UNITED STATES

Dunkin' Donuts said on Friday it plans to open its first shop in Shanghai this spring as part of its move into the Chinese market.

Nissan Motor has been hurt less by the yen's strength than other companies, thanks to its strategy of producing cars for the U.S. market locally, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said on Friday.

Blackstone Group LP, the U.S. private equity company, is setting up a $675 million fund to invest in Brazil and will contribute $500 million in capital, the Valor Economico newspaper said on Friday.

Citigroup Inc awarded Chief Executive Vikram Pandit $26.7 million of shares and 3 million stock options, six weeks after he took over the largest U.S. bank, and a week after reporting a record $9.83 billion quarterly loss.

Wall Street banks battered by mortgage and credit losses survived 2007 only to face an even bigger challenge: a U.S. economy on the edge of recession.

Business leaders said they were aghast by the culture of banking and its excesses following revelations that a trader at French bank Societe Generale had lost $7 billion through possible fraud.

U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs plans to release about 5 percent of its global workforce in coming months, a company spokesman said on Friday.

Heath Ledgers relatives are expected to arrive from Australia on Friday as they prepare for the funeral of the son they refer to as the most amazing 'old soul' in a young man's body.

U.S. Stocks moved towards a higher opening on Friday, buoyed by strong earnings from Microsoft and a quick decision to implement a U.S. economic stimulus package boosted investors confidence. Following the biggest global stocks rally in two and a half years on Thursday, U.S. stocks are set to make their first string of three consecutive days of gains since December, and first weekly rise in five weeks.

Egypt began closing its breached border with the Gaza Strip on Friday, using barbed wire and water cannons to keep Palestinians from leaving the Hamas-controlled territory in defiance of an Israeli blockade.

France stepped up efforts to restore confidence in the banking system as Societe Generale faced tough questions on Friday over why it failed to prevent the biggest financial dealing scandal in history.

U.S. Copper futures rose on Thursday along with other metals, oil and equity markets, on the 0.75 percent cut in interest rates this week

Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. and Credit Suisse Group are cutting over 1,640 jobs, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.

Starbucks has begun selling cups of coffee for $1 (51 pence) in selected stores in Seattle as part of a new trial.

Treasuries fell on Thursday as speculation rose that economy may improve following positive economic figures and a government announcement of a U.S. tax rebate package to drive investment and consumer spending.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday in their biggest two-day rally since November after government leaders agreed on a plan to pay tax rebates to stimulate the U.S. economy and after shares of cell- phone chip maker Qualcomm and Xerox Corp surged, pushing up the Nasdaq.

U.S. gold futures spiked over $900 an ounce in New York on Thursday after the dollar dropped against the euro and boosted trader's appetite for the precious metal, also causing platinum futures to hit a new record.

Crude gained near $1 on Thursday after a rally in European, Asian and U.S. stock markets.

Director Robert Rodriguez came to the Sundance Film Festival in 1992 with his $7,000 movie El Mariachi, walked away with the Audience Award and entered Hollywood.

A massive fraud by a junior rogue trader has punched a $7 billion hole in the finances of French bank Societe Generale, leaving its credibility in tatters and forcing it to get emergency cash. France's central bank and government scrambled to shore up confidence in the banking system after Societe Generale, France's second-biggest bank, said on Thursday it had been the victim of massive and exceptional fraud resulting in losses of 4.9 billion euros.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) on Wednesday revealed that it acquired a carriage for its MGM HD Channel on Verizon's FiOS TV service enabling it to transfer feature film hits from the MGM library to Verizon FiOS TV subscriber households in full high definition.