UNITED STATES

The United States and Japan have agreed to tighten sanctions against North Korea, a senior Japanese official said after a meeting between finance ministers from the two countries on Friday.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Friday expanding sanctions on North Korea over its May 25 nuclear test, carried out in defiance of a previous resolution passed in 2006.

The Friday deadline for a nationwide transition from analog to crisper digital television transmission has U.S. retailers hoping for a boost in sales of smaller TVs as consumers upgrade secondary sets in spare rooms.

President Barack Obama has cleared the way for the U.S. Export-Import Bank to help finance exports of U.S. goods to Laos and Cambodia, the White House said on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Energy took the next step to granting $1 billion to advance the first commercial scale carbon capture and sequestration project in the country developed by the FutureGen Alliance in Mattoon, Illinois.

The Obama administration's top drug cop plans to spend more money on treating addiction and scale down the war on drugs rhetoric as part of an overhaul of U.S. counternarcotics strategy.

State media declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of Iran's election on Friday, but challenger Mirhossein Mousavi alleged irregularities and claimed victory for himself.

Chief White House Economic Adviser Lawrence Summers said on Friday that government intervention was only temporary and that the government was by no means trying to take over business.

The U.S. government’s agency for international trade will determine by June 18 if certain tire imports from China cause or are threatening to cause market disruption to domestic tire makers and will transmit its findings to President Obama and the U.S. trade representative the next day.

With the drive for U.S. financial regulation reform at a critical turning point, Barney Frank has to be asking himself by now:Where's the $6,000 shower curtain?

Opposition challenger Mirhossein Mousavi claimed victory on Friday against hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran's presidential election on Friday.

U.S. lawmakers took the final steps on Friday to pass sweeping legislation giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration broad authority over cigarettes and other tobacco products, sending the bill to the president to be signed into law.

Oil fell on Friday, dragged from eight-month highs as the dollar firmed and players took profits from a three-day rally.

The rapid rise in bond yields will force the Federal Reserve to engage again in the purchases of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, Mohamed El-Erian, the chief executive of bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co., said Friday.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin defended the construction of a $26 billion natural gas pipeline on Friday saying this energy resource is needed and will contribute to the U.S. economy, environment and national security.

Plans by major U.S. airlines to slash the number of seats they sell may bolster fares this fall, further stabilizing prices that tumbled this year as economic weakness drained travel demand.

President Barack Obama said on Friday he was hopeful the robust debate taking place in Iran's presidential election would advance his administration's efforts to engage longtime U.S. rival Tehran in new ways.

Oil eased toward $72 a barrel on Friday, a day after reaching a near eight-month high, pressured by a firmer dollar and views that prices have risen too far despite improving economic sentiment.

More than 95 percent of eligible dealers at bankrupt General Motors Corp have signed on or verbally agreed to participate in the new company, Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said on Friday.

U.S. consumer confidence rose to a nine-month high in June, a survey showed on Friday, but inflation gauges showed worrisome signs of price increases that could slow any recovery from the longest recession since the Great Depression.

Technology shares led Wall Street's drop on Friday after National Semiconductor's disappointing results, but a rise in defensive sectors like healthcare limited losses in the Dow and S&P 500.