IBT Staff Reporter

The U.S. unemployment rate soared to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since 1983, as employers slashed 663,000 jobs and cut workers' hours to the lowest on record, government data showed on Friday.

General Motors Corp.'s electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, will have a smart charging feature that will allow communication between the vehicle's battery charges and utility companies, GM said Thusday.

Business activity in European countries fell in March, but the pace slowed as efforts to revive economies took hold and pessimism ebbed after a plan by world leaders to kick start a global recovery.

Stocks faltered on Friday after data showed further deterioration in the labor market as the unemployment rate hit its highest since 1983, underscoring the severity of the recession.

Royal Bank of Scotland will cut more jobs, Chairman Philip Hampton warned on Friday as he called for an end to the public flogging of the state-rescued bank over its past mistakes.

Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion jumped more than 20 percent on Friday, a day after the company surprised investors with a strong profit report and a rosy outlook for its smartphones despite a grim economy.

The rumor mill has been working overtime on Friday over reports that major search engine; Google is in late stages to buyout micro-blogging phenomenon Twitter.

G20 leaders have kickstarted stalling world trade with a substantial infusion of funds to finance export credits, but promises to agree a new Doha trade deal and battle protectionism remain vague.

IBM cut its offer for Sun Microsystems Inc to $9.55 a share after a thorough vetting and may soon unveil details of its largest- ever takeover, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Oil slipped under $52 a barrel on Friday after surging by nearly 9 percent the day before, as global markets viewed the outcome of the G20 summit as paving the way for some risk appetite to return.

The Dow and S&P 500 stock indexes opened flat on Friday as data showed the labor market deteriorating further while the unemployment rate hit its highest since 1983, underscoring the severity of the recession.

U.S. banks that have received government aid, including Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co, are considering buying toxic assets to be sold by rivals under the Treasury's $1,000 billion plan to revive the financial system, the Financial Times said.

The Dow and S&P 500 stock indexes were set to open flat on Friday as data showed the labor market deteriorating further while the unemployment rate hit its highest since 1983, underscoring the severity of the recession.

The U.S. unemployment rate soared to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since 1983, as employers slashed 663,000 jobs and cut workers' hours to the lowest on record, government data showed on Friday.

Watch out scientists -- you may be replaced by a robot.

Google Inc may be in talks to buy internet start-up Twitter, the free micro-blogging service that allows people to send short text messages to a network of friends, the TechCrunch website said late Thursday.

Stock futures lost ground on Friday as a brief boost that followed the March non-farm payrolls report faded.

IBM cut its offer for Sun Microsystems Inc to $9.55 a share after a thorough vetting and may soon unveil details of its largest- ever takeover, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Stock futures added to gains on Friday after data showed employers continued to slash jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent, although the numbers were not as dire as some in the market had feared.

Oil slipped only slightly to near $52 a barrel on Friday, after surging by nearly 9 percent the day before, as global markets viewed the outcome of the G20 summit as paving the way for some risk appetite to return.

Sunny Italy expects to more than double its installed photovoltaic capacity used to turn sunlight into power to 900 megawatt (MW) by the end of 2009 on the back of government incentives, state-run agency GSE said on Friday.

More than 58 percent of U.S. home loans modified in 2008 did not result in a decreased monthly payment, and those modifications often did not produce sustainable mortgages, according to a report released on Friday.

Stock futures pointed to a higher open on Friday on growing hopes that data pointing to an easing of the deep recession will prove to be lasting, despite what could be another dismal U.S. jobs report.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday the United States would lead by example in combating climate change so that developing nations such as India and China would follow suit.

Royal Bank of Scotland will cut more jobs, Chairman Philip Hampton warned on Friday as he called for an end to public flogging of the state-rescued bank over its past mistakes.

The Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress on Thursday approved budget blueprints embracing President Barack Obama's agenda but leaving many hard choices until later and a government deeply in the red.

Research In Motion posted surprisingly strong quarterly earnings on Thursday and offered a rosy outlook that signaled further growth despite the global economic slowdown as consumers embrace its newest BlackBerry smartphones.

U.S. banks that have received government aid, including Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co, are considering buying toxic assets to be sold by rivals under the Treasury's $1,000 billion plan to revive the financial system, the Financial Times said.

Stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday, as investors were poised to book a portion of their recent hefty gains ahead of key U.S. monthly jobs data.