IBT Staff Reporter

Reports showing a moderate rise in a key U.S. inflation gauge and continued manufacturing gains helped fire investor optimism on Friday, despite signs consumers' spirits were dampened by higher gasoline prices.

Treasury debt prices rose on Friday after tame inflation data eased some recent concerns over the potential for Federal Reserve rate hikes.

The high priests of free software have congregated at Google Inc. headquarters this week to debate the future of the movement and face down recent patent threats by Microsoft Corp.

The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the world's largest energy market, is exploring a sale for about $14.3 billion, a news agency reported on Friday, as exchanges worldwide hustle for the best merger partners.

Global stocks rose on Friday, absorbing further gains in U.S. and euro zone government bond yields ahead of U.S. inflation data, while the yen sank after the Bank of Japan left interest rates on hold.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat to slightly higher open on Friday, with technology shares likely to underpin gains after a broker upgrade of Intel Corp. , but investors were cautious ahead of key inflation data.

Cadbury Schweppes Plc, the world's largest confectionery group, pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of selling unsafe chocolate in Britain and Ireland during 2006 and faces an unlimited fine.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. are learning that it's a tough time to be in the U.S. mortgage business. Both banks suffered from rising home buyer defaults in the latest quarter.

Volkswagen's Audi premium unit aims to raise sales in the United States to 200,000 vehicles by 2015 from last year's 90,000, Audi's sales and marketing boss told a German newspaper.

Gold retreated from earlier highs on Friday as bargain hunting subsided amid nervousness caused by this week's sell-off triggered by the strength of the dollar and rising U.S. Treasury yields.

Qatar's royal family raised its stake in Britain's J. Sainsbury Plc to 25 percent, boosting the supermarket operator's shares amid expectations it will come under renewed pressure to raise billions through a property selloff.

Spending on roads, power plants has grown quickly this year, prompting concerns over monetary policy.

Sun Microsystems Inc. expects a double-digit rate of revenue growth in its greater China region in the next fiscal year as the computer networking firm rolls out new products, a senior executive said on Friday.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. barely managed to show a rise in quarterly profit as a sharp drop in fixed income trading revenue offset record investment banking fees and strong equities income.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as a gain of more than $1 a barrel in oil prices boosted shares of energy companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., offsetting disappointment over profit reports from Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs.

Planemakers are riding high on surging demand that has pushed orders well over $100 billion a year, but cracks are beginning to show and the sprawling Paris air show which opens on Monday could reveal a slowdown looms.

Investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. Inc., one of the nation's largest mortgage bond underwriters, said on Thursday quarterly earnings fell by a third as trouble in the mortgage market hurt bond trading revenue and it wrote down assets at a stock trading venture.

A Texas company has sued Nintendo Co. Ltd. for alleged violations of a patent in making chips for use in its game consoles, Nintendo said on Friday.

Higher energy costs boosted producer prices 0.9 percent in May, but excluding volatile food and energy costs, prices paid at the factory gate were up a more moderate 0.2 percent, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.

Del Monte Foods Co., maker of Meow Mix cat food, StarKist tuna and its own canned fruits, on Thursday posted a drop in quarterly profit, hit by higher costs for some items and lower seafood sales volumes.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. on Thursday said counterfeit 'Colgate' toothpaste that may contain a toxic chemical had been found in discount stores in four U.S. states.

Global stocks surged ahead on Thursday led by overnight Wall Street gains as bond markets settled down after more than a week of losses.

The dollar hit a 4-1/2-year peak against the yen on Thursday, extending gains after strong U.S. retail sales data the previous day reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates this year.

Oil rose above $70 a barrel on Thursday, adding to sharp gains the previous session, on rising tensions in the Middle East and supply concerns in the United States.

Liberty Media Corp. and EchoStar Communications Corp. are preparing a joint offer for satellite-communications provider Intelsat Ltd., The Wall Street Journal's online edition said on Thursday.

Sanofi-Aventis shares suffered their biggest fall since 2002 after a U.S. health panel advised against approving its weight-loss pill Acomplia over concerns it may be linked to thoughts of suicide.

Gold drifted higher on Thursday on bargain hunting after a three-month low the previous day, but analysts said the metal had potential to test fresh lows.

General Motors Corp. and bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. are near a deal with the United Auto Workers union that would provide a cash payout to Delphi workers in exchange for lower hourly wages, the Detroit News reported on Thursday.

Little-known, privately held Hyperion Resources Inc. said on Wednesday it plans to build an $8 billion oil refinery, the first in the United States since 1976, at one of several sites under consideration in the U.S. Midwest.