IBT Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Gordon Brown reassured farmers on Friday that an outbreak of foot and mouth was restricted to a limited area of Britain and promised swift compensation for those hit by the livestock disease.

The Bush administration said on Friday it would increase scrutiny and impose heftier fines on U.S. businesses that employ illegal immigrants as it sought to step up enforcement despite Congress's failure to reform immigration laws.

News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch has said he might make the Wall Street Journal's Web site free, a shift that could compel Britain's Pearson to do the same with the online version of its Financial Times.

Central banks around the globe pumped billions of dollars into banking systems on Friday in a concerted effort to beat back a widening credit crisis, and pledged to do more if needed. n all, central banks in Europe, Asia and North America have pumped out more than $300 billion over 48 hours in an effort to keep money flowing through the arteries of the global financial system, hoping to prevent a credit market seizure that could imperil economies.

After a wave of initial public offerings in recent years, the total market value of stocks listed on two major Chinese stock exchanges surpassed the country’s GDP for the first time on Thursday.

NBC Universal and News Corp have reached a preliminary deal with a private-equity firm to sell a stake in their online joint venture for $100 million, a source close to the deal said on Friday.

Shares of graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. plunged nearly 7 percent on Friday afternoon, after company comments late Thursday that it could face supply constraints outshined a better-than-expected quarterly report.

British billionaire Richard Branson declined to rule out a stock market listing for Virgin Atlantic in the event that his Virgin Group bought out its Singapore partner in the airline.

Tighter credit, broad deterioration in the housing market and skittish consumer spending will lead to a slower U.S. economy than earlier estimated, according to the most closely watched forecast by U.S. economists.

U.S. retail sales excluding cars rose a modest 0.2 percent in July, as declining gasoline prices reined in overall sales growth, according to data from SpendingPulse released on Friday.

U.S. consumers generally expect the labor market to stay healthy, with only a third anticipating a rise in the unemployment rate in the coming year, according to a survey released on Friday.

A gauge of future U.S. economic growth fell in the latest week on lower stock prices and higher interest rates, and the measure's growth rate was down almost 1 percent, a research group said on Friday.

Sunrise Senior Living, a senior living chain exploring a possible sale, on Friday posted disappointing revenue under management, sending shares down 4 percent.

Reliant Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed with U.S. regulators on Friday to raise up to $400 million in an initial public offering of common stock.

Sweden's financial regulator said on Friday it had requested information from Borse Dubai regarding its move this week to acquire shares in OMX and was considering whether a statement from the state-run firm may already represent an offer to buy all of OMX.

The U.S. Federal Reserve provided the banking system with $38 billion on Friday, the largest amount of liquidity since the days after the September 11 attacks six years ago, adding ample funds for the second day running as financial markets fretted over credit conditions.

Microsoft said Thursday that its highly anticipated Halo 3 video game broke industry records, recording more than 1 million preorders.

Plasma display makers will likely see their revenue decline beginning in 2009 as they face increased pressure from rival liquid crystal display manufacturers (LCD).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved expanded use of Pfizer Inc's blockbuster cholesterol-lowering medicine Lipitor by five new categories, including one to reduce the risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes, the company said on Wednesday.

British billionaire Richard Branson declined to rule out a stock market listing for Virgin Atlantic in the event that his Virgin Group bought out its Singapore partner in the airline.

U.S. regulators are scrutinizing the books of some top Wall Street brokers and investment banks for subprime-mortgage losses, according to a report in the online version of the Wall Street Journal.

Nikko Cordial Corp., the Japanese unit of Citigroup, said it was not looking to sell its merchant banking arm, denying a report that it was in talks with Japan's Norinchukin Bank about a potential $3.4 billion deal.

European stocks extended their losses on Friday, losing more than 2 percent as a deepening concern surrounding the U.S. subprime mortgage market continued to hit stocks worldwide and pushed U.S. futures in the red.

The yen firmed broadly on Friday as continued turbulence in global financial markets caused investors to shun risk, cutting their exposure to carry trades.

Oil prices slipped below $71 on Friday, as worries over threats to economic growth from a deepening credit squeeze in global financial markets outweighed forecasts for robust oil demand.

Shares in Dutch bank ABN AMRO fell as much as 11 pct on Friday as analysts cited a report that Fortis may find it difficult to finance its part of the deal to buy ABN together with Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander.

The European Central Bank mounted a second day of action to calm panicky credit markets on Friday, after Asia central banks joined a global campaign by monetary authorities to inject extra cash into banking systems.

U.S. stock index futures signaled a further decline on Wall Street on Friday as concerns about the impact of losses related to U.S. subprime mortgages stoked flight from global equity markets.

Fears of a global liquidity crisis gathered pace on Friday, hitting stocks and high-yielding currencies, while the European Central Bank and Asian authorities acted to calm surging short-term borrowing costs. What started as trouble with risky U.S. residential mortgages is now gripping global markets.