UNITED STATES

U.S. stocks fell for a third straight day on Friday as investors took weaker-than-expected results from computer maker Dell and homebuilder D.R. Horton as a further sign that the recovery would be anemic.

U.S. electric sports car maker Tesla Motors plans to go public soon, two sources familiar with the matter said, amid growing interest in green technology and battery-powered vehicles.

The number of mass layoffs reported by U.S. employers fell last month from September, a government report showed on Friday, suggesting job losses were close to bottoming.

NYSE Euronext , LCH.Clearnet, BATS Global Markets and other firms partnered with banks have urged two U.S. legislators to drop a proposed rigid cap on dealer ownership of clearinghouses, according to a letter sent this week.

Oprah Winfrey said on Friday that she will end her popular TV show in 2011 because it feels right in her bones after 25 years, and urged viewers not to believe rumors of why she's quitting.

Roman Polanski will not agree voluntarily to being extradited to the United States over a 1970s child sex case, the film director's lawyer said in an interview with French daily Le Figaro published on Friday.

U.S. stocks fell for third straight day on Friday as investors took weaker-than-expected results from computer maker Dell and homebuilder D.R. Horton as a further sign that the recovery would be anemic.

Investors bet on growth on Friday, bumping up shares in two newly listed companies with strong trajectories while remaining neutral or down on two others whose prospects are murkier.

Keeping workers healthy, happy and at work through so-called wellness programs remains a priority for many companies despite financial pressures from the global economic downturn, a survey found on Monday.

Former Vivendi CEO Jean-Marie Messier told a U.S. jury he never, never, never committed fraud as he took the stand on Friday in a civil trial pitting international shareholders against the French conglomerate and former top executives.

Senior officials from six world powers said on Friday they were disappointed Iran had not accepted proposals intended to delay its potential to make nuclear bombs, and urged Tehran to reconsider.

The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee condemned Iran on Friday for a violent crackdown on protesters after presidential elections this year that the Iranian opposition says were rigged.

Ford Motor Co plans to invest 4 billion reais ($2.26 billion) in Brazil to boost output as record-low borrowing costs and a recovery in Latin America's largest economy stoke demand for new cars, Mark Fields, the company's president for the Americas, said on Friday.

Akeel Sachak, global head of the consumer team at Rothschild, may get a seat at the table for this year's sweetest deal after all.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is an unworthy partner who does not deserve a big boost either in U.S. troops or civilian aid, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

Sales of existing U.S. homes likely rose for second consecutive month in October, reaching their highest level since July 2007, according to a Reuters poll, as buyers scrambled to take advantage of greater affordability and a first-time home buyer tax credit.

The pace of job losses slowed in many U.S. states in October, and the unemployment rate slipped in hard-hit Michigan, the Labor Department said on Friday, hinting the recession may be easing in some areas.

J.M. Smucker Co , best known for its peanut butter and jelly, posted higher-than-expected quarterly results, driven by strong margins at its Folgers coffee business, and raised its full-year profit view, sending its shares to a new 52-week high.

The world's largest cruise ship Oasis of the Seas has arrived in Florida, in the south eastern United States, to prepare for its first cruise ever scheduled for early December.

D.R. Horton Inc , the No. 2 U.S. homebuilder, reported a much larger-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday, sending its shares down 13.5 percent even though it also said orders increased.

The pace of job losses slowed in many U.S. states in October, and the unemployment rate slipped in hard-hit Michigan, the Labor Department said on Friday, hinting the recession may be easing in some areas.