IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday, as investors awaited key earnings reports from conglomerate General Electric and Bank of America .

No. 1 toy maker Mattel Inc reported a lower quarterly profit on Friday, as a weak economic environment pulled down sales of Barbie dolls and Fisher-Price toys.

Asian shares gave up early gains on Friday, with interest rate speculation pressuring assets in South Korea and China, while a bounce in the British pound continued to depress the yen and oil hit a one-year high above $78.

SAIC Motor Corp , China's biggest automaker, is in talks with its partner General Motors to explore new business opportunities that include India, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

The Obama administration scored its first financial regulation reform victory in months on Thursday when a U.S. congressional committee approved new rules for over-the-counter derivatives.

Japan Airlines Corp shares slid 12 percent to a record low on Friday as investors suggested bankruptcy may be an option for Asia's biggest airline by revenue, even as the government again pledged to support the troubled carrier.

U.S. President Barack Obama fired back on Thursday at critics who say he has few accomplishments of note in his nine months in office and declared he was just getting started.

A tentative plan to end Honduras' political crisis has not yet been agreed to by ousted President Manuel Zelaya and the country's de facto leader but a negotiator for the leftist toppled in a coup said on Thursday a deal looked closer.

Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros said on Thursday that the world's current currency arrangements are fraught with danger and that the world needs global regulation.

U.S. securities and futures regulators are considering a joint enforcement squad to investigate and root out fraud in the markets, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The U.S. economy is recovering but the upturn will be slow and it makes no sense to raise interest rates in this climate since inflation is not a risk, a top Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

Google Inc and IBM rounded out a strong week of technology results, outstripping already high expectations and providing further evidence that a recovery is brewing.

Software giant Oracle Corp is making a big bet on Web-based computer programs, a fast-growing segment of the tech sector that it has been slow to enter.

Bank of America Corp's departing chief executive, Kenneth Lewis, will receive no pay for 2009, but questions still linger about his $125 million retirement payout.

Heart disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety for different diseases affecting the heart. As of 2007, it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, killing one person every 34 seconds in the United States alone.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc opted to devote a smaller chunk of revenue to compensation in the latest quarter in what may be a sop to critics angry about a bonus bonanza so soon after the bank took billions in government funds.

Former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin, on trial for fraud and lying to investors early in the financial crisis, might have made strategic mistakes but he did not conspire with colleagues to commit a crime, his lawyer said on Thursday.

A Chinese man who formerly worked at Ford Motor Co has been arrested and charged with stealing trade secrets, including sensitive design documents, from the automaker, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

The Larimer County Sheriff announced that a 6-year-old boy reportedly to have climbed into a homemade balloon that took off and flew across Colorado on Thursday, has been found safe at home.

Cavalier's player LeBron James and teammates Darnell Jackson and Coby Karl tested positive for Infuenza A, the Associated Press reported today.

Google Inc's growth machine is back in gear.

Intraday support at 0.9030 held firm in local exchange yesterday with strong Chinese Trade data giving the Aussie another boost towards 91 cents.

The Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shan Mehmood Qureshi said Thursday the $7.5 billion U.S. aid bill is a sign of friendship and not a threat to the country's sovereignty.

Users of credit cards may wish to compare their current annual percentage rates to national averages for card categories tracked by CreditCards.com.

IBM raised its full-year outlook and reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as its growing focus on higher-margin software and services businesses helped it cope with weak technology spending.

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis will receive no pay or benefits for his last year of work at the company.

U.S. authorities charged 41 people in a suspected mortgage fraud scheme that cheated lenders out of more than $64 million on more than 100 New York state properties, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Falcon Heene may not have fallen from the balloon Thursday and could be somewhere on the ground, a spokeswoman for Larimer County Sherriff's Office said on Thursday.

A tentative plan to end Honduras' political crisis hung in the balance on Thursday as negotiators met again on whether President Manuel Zelaya, toppled in a June coup, should be returned to power.