IBT Staff Reporter

Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp has made major progress in talks with anti-trust regulators on its planned takeover of Sanyo Electric Co Ltd, and is considering launching a tender offer for the smaller rival as early as next month, Kyodo news agency said.

China Unicom, one of China's top three mobile carriers, may be close to a deal that would see it become the exclusive seller of Apple's iPhones in China for two years, a Merrill Lynch analyst said.

Swiss-based Glencore's bumpy ride in credit markets may trigger it to raise equity, but a possible public listing is years away, bankers familiar with the commodity trader's thinking said.

As Glencore contemplates a leap into the great unknown of public ownership, it can take comfort from at least one notable peer that has thrived in the listed spotlight -- Asian trading house Noble Group.

Miner BHP Billiton will push for more acquisitions after sealing an iron ore venture with Rio Tinto, while funds from the deal and a linked rights issue could prompt Rio to dip its toes back into M&A.

Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in federal court in Virginia on Friday to answer allegations he orchestrated a massive fraud through his Antigua bank that bilked investors out of billions of dollars.

Following Wednesday's rollout of the iPhone OS 3.0 software update, Apple says they have fixed 46 security holes.

Stocks rose on Friday as a recent spate of improving economic data beckoned investors back into equity markets for a second day, but analysts warned sentiment remained fragile.

Oil firmed toward $72 a barrel on Friday, gaining for a third day, supported by views on equity markets that the economy may be stabilizing and due to geopolitical concerns over key oil producers Iran and Nigeria.

A distressingly slow U.S. housing recovery, with inflation-adjusted home values expected to decline over the next five years, makes it unlikely that housing wealth will drive consumer spending in the next decade, a Reuters/University of Michigan survey found.

Earlier this month China's car sales had surged on the back of generous government incentives and indeed has now passed the U.S. as the largest car market in the world.

Oil slipped below $71 a barrel on Thursday in volatile trade as investors weighed signs of slightly better demand against concerns over the fragility of any economic recovery.

Now if you are going to do stimulus, China shows us how to do it! As car sales jumped 47% year over year in May, the profits at auto makers fell 28%, and revenue dropped 11% for the first 4 months of the year

E*Trade priced a stock and debt exchange offers on Friday as it seeks to raise about $1.4 billion to boost its equity capital.

China's Internet watchdog on Friday ordered Google to stop overseas websites with pornographic and vulgar content from being accessed through its Chinese-language search engine.

Eight percent of all consumers in Britain, France, Germany and the United States admit to downloading video illegally from the Internet, according to a survey, showing the scale of the ongoing fight against piracy.

Hormel Foods Corp. and Herdez Del Fuerte S.A. de C.V. are expanding their relationship, announcing Friday they will form a 50/50 joint venture to market Mexican foods in the U.S.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday as a recent spate of improving economic data beckoned investors back into equity markets for a second day.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday as a recent spate of improving economic data beckoned investors back into equity markets for a second day.

Former Merrill Lynch executive Winthrop Smith on Friday denied approaching Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis with two other former Merrill executives to discuss buying back all or part of the bank.

The latest iPhone hit stores on Friday with new features and faster speeds, drawing some fans but not the crowds that had swarmed Apple and AT&T stores at previous iPhone launches.

Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in federal court in Virginia on Friday to answer allegations he orchestrated a massive fraud through his Antigua bank that bilked investors out of millions of dollars.

Britain said on Friday it was too early to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe despite the creation of a new unity government in its former colony.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday as a recent spate of improving economic data beckoned investors back into equity markets for a second day.

European Union leaders will agree more steps on Friday to avert a repeat of the banking crisis that has sapped the world economy and the IMF said 2010 might deliver stronger growth than earlier forecast.

R. Allen Stanford was arrested Thursday in Virginia by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, his lawyer said, according to reports.

Australian's conservative opposition called on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to resign on Friday over accusations he misled parliament and sought special government treatment for a car-dealer friend.

Vietnam has detained four people who local news reports said colluded with prominent lawyer Le Cong Dinh, arrested last weekend on charges of spreading propaganda against the state.

Japan on Friday passed a law bolstering its anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, despite criticism from the opposition that the move further erodes the country's pacifist constitution.