CHINA

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker warned on Friday that trillion-dollar deficits posed a threat to the stability of the U.S. economy and the dollar, and said he is frustrated by the gridlock in Washington.

Oil fell on Friday to cap a frenzied trading week that sliced prices by a record of more than $16 a barrel on demand worries and a move by investors to slash commodities exposures.

Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn wants to begin assembling iPads in Brazil by July, but it is still seeking tax breaks and other government concessions as part of an investment plan that could be worth up to $12 billion, Brazilian media reported on Friday.

On international trade, Vladimir Putin seems to be channeling the autocratic spirit of Catherine the Great. He wants Russia to modernize by joining the World Trade Organization -- but not too much.

Fast buildout of mobile networks in the United States lifted Alcatel-Lucent's first quarter sales as the CEO pledged to deliver on a long-promised turnaround of the struggling telecom gear maker.

China, wielding its huge dollar holdings, on Friday pressed Washington to tackle its huge fiscal deficit and said it would raise the issue of discrimination against Chinese investors at high-level talks next week.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Immersion, Sapient, Novatel Wireless, Orthovita, Marchex, Limelight Networks, Rubicon Technology, Mercer International, Hansen Natural, and XOMA.

Brent crude dipped toward $107 a barrel on Friday and U.S. crude fell below $97, extending losses from a record rout in the previous session that wiped as much as 10 percent from the price.

Telecom gear maker Alcatel-Lucent stuck to its annual targets after posting in-line sales in the first quarter, helped by booming demand in North America and strong sales of wireless equipment.

Brent crude rose 1.3 percent to more than $111 a barrel on Friday and U.S. crude climbed back above $100 as oil rebounded from a record rout in the previous session that wiped as much as 10 percent from the price.

China staked out areas of contention with the United States on Friday ahead of strategic talks in Washington next week, including the pace of yuan reform and concerns about U.S. debt levels, but Beijing also stressed the two sides' co-dependency.

China reiterated on Friday that it is not deliberately seeking a trade surplus with the United States, Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said, days before talks with the United States.

Vale , the world's biggest producer of iron ore, posted a record profit in the first quarter as revenue more than doubled and the company booked a one-off gain from the sale of some aluminum assets.

Cisco Systems Inc CEO John Chambers, cutting back a bloated management bureaucracy he helped build, has kicked off a sweeping overhaul to revive the networking equipment maker's flagging fortunes.

In Hebei, China, a teenager named Lui Shi Ching, 16 years old, has carried his friend to school daily for the last 8 years. His friend Lu shao has a congenital disorder which makes it difficult for him to walk.

A tripling of profits by General Motors Co was marred by incentives to lift car sales, raising doubts about the automaker's ability to maintain momentum since emerging from bankruptcy.

Oil plunged more than 8 percent on Thursday, heading for the third biggest daily drop in dollar terms on record, as concerns about economic growth and monetary tightening spurred a sell-off in commodities.

Cisco Systems Inc CEO John Chambers, cutting back a bloated management bureaucracy he helped build, has kicked off a sweeping overhaul to revive the networking equipment maker's flagging fortunes.

China has found some U.S.-made passenger cars benefited from unfair subsidies, damaging its carmakers, although Beijing side-stepped a potential trade row with the United States by not hitting them with duties.

Cisco announced changes to its management structure.

The Made in the USA label may be poised for a comeback, a new study argues.