IBT Staff Reporter

U.N. Security Council members see no point withholding an IMF loan or taking other steps to punish Sri Lanka, the council's president said, as Colombo again rejected foreign calls for a ceasefire with rebels.

Turkish riot police fired water cannon and tear gas in clashes with May Day demonstrators in Istanbul on Friday.

Fortune Brands Inc expects the rest of the year to be easier than the first quarter as its cost cuts and marketing efforts start to bear fruit, the consumer products company said on Friday.

Taliban militants kidnapped 10 Pakistani paramilitaries in an attack on their headquarters on Friday as Islamic militants fought back against an army offensive in the troubled northwest.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will buy Citigroup's Japanese broker and key investment banking units for $5.9 billion and look to form a financial services powerhouse through an alliance with Daiwa Securities Group.

Thousands joined May Day demonstrations around France on Friday to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy's social policies and his handling of the financial crisis.

Fortune Brands Inc reported earnings in line with its recent forecast on Friday, saying the stability of its spirits business helped temper the impact of the challenging economy.

Mastercard Inc reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Friday as the world's second-largest credit card network slashed expenses and increased fees.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter plans to retire, giving President Barack Obama his first chance to make an appointment to the nation's highest court, a government official said.

Walt Disney Co will buy a 30 percent stake in Hulu.com, bringing popular TV shows such as Lost and Grey's Anatomy to the video website founded by NBC Universal and News Corp.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday on optimism the economic slump is waning, but a reassessment of the recent sharp market run-up could keep gains in check.

General Motors Corp will talk to the Korea Development Bank about selling a stake in GM Daewoo, if that would help its South Korean carmaking unit in the long term, Nick Reilly, President GM Asia Pacific, said on Friday.

Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy on Thursday and announced an industry-changing deal with Fiat, after being pummeled by sliding auto sales and unable to reach agreement on restructuring its debt.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday on optimism the economic slump is waning, but a reassessment of the recent sharp market run-up could keep gains in check.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest bank, warned on Friday that it now expects to have slid to an annual net loss of $2.7 billion, hit by losses on its stock holdings.

Mexico started a five-day shutdown of most offices and businesses on Friday to try to halt the spread of a deadly flu strain, and officials said they were encouraged by signs the number of new cases was dropping.

Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) mechanics and engineers are working round the clock to make sure the new 787 Dreamliner, already two years behind schedule, makes its first test flight before the end of June.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes are up 0.3-0.4 percent, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group , Japan's third-largest bank, will buy Citigroup's Japanese brokerage and key investment banking units for $5.9 billion in a deal likely to reshape Tokyo finance and create a banking powerhouse.

Italian automaker Fiat SpA's next project is a deal with Germany's Opel after a landmark alliance with U.S. car maker Chrysler, Fiat's chief executive said in an interview published on Friday.

Global markets were flat on Friday in subdued holiday weekend trading after growing hopes of a global economic recovery propelled shares over 11 percent in the previous month.

Removes reference to Bund futures in last paragraph as market closed for public holiday

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said it would buy Citigroup's Japanese brokerage and key investment banking businesses for at least $5.6 billion in a deal that will reshape Tokyo's finance sector and create a banking powerhouse.

Citigroup Inc executives are using the sale of its Japanese retail brokerage Nikko Cordial to ease demands from the U.S. stress tests on banks, arguing the sale of non-core assets such as Nikko would strengthen its balance sheet, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the matter.

U.S. automaker Chrysler has filed for bankruptcy and entered an industry-changing deal with Italy's Fiat , in the latest big government intervention in the economy to try to deal with the global crisis.

Japanese stocks struck a four-month closing high on Friday and higher-yielding currencies held gains as investors favored riskier assets, with improvements in Chinese manufacturing and South Korean exports adding to evidence of a global economy on the mend.

Electronic health records need a nudge from the government if the technology is to become widespread, the nation's new health information technology czar said on Thursday.

Hartford Financial Group posted its third straight net loss and said it plans to stop selling new policies in Japan and the United Kingdom, as the insurer reeled from the same weak financial markets that triggered a net loss at MetLife Inc .

McAfee Inc , the No. 2 security software maker, reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by new software modules and partnerships with PC vendors.