IBT Staff Reporter

A Pakistani Taliban commander ordered his men to withdraw from Buner district on Friday, amid growing alarm in the United States over the Taliban creeping nearer to the capital of the nuclear-armed Muslim state.

Xerox Corp flipped to a profit in the first quarter, but the leading provider of digital printers and document management services forecast a second-quarter profit weaker than analysts' views and cut its full year earnings outlook nearly in half.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer 3M Co reported a 48 percent drop in quarterly profit and cut its full-year earnings forecast, citing falling demand and its customers' efforts to cut inventory.

Ford Motor Co posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss and said it was on track to at least break even in 2011 and did not expect to seek U.S. government loans, sending its shares up more than 22 percent.

The United States hopes to take the reins of international efforts to battle global warming next week with a meeting of major economies aimed at facilitating a U.N. pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S. and Russian negotiators held a productive initial round of talks in Rome aimed at securing a new treaty to curb nuclear weapons, they said on Friday, as part of a broader effort to improve relations.

A powerful German labor leader poured scorn on the idea of a bid from Fiat for struggling German car maker Opel, saying on Friday he favored an investor such as Canadian car-part maker Magna.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday after Ford Motor Co reported better-than-expected results as investors awaited data on manufacturing and housing.

Ford Motor Co posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss on Friday amid the auto sector downturn and said it was on track to at least break even in 2011 and did not expect to seek U.S. government loans.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday after Ford Motor Co reported better-than-expected results as investors awaited data on manufacturing and housing.

California on Thursday adopted a first-ever rule to slash carbon emissions in automotive fuels, and spur the market for cleaner gasoline alternatives, after a last-ditch appeal to ethanol advocates who fought the plan.

The global economic downturn has shown signs of easing in recent weeks, although significant risks remain, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said before a meeting of G20 officials in Washington on Friday.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average share index fell 0.1 percent, for the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.1 percent and for the S&P 500 index fell 0.2 percent, pointing to a mixed start on Wall Street.

U.S. regulators who are concluding stress tests on banks may remove Citigroup Inc chief executive Vikram Pandit, the New York Post reported, citing sources it did not identify further.

Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is expected to post a large first-quarter net loss amid the global economic downturn that has pressured results in the United States, Western Europe and other developed economies.

Samsung Electronics held off calling a recovery in its memory chip and flat panel businesses, though its mobile phone margins have overtaken those of market leader Nokia.

Wal-Mart Inc has agreed to revise a plan on a payroll cut involving 2,000 mid-level managers across its outlets in China after a trade union stepped in to mediate, state media reported on Friday.

World stocks and the euro rose on Friday after a bigger-than-expected rise in Germany's key corporate sentiment survey, while better earnings from several regional U.S. banks also boosted investor morale.

Samsung Electronics, the world's top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, reported a 72 percent drop in quarterly profit and said it was too early to call a recovery in demand or prices.

China revealed on Friday that it had quietly raised its gold reserves by three-quarters since 2003, increasing its holdings to 1,054 tons and confirming years of speculation it had been buying.

Morgan Stanley , which posted a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss this week, is eyeing changes to its biggest proprietary-trading desk, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Earnings disappointments drove Asian stocks lower on Friday, helping to snap the region's longest streak of weekly gains in 18 months, while gold shot to a three-week high above $910 an ounce after China revealed it now has the world's fifth-largest stock pile.

New orders for costly U.S. manufactured goods likely fell in March after climbing in February for the first time in seven months, underlining continuing weakness in the industrial sector, according to a Reuters poll.

Another lender to bankrupt U.S. cable TV operator Charter Communications has objected to the company's reorganization plan, saying Charter's attempt to reinstate $11.8 billion of debt may not be feasible.

Finance leaders meeting on Friday see some signs that recession-fighting efforts are finally starting to work, but patience is wearing thin over the slow progress in cleansing bank balance sheets.

Asian stocks edged up on Friday, as financials gained on hopes that credit fears have eased, although the yen drifted higher with investors cautious until more details emerge on the U.S. Treasury's bank stress tests.

Samsung Electronics , the world's top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, reported on Friday a 72 percent drop in quarterly net profit on weak chip prices, but the result vastly exceeded forecasts thanks to strong handsets.

Samsung Electronics , the world's top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, reported on Friday a much better-than-expected profit as strong sales of its mobile phones offset another weak quarter for chips and LCD screens.

Bank of America Corp CEO Kenneth Lewis was pressured by senior federal officials Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke to accept a merger with troubled Merrill Lynch & Co or lose his job, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.