UNITED STATES

The world's top banks will likely be hardest hit by new capital surcharges that would rise according to size, links to other lenders and how easily a bank could be replaced in a crisis, the Financial Times reported.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has dismissed the current privacy law in U.S as a ‘violation of human rights’, responding to the debate on super-injunctions.

U.S. stock index futures edged up on Friday ahead of key inflation and consumer confidence data that will give investors a chance to reassess recent volatility of the commodities market.

Sony promises to do everything in its power to support its publishers.

The Lloyd's of London insurance market will take a $3.8 billion hit from earthquakes and floods in the first quarter, and predicted the high level of catastrophe claims will lift insurance prices this year.

Two suicide bombers from Pakistan’s Taliban branch set off blasts that killed 80 people and wounded over 100 at a Pakistan paramilitary police academy.

NDP Group report states that Sony Computer Entertainment America recorded a 13 percent increase in hardware sales for the month of April.

U.S. bank failures in 2010 cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp $2 billion, or 9 percent, more than initially forecast, according to a new analysis by SNL Financial.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 all up 0.3 percent at 4 a.m. EST.

World stocks rose Friday and the euro rose from a six-week low against the dollar as upbeat German and French growth data and favorable European corporate earnings prompted investors to buy back risky assets.

Pakistani Taliban on Friday carried out its first major strike to avenge the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. security forces in Pakistan earlier this month.

Barclays Capital continues to believe Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) moves could actually be a good thing for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). The brokerage reiterated its overweight rating on shares of Apple with a price target of $465.

Brazil will apply non-tariff trade barriers on cars in an effort to protect domestic manufacturers, the government said on Thursday, in a new example of escalating protectionism in South America.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Tree.Com, Vermillion, Velti, Star Bulk Carriers, and Penson Worldwide. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Imris, Andatee China Marine Fuel Services, Celldex Therapeutics, Universal Display, Winn-Dixie Stores, Yahoo!, and Nvidia.

“You've got to focus on the US and the West,” Osama wrote in the journal seized during the U.S. raid at Abbottabad mansion. It reveals that the slain Al-Qaeda leader was preoccupied with attacking the United States over all other targets.

Pakistan militant group, Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the Friday bombings in the country that reportedly killed around 70 people and injured many more.

Settlement agreements being hammered out by securities regulators and securities firms accused of fraud in mortgage bond deals are likely to include civil charges against at least one person connected to each deal, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Victoria's Secret bombshells, Miranda Kerr, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Erin Heatherton and Candice Swanepoel made heads turn once again on Thursday as they officially announced the launch of their summer tour.

Two suicide bombings on Friday morning killed at least 70 people outside a paramilitary force academy in Shabqadar, Charsadda district in northwest Pakistan, police said.

Nordstrom Inc forecast 2011 profit below analysts' view on charges related to its HauteLook acquisition, the first wrinkle in an otherwise smooth string of profit reports from department stores, which have been buoyed by consumers' willingness to spend.

Jokes on dreaded (and deceased) terrorist Osama bin Laden have flooded the Internet ever since U.S. President Barack Obama announced that U.S. special ops forces stormed his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed him. Of the several hundreds of jokes on the Al Qaeda leader, these 20 jokes take the cake.