UNITED STATES

Oil eased below $73 a barrel on Friday, reversing an earlier surge to a seven-week high, as optimism over the pace of demand recovery in top energy consumer, the United States, faded.

Most Asian stock markets edged higher on Friday, keeping a wary eye on volatile Chinese shares, while currency traders went on the defensive after a wild see-saw week and mixed U.S. economic data, bidding up the safe-haven yen.

A Chinese court has jailed four people for spreading their bootleg Tomato Garden version of Microsoft's Windows XP program, in what the Xinhua news agency called the nation's biggest software piracy case.

U.S.business software maker Salesforce.com Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its outlook for the full year, sending its shares up 9 percent on Thursday.

U.S. telecommunications regulators on Thursday sought public comment on how to define broadband, a step that could impact how the industry delivers Internet services to consumers.

Japan's Nikkei stock average slipped on Friday as automakers slumped ahead of the end of the U.S. cash for clunkers program and prompted investors to sell broadly ahead of the start of Chinese stock trading.

If it's raining outside or hurricane season is in full swing, it won't just be real-life sports affected but also sports video games with real-time weather starting to impact virtual players.

Starbucks Lowers Prices; LEDs with a Twist; Hurricane Bill to Bear Down

The U.S. economy is recovering more strongly than expected from its worst recession in decades, but next year will be lackluster and risks of a double-dip downturn remain, economists said in a Reuters poll.

If earnings reports released on Thursday are a sign of business to come, U.S. apparel retailers will have to continue cutting costs and discounting as slumping sales persist.

The Australian Dollar opens higher on Friday (0.8310) and is showing signs of consolidation above the 0.8250 mark.

Upbeat manufacturing data and weak labor market numbers painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economy on Thursday, while economists forecast it is recovering more robustly than expected from its worst recession in 70 years despite worries about a double-dip recession.

The U.S. government said it will suspend its popular Cash for Clunkers auto rebates on Monday as the program's $3 billion budget runs dry, a month after it was launched.

The U.S. government said it will suspend its popular

The Black Eyed Peas and Jason Mraz have made history on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, while Miley Cyrus and Jay-Z entered the list's top 10.

U.S. President Barack Obama stood by proposals to create a government-run health insurance program on Thursday while insisting the move was merely one element of a wider plan to reform the industry.

The U.S. government said it will suspend its popular Cash for Clunkers auto rebates on Monday as the program's $3 billion budget runs dry, a month after it was launched.

Ahead of the new Playstation 3 release , Amazon has warned of shortages of the new slim PlayStation 3 when the system launches next month.

The Libyan man convicted of blowing up a US airliner over Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people including 189 Americans, has arrived at home Thursday and he was greeted as a hero after being set free.

Indignant letters, e-mails and phone calls can still get results for unhappy airline travelers, but more are finding that if you really want to vent your frustrations, you can now be loud and fast and public.

Apple is speculated to roll out a new Apple TV within the next several months, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Apple has strong incentive to build a new set-top if it decides to offer a subscription service for iTunes video.