IBT Staff Reporter

Most Asian stocks gave up early gains on Friday as weak U.S. retail sales and a rise in jobless claims made investors wary about the strength of its economic recovery, offsetting better-than-expected earnings from technology bellwether Intel.

Following government bailouts, layoffs, and bankruptcies, the auto industry is hoping to forget its near collapse last year, starting 2010 with a slew of new vehicles, value, and technology.

The United States has backed Google's decision to no longer support China's censoring of Internet searches and said the issue was of considerable economic importance as well as involving free information flow.

Total pay at U.S. banks and securities companies jumped nearly 18 percent to a record $145 billion in 2009, the Wall Street Journal estimated in an analysis published in its online edition on Thursday.

Sales of video game equipment and software in the United States rose 4 percent in December to a record $5.5 billion, research group NPD said on Thursday, as the industry closed out a difficult year on an upbeat note.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday the bailout of insurer American International Group was not meant to help out bank counterparties and that he had no role in the decision not to disclose payments made to banks.

The two core units of Japan Airlines Corp in charge of operating flights and procuring funds will file for bankruptcy protection along their parent, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.

The U.S. unemployment rate, currently at 10 percent, is unlikely to drop below 8 percent before 2012 unless Congress takes further steps to boost the economy in the short term, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday.

Microsoft Corp has no plans to pull out of China, its chief executive said on Thursday, playing down concerns about recent cyber-attacks and censorship raised by rival Google Inc.

Intel Corp's fourth-quarter results roared past Wall Street forecasts and it gave a bullish margin outlook on higher prices and firm demand for server chips, reinforcing hopes for a strong recovery in technology.

No sooner does Washington propose a new tax than an army of experts tries to figure out ways to avoid it.

Recent sophisticated cyber attacks on Google Inc and other businesses exploited a previously unknown flaw in Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer browser.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's balance sheet rose to a record level in the latest week, boosted by its ongoing efforts to support the mortgage market, Fed data released on Thursday showed.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is set to report earnings tomorrow at 7:00 a.m., New York time. Analysts are expecting earnings of $0.61 per share, according to data compile by FactSet.

Greece launched an ambitious three-year plan to slash its huge budget deficit on Thursday but failed to convince financial markets it can deliver on the cuts and put a swift end to its fiscal crisis.

Aid organizations responding to the disaster in Haiti recommend cash donations rather than material donations because it will allow relief professionals to procure exactly what is needed, Inter Action, a group of international non-governmental organizations stated.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will testify about insurer AIG's payments to banks after its 2008 bailout, a congressional panel said on Thursday, as another committee weighed into the matter.

U.S. regulators admitted to failing to head off the 2008 financial crisis as they appeared before a panel whose chairman said he plans to seek testimony from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

U.S. law-enforcement agencies and charity watchdogs have warned that con artists may use Haiti-relief scams to take advantage of an outpouring of generosity after the Haitian earthquake to steal cash and sensitive financial information from potential donors.

The Australian Dollar opens higher today at 0.9310 and is consolidating upon its recent gains versus the greenback.

European carbon emissions futures rose to a one-month high on Thursday, as investors bought up permits as prices broke a key resistance level.

Intel Corp's fourth-quarter revenue and margin outlook handily beat Wall Street's expectations, helped by better pricing and demand for server chips, underscoring hopes for a 2010 tech sector recovery and sending the stock rising.

Technology shares drove Wall Street higher on Thursday on bets ahead of Intel's quarterly results that business spending will bolster profits in the sector.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.24% on Thursday to close at 1,148.46 points while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.28%, to end at 10,710.55.

President Barack Obama on Thursday proposed Wall Street banks pay up to $117 billion to reimburse taxpayers for the financial bailout, as he slammed bankers for their massive profits and obscene bonuses.

Google Inc's potential departure from China may not prompt others to follow suit, but its high-profile declaration could help shine a light on the business environment in the world's third-largest economy.

The head of a top U.S. financial regulator said the recent financial crisis was due to a failure of market discipline and regulation.

U.S. consumers unexpectedly curbed their Christmas spending in December and more people filed claims for jobless benefits last week, casting fresh doubts on the durability of the economic recovery once government support fades.

Technology shares lifted Wall Street on Thursday as investors bet business spending will bolster profits in the sector.