breast cancer and who developed the same worrisome symptoms as his dad was denied a mammogram at a local health clinic - because he's a man.

Yesterdays much anticipated Australian employment report had little impact on the currency with the 19.6k new jobs created during the month of March in line with the markets expectations.

Most of us will need glasses at some point in their lives and some of us may wonder whether glasses weaken our eyesight.

Chevron Corp said on Thursday its refining and marketing arm would return to profit in the first quarter as refining margins improved, while earnings from oil and gas production would continue to grow.