MARKETS / FINANCE

General Motors Co is in talks with banks to secure a $5 billion credit revolver as it prepares to file for an initial public offering of its stock this year, a source familiar with the plan said on Friday.

Fund managers have failed to rebuild relationships with investors that soured when the global financial crisis left them nursing billions in losses, leaving their clients even more disgruntled.

Wall Street indexes fell slightly on Friday, on track for the worst week in two months, after government data showed the U.S. economy shed jobs in June for the first time this year.

The U.S. dollar slipped against the euro on Friday, extending the previous day's steep losses on concerns over the U.S. economic recovery after disappointing U.S. jobs data. U.S. private payrolls rose less than expected in June and overall employment fell for the first time this year as thousands of temporary Census jobs ended, indicating the economic recovery is failing to gain traction.

Wall Street indexes fell slightly on Friday, on track for the worst week in two months, after government data showed the U.S. economy shed jobs in June for the first time this year.

U.S. President Barack Obama is slated to announce on Friday nearly $800 million in loans and grants for the build-out of broadband networks to reach homes, schools and hospitals.

Employment fell for the first time this year in June as thousands of temporary census jobs ended and private hiring grew less than expected, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama who has identified job creation as a key priority.

Wall Street looked set to open higher and European shares kept their gains on Friday despite a key U.S. jobs report that came in slightly worse than expected.

Crude oil futures dipped on Friday, reversing gains made after the market interpreted U.S. employment data as slightly more positive for economic growth than expected.

Wall Street indexes were trading around the break-even point on Friday after government data showed employment in the United States fell in June for the first time this year but not as much as some had expected.

The first quarter of the current financial year 2011 has almost reminded of the nightmarish experience of the global melt down of 2008-09 that had beleaguered the equity markets and commodity prices world over. The three months ending June 2010 has seen metal prices plunging down to their recent lows, wearing away hopes of the investors to draw fair return on their investments.

U.S. interest-rate futures traders are betting the Federal Reserve will keep short-term interest rates on hold for another year after a government report showed private companies hired fewer people than expected last month, suggesting the economic recovery is losing steam.

The U.S. dollar fell against the euro on Friday, extending the previous day's steep losses on concerns over the U.S. economic recovery after worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data. The report showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. June nonfarm payrolls to 125,000, due to layoffs of temporary government workers, even as the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 9.5 percent.

With the global economy slowing, interest rates about as low as they can go, governments getting austere and banks being investigated for stress, it is getting harder for investors to keep putting on their bullish faces.

Private payrolls rose less than expected in June and overall employment fell for the first time this year as thousands of temporary census jobs ended, showing the economic recovery is failing to gain traction.

Blockbuster Inc stayed a step ahead of bankruptcy after winning a crucial one-month reprieve on debt payments, but was forced to begin the process of delisting from the New York stock exchange.

Google Inc plans to buy one of the Web's key providers of airline travel software for $700 million, potentially raising new antitrust concerns for the world's largest Internet search engine.

In a blow to Indian jewelers, the US has stopped the duty-free status for gold necklaces from India as the product was found to be competitive in US markets. Earlier, US used to allow duty-free status to certain products from developing countries to help them expand their economies. Other items that have been struck off the duty-free list are passenger tyres from Thailand and wood flooring from Brazil.

The dollar jumped against the yen but immediately surrendered those gains on Friday after a report showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. June nonfarm payrolls to 125,000, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 9.5 percent.

Stock index futures fell on Friday after data showed employers shed 125,000 jobs in June, slightly more than expected.

Bank-to-bank euro funding costs rose again on Friday with the three-month rate hitting a 9-1/2 month high after central bank operations this week drained a chunk of liquidity from the market. Banks paid back 442 billion euros of one-year loans to the European Central Bank on Thursday but borrowed around 243 billion euros in six-day and three-month funds.

Now that China is staying true to its word and letting the yuan trade a bit more freely, analysts and investors outside the mainland may not be prepared for one potential outcome: a yuan drop. China is showing a determination to let the yuan be more volatile against the dollar within its daily 0.5 percent trading band and go with the market flow, contrary to some expectations for another steady rise as happened between 2005 and 2008.

Gold rebounded 1 percent in Europe on Friday as physical buyers in particular took advantage of the previous day's price fall to buy into the market, with traders now looking ahead to a key U.S. jobs report due later.

The dollar dipped against a basket of major currencies on Friday, extending the previous day's steep losses on concerns over the U.S. economic recovery and before the all-important June non-farm payrolls data. By 1047 GMT, the dollar index .DXY, a gauge of its performance against six other major currencies, slipped 0.2 percent to 84.539, near a two-month low after it shed 1.6 percent on Thursday.

Hungary will seek a two-year precautionary deal with the IMF and EU for 2011-12 in the range of 10-20 billion euros and hopes to agree with lenders on a higher budget gap than 3 percent of GDP for next year, the Economy Minister said on Friday.

Stock index futures were slightly higher after a four-day slide as investors keenly awaited the government's employment report for key insight into the state of the economy.

China's yuan jumped against the dollar on Friday to its highest since a landmark 2005 revaluation but its broader gains were less impressive as it slumped against the euro. Traders and analysts said the moves suggested the Chinese central bank wanted to hold the yuan's overall value steady against a basket of currencies by offsetting gains made against the dollar with losses against the euro.

The S&P 500 and Dow index futures were little changed on Friday after a four-day slide as investors keenly awaited the government's employment report for key insight into the economy.

Employment likely contracted for the first time this year in June as thousands of temporary jobs for census workers ended, though private-sector hiring probably picked up, according to a Reuters survey.