IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks ticked lower in early trading on Friday in a light day on the economic calendar, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were on track to close their eighth positive week in the last nine.

The future of Honda Motor Co may rest with a pair of contrarian Japanese car engineers working from a drab Tokyo suburb with a hotline to the boardroom. Their mission: just say no.

The euro zone will decide whether to increase its debt crisis firewall before the end of March after the European Central Bank said its extraordinary support measures would not be repeated, putting the onus squarely back on governments to act.

Futures on the S&P 500 edged lower in sparse volume on Friday in a light day on the economic calendar but were still on track to close their ninth straight week of gains, the longest such run since January 2004.

Wall Street was set to fall at the open on Friday in a light day on the economic calendar, but S&P futures were still on track to close their ninth straight week of gains, the longest such run since January 2004.

A German court on Friday dismissed two cases brought by Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics against each other as part of a global battle for dominance in the market for smartphones and tablet devices.

Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> said on Friday a CNN report linking an internal engineering memo to potential glitches that could cause sudden unintended acceleration in its cars was grossly inaccurate.

Facebook Inc plans to increase its $2.5 billion credit line to help cover a major tax hit when employee stock awards vest shortly after it goes public, according to two sources familiar with the company's plans.

For Facebook it must look like a no-brainer -- exploit its huge consumer loyalty and half a billion mobile phone users as a way of opening up the mobile market to blue chip advertisers.

Yelp Inc priced its initial public offering of class A common stock at $15 a share, above the expected price range, valuing the U.S. consumer review website at nearly $900 million.

Transatlantic stock exchange NYSE Euronext stands to gain whether or not its rival the London Stock Exchange snatches up hotly contested clearing house LCH.Clearnet - given that NYSE is LCH's biggest shareholder.

Futures on the S&P 500 edged lower in sparse volume on Friday in a light day on the economic calendar but were still on track to close their ninth straight week of gains, the longest such run since January 2004.

The Japanese government is set to take a majority stake in Tokyo Electric <9501.T> in return for injecting about 1 trillion yen ($12.4 billion) in public funds, the Asahi newspaper reported on Friday, in what would be a political victory for the trade minister in his battle to reform the once all-powerful utility.

Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> plans to revive the Datsun nameplate to sell inexpensive cars tailored for emerging markets from 2014, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday, as the Japanese automaker revs up its efforts to tap fast-growth countries.

Italy must lay the foundations for economic growth and get its debt under control to return to a sovereign 'A' rating, a Standard & Poor's official told newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore for its Friday edition.

Adidas said it would step up its compliance efforts in Japan after its unit there received a warning from the Fair Trade Commission saying it unlawfully pressured retailers to stop them from offering discounts on Reebok EasyTone sneakers.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV , the world's biggest brewer, and two Chinese brewers are on the shortlist to buy most of the operations being sold by China's Kingway Brewery Holdings Ltd <0124.HK>, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The U.S. government has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit relating to its 2008 takeover of American International Group that was filed by a company run by former AIG Chief Executive Maurice Greenberg, court documents showed.

Aereo Inc, which is scheduled to roll out its new online TV service, said late on Thursday a group of broadcasters have filed two separate federal lawsuits against the company, citing likely violation of copyright laws.

Belgian drugmaker UCB forecast revenue and profit would fall this year as generic competition was expected to halve European sales of its top-selling drug.

Toyota Motor Corp. will have in place by autumn a more resilient supply chain that would recover within two weeks of another massive earthquake hitting Japan, a top executive said on Friday.

Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> will have in place by autumn a more resilient supply chain that would recover within two weeks of another massive earthquake hitting Japan, a top executive said on Friday.

European Union leaders argued on Thursday over the right balance between budget austerity and reviving lost growth at the first summit for two years in which the euro zone debt crisis did not eclipse all else.

U.S.-based Starbucks Corp is planning to strengthen its presence in Europe and grab market share from Switzerland's Nestle in the area of instant coffee, its chief executive told a German newspaper.

Higher oil prices are affecting U.S. growth but are currently not a reason to think the economy will stall, a top Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

Myanmar has fewer phones per capita than any other country and probably the fewest Internet connections, and that has regional telecoms and IT companies licking their lips.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Friday he expects consumer prices to gradually rise in the coming years as the economy recovers with support from a pickup in global demand.

Eight top Republicans introduced a cybersecurity bill on Thursday aimed at stopping an overarching, bipartisan measure proposed earlier this month in order to better protect critical infrastructure.

A Frenchman took Google to court Thursday over a photo published online by its Street View application showing him urinating in his front yard which he believes has made him the laughing stock of his village in rural northwest France.