IBT Staff Reporter

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp said on Friday it has formally signed a contract for a previously announced tie-up with France's Peugeot-Citroen in electric vehicles.

Germany raised the pressure on General Motors on Friday to choose a buyer for its Opel unit, with Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg telling the U.S. carmaker he expected a

Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher on Thursday said the United States should have a good snap-back from recession in the final months of 2009, but that future growth could be a slow crawl.

Mortgage woes dominate the business page headlines of both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal today.

Italy's antitrust agency said on Friday it was broadening its investigation into allegations that Google's Italian news website coerced Italian newspapers into posting their stories to include U.S. parent Google Inc. The competition authority launched the probe this week after the Italian Federation of Newspaper Editors alleged that any publication refusing to appear on the Google News Italia (h...

Bloated inventories and the risk of a price slide will trouble OPEC ministers when they meet in Vienna next week, but oil at close to $70 a barrel is expected to convince the group to hold output steady for now.

Stock index futures rose on Friday ahead of a report expected to show the smallest number of job losses so far this year in August as the economy advances out of a recession.

H&R Block Inc , the largest U.S. tax preparer, reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by a larger loss in tax services, and reaffirmed its earnings view for the full year.

Bloated inventories and the risk of a price slide will trouble OPEC ministers when they meet in Vienna next week, but oil at close to $70 a barrel is expected to convince the group to hold output steady for now.

The G20 will promise this weekend to keep economic support packages in place until recovery is certain and seek to reassure financial markets they have credible plans to withdraw the stimulus when appropriate.

Gold steadied near $990 an ounce on Friday, consolidating a potent two-day rally that took the market to within a whisker of $1,000, with inflation concerns and jitters over stock market gains stoking investor interest.

Banco Santander SA, the Brazilian unit of Spain's Santander , filed on Thursday for an initial public offering in Brazil and the United States, in what could become one of the largest IPOs of the year.

The G20 will promise this weekend to keep economic support packages in place until recovery is certain and seek to reassure financial markets they have credible plans to withdraw the stimulus when appropriate.

NATO forces in Afghanistan were investigating on Friday whether civilians were among scores of people burned to death when they carried out an air strike against two hijacked fuel tankers.

Japan's Toshiba Corp plans to bid for French nuclear group Areva's power transmission and distribution unit, four sources with direct knowledge of the situation said, in a deal that could top $5 billion.

Key trade ministers agreed on Friday to relaunch the World Trade Organization's Doha talks with intensified negotiations later this month, India's Commerce Minister, Anand Sharma, said on Friday.

The United States said on Thursday it would cut more than $30 million in aid to Honduras in an effort to pressure the de facto government to step down and allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to power.

G20 policymakers will this weekend promise to keep economic support packages in place until recovery is certain and seek to reassure financial markets they have credible plans to withdraw the stimulus when appropriate.

Stock index futures rose on Friday ahead of a report expected to show the smallest number of job losses so far this year in August as the economy struggles out of recession.

Gold steadied below $990 an ounce on Friday, consolidating a potent two-day rally that took the market to within a whisker of $1,000, with inflation concerns and jitters over stock market gains stoking investor interest.

World equities climbed higher on Friday, although investors were cautious about U.S. jobs data due later in the day, while the dollar slipped against a basket of major currencies.

An eight-year legal battle between fast food giant McDonald's and a Malaysian restaurant called McCurry over copyright infringement is set to continue on Monday in the country's highest court.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday, ahead of eagerly-awaited monthly U.S. jobs data and unemployment rate.

Google, fighting to gain ground on China's Baidu's dominant search lead in the country, confirmed the departure of its China president on Friday and said its regional sales head would take over Lee Kai-Fu's business and operational responsibilities.

Asian stock markets mostly edged higher on Friday, underpinned by encouraging U.S. retail sales but cautious ahead of a U.S. payrolls report, while the Aussie dollar was supported by a spike in gold prices.

Gold hovered a hair below $1,000 an ounce on Friday, consolidating the biggest two-day gain since March after a mix of inflation anxiety, a retreat from risk assets and a technical break stoked renewed investor interest.

Japan's Toshiba Corp plans to bid for French nuclear group Areva's power distribution and transmission equipment unit, four sources with direct knowledge of the situation said, in a deal that could cost it more than $5 billion.

AMR Corp's American Airlines faces an increasing dispute with Federal Aviation Administration regulators over allegedly improper repairs to at least 16 aircraft, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Japan's Toshiba Corp plans to bid for French nuclear group Areva's power distribution and transmission equipment unit in a deal that could cost it more than 500 billion yen ($5.4 billion), industry sources said.