IBT Staff Reporter

White House economic adviser Christina Romer on Friday said payrolls data was consistent with a trend of moderating job losses, but the unemployment rate would stay high for a while.

Global stocks edged higher and the U.S. dollar gained against the euro and yen on Friday after the pace of U.S. job losses slowed sharply in May, adding to growing sentiment that the economic slowdown may be turning.

Nearly one in four U.S. homes for sale on June 1 had their prices sliced at least once since landing on the market, data compiled by real estate website Trulia.com showed on Friday.

Many Internet and media companies that were busy buying start-ups in the boom years could shed assets they no longer deem central to their business, as the recession imposes an age of frugality.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday as investors fretted about government data that gave conflicting signals about the job market, tempering some of the recent optimism about economic stabilization.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has privately expressed concerns over new accounting rules that could force banks to move more assets onto their books, a person familiar with the Fed's thinking said on Friday.

Oil fell on Friday as traders took profits from a rally to a seven-month high over $70 a barrel after U.S. employment data showed a slower pace of job losses.

Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) Chief Executive Josef Ackermann said the global economic crisis was likely to persist and that a recovery depends on an improvement in the U.S. real estate market.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) kept its pandemic flu alert at the second highest level on Friday but said that future changes would reflect how severe an outbreak was as well as how widespread.

Delaying the start of alcohol drinking might curb subsequent rates of alcohol-related injuries.

Microsoft's Bing.com search engine surpassed Yahoo to become the number two search on Thursday, one spot behind Google.

U.S. regulators on Thursday listed two dozen drugs, including weight-loss medicines and sleep disorder pills, that it is at an early stage of reviewing for potential safety problems.

American International Group Inc has picked a group that includes private equity firms Onex Corp and Greenbriar Equity Group as the preferred bidder for its aircraft leasing unit, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Merck & Co Inc, in the latest disappointment for its roster of experimental drugs, said on Friday its high-profile drug meant to treat heart failure missed goals of a pivotal late-stage study.

Norilsk Nickel returned to profit in the first half of 2009 after its first ever loss last year, and the world's largest nickel miner is looking to acquire a core asset in Russia, its CEO said.

Citigroup Inc's relationship with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is frayed, sources told Reuters, and the regulator wants to replace Chief Executive Vikram Pandit, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Many Internet and media companies that were busy buying start-ups in the boom years could shed assets they no longer deem central to their business, as the recession imposes an age of frugality.

Yahoo is adding a number of third-party apps and widgets to several of its properties, including the popular Yahoo Mail and My Yahoo services in a bid to increase the appeal of its Website by opening it up to other applications.

Signs emerged on Friday that Canada's Magna could face challenges to its deal for GM's European unit Opel as Fiat SpA said it was still interested and Germany invited rival bidders to improve their offers.

The Dow industrials climbed on Friday after Wal-Mart unveiled plans for a stock buyback, while the broad market's gains were muted after government data showed employers cut sharply fewer jobs than expected in May and the jobless rate hit a 26-year high.

Lower-than-expected U.S. job losses in May are an encouraging sign, but the U.S. economy still has a long way to go before it is out of recession, Vice President Joe Biden said on Friday.

Utility firm Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced Friday it made a deal for 230 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power with a subsidiary of NextLight Renewable Power.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc – a U.S. auto retailer and franchiser - has reached a preliminary agreement to obtain the Saturn auto brand from bankrupt automaker General Motors Corp, the companies said Friday. Financial details were not disclosed.

Oil slipped back after touching a seven-month high over $70 per barrel on Friday as U.S. employment data showed a slower pace of job losses.

U.S. employers cut 345,000 jobs last month, the fewest since September and far less than forecast, according to a government report on Friday that was the most definitive evidence the economy's severe weakness was diminishing.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's announced a new $15 billion share repurchase plan on Friday and said market share gains it has made amid the recession are permanent as a new normal emerges in which consumers seek to save money.

General Motors Corp has reached a preliminary agreement to sell its Saturn brand to Penske Automotive Group in a deal that could preserve more than 350 dealerships and 13,000 jobs, the companies said on Friday.

A bomb blast killed around 40 worshippers attending Friday prayers at a mosque in a restive area of northwest Pakistan, a senior official in the area told Reuters.

The Dalai Lama on Friday made light of sharp criticism against the Dutch prime minister for declining to meet him during a three-day visit to the Netherlands, telling politicians it was of no concern to him.