IBT Staff Reporter

As the U.S. economy winds through housing troubles and turmoil in credit markets, the picture emerging from data measuring the health of the job market is clouded. Firms are showing a reluctance to lay off workers at the same time they are apprehensive about hiring new ones, creating a puzzling picture, economists say. Usually, low layoffs coincide with robust hiring.

Former French finance minister, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is expected to be named on Friday as the next head of the International Monetary Fund, continuing a six-decade tradition in which a European leads the world body.

Network equipment maker 3Com Corp said on Friday it will be bought by private equity firm Bain Capital Partners for $2.2 billion in a deal that will also give China's Huawei a minority stake.

The Justice Department will announce a $515 million fraud settlement with a major U.S. pharmaceutical company later on Friday, a spokeswoman for the department said.

Recession talk is heating up as the slumping housing market threatens to shackle free-spending consumers, yet stocks remain near record highs, indicating that many investors see little cause for alarm.

China welcomed more overseas investment to develop the country's hi-tech industry, a senior official said on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Times may launch a free, tabloid-sized daily newspaper, Times Publisher David Hiller said on Thursday.Hiller, speaking at a luncheon in Los Angeles, said the new paper would be similar to Redeye, a paper published and distributed for free at commuter stations by the Chicago Tribune.

U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday called for a "strong and transparent" way for nations to measure progress on fighting climate change but said each country should set its own approach. In a speech to a U.S.-sponsored conference of major emitting countries, Bush also called for the creation of a global fund to promote clean technology.

Oil rose above $83 a barrel on Friday and closed in on an all-time high as fund buying, spurred by a weak dollar, provided support.

Stocks dipped on Friday as money managers locked in profits on the last trading day of a strong September, while concerns surfaced about the strength of profits during a turbulent third quarter. Shares of technology, energy and material companies fell as investors took profits on the best-performing sectors for September, traditionally one of the weakest months for stocks.

The Motion Picture Assn. of America has filed suit against two Web sites that it claims are allowing Internet users to view pirated films, many of which are still in theaters.

Merrill Lynch has built a 5.1 percent voting stake in Munich Re, making it one of the two largest shareholders in the German reinsurer.

German lender IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, whose near failure amid the subprime mortgage crisis sent shockwaves through Europe's financial sector, reiterated its full-year loss could reach almost $1 billion.

Shares of Italy's biggest insurer Generali fell on Friday after its updated business plan failed to shore up the already highly valued stock.

Stricken British mortgage lender Northern Rock may have borrowed a further 5 billion pounds ($10.1 billion) from the Bank of England in the past week, an economist said after analyzing Bank of England data.

A consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland could lower the level of acceptances needed to buy Dutch bank ABN AMRO to a simple majority, it said on Friday.

The chief executive of investment bank Carnegie resigned on Friday after regulators called for sweeping management changes following a trading scandal and fined the bank 50 million Swedish crowns ($7.7 million).

Shares in British reinsurance broker Benfield rose up to 13 percent on Friday after a report it had received an unsuccessful 700 million pound ($1.42 billion) bid approach from Goldman Sachs revived takeover speculation.

Digital camera and office equipment maker Canon Inc said on Friday it may buy back more of its own shares, adding to the $3.9 billion worth already repurchased so far this year, sending its shares higher.

State-controlled Telekom Malaysia Bhd said on Friday it would split off and list its high-growth mobile business, separating it from the slower-growing fixed line and broadband businesses.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart said on Friday that market turmoil could hit the U.S. economy and a moderation in inflation gave the Fed room to cut interest rates last week.

South Korea's Daewoo International Corp, which leads a multi-billion dollar energy project in Myanmar, will not alter its investments there following a violent government crackdown on protests, the company said on Friday.

Citigroup and Merrill Lynch have bought 5 percent stakes in India's top commodities exchange, valuing it at up to $1.1 billion, or more than the Bombay Stock Exchange which sold stakes earlier this year.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday its improved FCHV zero-emission fuel-cell car completed a road test from Osaka to Tokyo, covering 560 km (350 miles), on a single tank of hydrogen.

Prices for luxury goods rose twice as fast as consumer prices this year, a study showed, showing the jet set needs even more to fund its lavish lifestyle.

When it comes to what pays on U.S. television, talk doesn't come cheap when ranking the highest paid TV stars.

IRobot Corp, a maker of vacuums and bomb defusers, said on Thursday it has developed a device for cleaning gutters on homes and a Web-controlled robot with a video phone.

European and U.S. antitrust regulators tried to calm a transatlantic storm on Thursday over a European Court ruling that Microsoft used monopoly power to muscle rivals, but did not back down over policy differences.

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it plans to keep selling its Windows XP operating system until the end of June 2008, delaying a scheduled transition to its newer Windows Vista software by five months.