IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks edged higher on Friday as rising energy shares overshadowed profit taking that followed the market's strong gains in March and April.

As of May 5th, PC users will be able to download and get free access for an entire year of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 7.

Bankrupt automaker Chrysler LLC idled its manufacturing plants on Friday and said its survival depends on quick court approval of its restructuring plan and the subsequent restarting of its operations.

Once an icon of American automotive might, Chrysler has reached a new low in its rocky eight-decade history by filing for bankruptcy and cutting its business to a shadow of its former size.

Chrysler LLC heads to U.S. bankruptcy court Friday morning to obtain permission to continue paying employees and meeting customer and dealer obligations against a backdrop of mounting opposition from certain of its lenders.

The U.S. factory sector shrank further in April but at a slower pace, suggesting some stabilization in the battered sector and the broader economy, according to an industry report released on Friday.

As the world grapples with the worst economic downturn in decades and the possibility of a flu pandemic, a growing body of research suggests the complexity of the modern global economy may make us more vulnerable than ever to catastrophe.

Aon Corp , the world's largest insurance broker, said on Friday that first-quarter profit rose 28 percent, as cost savings from a restructuring helped overcome a slippage in revenue caused by currency fluctuations and lower investment income.

Oil prices rose to a three-week high on Friday, drawing support from improved U.S. consumer confidence and further evidence of record levels of compliance by OPEC with its agreed output cuts.

MasterCard Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Friday but said revenue growth this year will fall short of its targets, sending its shares down 6 percent in morning trading.

Stocks slid on Friday as data that showed the manufacturing sector contracted overshadowed a stronger-than-expected reading on consumer confidence.

Continental Airlines Inc said on Friday it had temporarily reduced service to Mexico, citing lower demand as a deadly strain of flu spreads.

Supreme Court Justice David Souter told the White House of his plans to retire in June, a source familiar with his plans said Thursday night, leaving the position open for President Obama to appoint his first Supreme Court justice.

Wall Street pared losses on Friday after a survey showed consumers felt more confident about the economy last month than at any time since the September failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc .

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate are demanding the Obama administration provide scientific and legal evidence to support its decision not to store nuclear waste at the long-planned Yucca Mountain depository in Nevada.

A U.S. government staffer who visited Mexico City with President Barack Obama this month came down with flu-like symptoms that spread to family members, who have since recovered, the White House said Thursday.

Wall Street was poised for a flat open on Friday as a reassessment of the recent sharp market run-up could keep gains in check despite hopes the economic slowdown is moderating.

MasterCard Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Friday but said revenue growth this year will fall short of its goals, sending its shares down 4.6 percent in premarket trade. The world's second-largest credit card network said lower expenses and increased fees helped first-quarter results.

Tokyo Electric Power Co spent $358 million in the past two years on carbon credits, Japan's biggest utility said on Thursday, as it tried to achieve a self-imposed target to help Japan to fight global warming.

The White House has finished a review of a rule that aims to cut emissions from alternative motor fuels like ethanol, federal environmental regulators said on Thursday.

Oil prices rose on Friday, bouncing from losses earlier in the day, on support from equity markets and as traders sifted through evidence for hints of economic recovery.

The main leader of Thailand's yellow shirt protest movement has blamed senior military officers and political enemies for the failed attempt on his life three weeks ago.

Continental Airlines Inc said on Friday that it had made temporary cuts to its seat capacity to Mexico, citing lower demand as a new strain of flu spreads.

May Day protesters clashed with riot police in Germany, Turkey and Greece on Friday while thousands angry at the government's responses to the global financial crisis took to the streets in France.

Israeli aircraft destroyed four smuggling tunnels under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Friday in the first air strike in almost two months, local residents and the Israeli military said.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Thursday derided U.S. steps toward improving relations with the communist island, saying the United States wants Cuba to act like a slave willing to accept again the whip and the yoke.

Staying inside to avoid the flu? Or perhaps you are not convinced yet that a pandemic would be scary. Either way, the U.S. National Archives has a solution.

Indonesia's top graft-buster was named a suspect and a mastermind in a murder case on Friday by the attorney-general's office, dealing a blow to the agency and possibly to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election chances.

Chevron Corp reported a 64 percent decline in quarterly profit on Friday as the second-largest U.S. oil company felt the impact of a sharp drop in oil and gas prices in the past year.