IBT Staff Reporter

Asian stock markets skidded on Friday and commodity prices fell across the board after U.S. President Barack Obama proposed new restrictions on banks that spurred selling of risky assets.

Chinese media on Friday dismissed Washington's call to lift Internet censorship, but in a sign of the case's sensitivity the critical Chinese reports were then cut from websites.

Morgan Stanley has launched a new global initiative to raise capital for hedge fund clients in return for a fee, a company spokesman said.

American Express Co and Capital One Financial Corp both reported better than forecast fourth quarter earnings, but expressed concern about the growth outlook for credit cards.

Performance of students in programs that try to equip each child and teacher with a laptop are outperforming their peers in traditional classrooms, according to a new study.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc reported better-than-expected revenue on strong holiday spending but its shares slid more than 4 percent as investors cashed in recent gains.

Will India have a gold exchange soon? It looks so, if a recommendation from an apex bullion body in India is any indication. A FICCI-Technopak Knowledge Report called Unlocking the Potential of India's Gems & Jewellery Sector has called for setting up of a gold exchange in the country to drive the gold industry in India.

Facebook Inc. has confirmed on Thursday it will build a 147,000-square-foot data center in Prineville, Oregon.

Google Inc was among the first technology companies to shake off the recession last year, but the Internet giant's fourth-quarter report could not satisfy investors' increasing demand for stronger growth.

Brazil will propose the creation of a joint fund with China, India and South Africa to help poor countries adapt to global warming as part of a broader attempt to revive stalled global climate talks.

Google said that it was quite committed to staying in China on Thursday, giving the first indication that it would like to repair ties after threatening to leave the country last week.

After the Nasdaq composite index closed down 1.12 percent to trade at 2,265.7 and the S&P 500 index fell 2.01 percent to close at 1,116.48, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and several lesser known tech and financial companies reported earnings.

Air America Media said on Thursday that it stopped broadcasting and will file for bankruptcy after a drop in advertising sales.

President Barack Obama threatened to fight Wall Street banks on Thursday with new proposals to limit financial risk taking, sending stocks and the dollar tumbling.

Cablevision Systems Corp and Scripps Networks Interactive Inc said on Thursday they reached a fee agreement paving the way for Food Network and HGTV channels to return to Cablevision, beginning that day.

American Express Co posted much higher fourth quarter earnings, beating forecasts, helped by rising consumer spending and lower credit losses.

Three big Midwestern banks posted better-than-expected results on Thursday, signaling the credit picture may be improving for banks in one of the U.S. regions hardest hit by the extended recession.

Toyota announced on Thursday to recall its 2.3 million vehicles in the United States to fix problems with accelerator pedals.

Motorola Inc is letting consumers in China use Baidu Inc or other rivals as default Web search services instead of Google Inc, on phones using Google's Android operating system.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp , the No. 2 U.S. railroad, posted stronger-than-expected earnings on Thursday, lifted by improving volumes, and the company said it expected the freight recovery to continue in 2010.

Airbus and seven European NATO nations adjourned crucial talks over the troubled A400M military transporter plane until Friday and a source close to the talks said they remained far apart on a possible rescue package.

American Express Co posted much higher fourth quarter profit, helped by rising consumer spending and lower credit losses.

Coca-Cola Co is considering buying a controlling stake in Russian juice maker Nidan Soki from London-based private equity group Lion Capital, sources familiar with the deal participants said on Thursday.

Big banks have begun to find ways to cope with Obama's new regulations proposed on Thursday to reduce proprietary trading at financial firms.

Israel and the Palestinians belittled each other's commitment to peace as U.S. President Barack Obama admitted on Thursday he had underrated the difficulty of reviving deadlocked Middle East negotiations.

Most Americans want the jobs and clean energy that Democratic-backed climate-change legislation could help bring but its backers are presenting the wrong messages, according to a prominent U.S. pollster.

Stocks suffered their worst one-day percentage drop since October on Thursday as U.S. President Barack Obama proposed tough restrictions on banks that would squeeze profits.

Shares of Blockbuster Inc fell sharply on Thursday, a day after the U.S. video rental chain said it had a weaker-than-expected holiday season, fueling concerns about its viability.

Google Inc. announced on Thursday its fourth-quarter net income of $1.97 billion, or $6.13 a share, compared to $382 million, or $1.21 a share in the same period last year.