IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Friday as investors looked ahead to a raft of data, including economic growth, homes sales and manufacturing after a disappointing week so far for the economy.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told parliament on Friday, after a visit by EU economic inspectors, that the worst fears about Greece's economy had been confirmed.

Lloyds , Britain's largest retail bank, shrank its losses in 2009, despite a 24 billion pound ($37 billion) hit from loans that soured, mostly assets inherited from last year's takeover of rival HBOS.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rise 0.1 to 0.3 percent, pointing to a rise on Wall Street on Friday.

Lloyds , Britain's largest retail bank, shrank its losses in 2009, despite a 24 billion pounds ($37 billion) hit from loans that soured, mostly assets inherited from rival HBOS, which it bought last year.

Japan's narrowest measure of consumer inflation matched a record annual fall in January in a sign weak demand will prolong deflation and may prompt the Bank of Japan to expand its supply of funds to the market by mid-year.

Lloyds Banking Group , Britain's largest retail bank, posted a 6.3 billion pounds ($9.66 billion) loss in 2009, as the part-nationalised British bank lost 24 billion pounds on loans that soured, mostly from old HBOS assets.

World stocks rose on Friday, aided by upbeat economic data from Japan and expectations for solid corporate results, while two-year euro zone yields hit record lows as investors wary of the Greek debt crisis sought safety.

General Motors has approached previous potential bidders for its Hummer unit after a deal to sell the brand to an obscure Chinese firm collapsed.

Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda has ordered the creation of a temporary task force to improve internal and external communication.

Asian stocks rose on Friday as investors tried to shake off weak economic data in the United States and Europe, but lingering caution about riskier assets supported the safe-haven yen.

Shares of Palm dropped dramatically after it pre-announced its revenue on Thursday, but the company's failure to become a viable mobile player can be traced to its carrier partners.

Palm, the struggling mobile device maker, lowered its guidance for revenues on Thursday, citing slower than expected consumer adoption.

Palm Inc is already looking ahead to the marketing challenges it faces together with its carriers after revealing that consumers have not embraced its smartphones as much as anticipated.

Petra Diamonds will be putting up a 507-carat egg-sized diamond on sale this week, which it discovered at its Cullian mine in South Africa. The company is expecting the 100-gram diamond to sell for around $25 million. Originally, analysts had placed the diamond price at around $20 million, but the rising rough diamond prices and higher buyer interest cited for the stone, could raise the diamond's sale price.

The market crushed shares of Palm on Thursday after it said that sales of its new phones were missing expectations.

Thursday was not the only disappointing day for the stock. Throughout its history, Palm has disappointed investors.

Shares of Palm were crushed on Thursday after the company admitted that sales of its phones were not meeting expectations.

The euro languished near one-year lows against the yen on Friday, while commodities and Asian stocks struggled in tepid trade as worries about Greece and the health of the world economy took hold.

The search for actor Andrew Koenig ended Thursday when a group of his friends and relatives found his body in Stanley Park in Vancouver

A bipartisan agreement on financial regulation reform was close at hand on Thursday in the Senate, with lawmakers working to overcome a key obstacle -- creating a new financial consumer watchdog.

JPMorgan Chase & Co's chief executive said he is in no hurry to raise the bank's dividend due to an economy that he warned could still be threatened by a double dip scenario.

President Barack Obama, Democratic and Republican members of Congress, finishing a long day of discussions on health care reform, remain far apart on the need to extend coverage to millions of U.S. residents, primarily because of the costs involved.

General Motors Co is considering two offers for its Hummer brand after plans to sell it to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery failed

Celebrity real estate developer Donald Trump, optimistic about a casino comeback, took the stand in U.S. bankruptcy court on Thursday to fight for control of the three Atlantic City hotel-casinos bearing his name.

The nations most populous state is asking its 38 million residents to stop cussing beginning next Monday.

EU data protection authorities have urged U.S. Internet search giant Google to shorten the period it stores images from its controversial Street View web service because of privacy concerns.

The Federal Reserve expects the largest U.S. banks to make progress this year in overhauling their pay practices, while acknowledging that more dramatic changes may take longer to implement, a Fed official said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama made a last-ditch bid to save his stalled healthcare reform on Thursday, clashing frequently with Republican leaders at a bipartisan summit and moving no closer to a compromise.