IBT Staff Reporter

Incoming CEO Kazuo Hirai aims to re-shape Sony Corp by linking hardware and software through online networks -- a model he used at its PlayStation unit -- dismissing any suggestion the battered brand would revert to a gadget-centered strategy under his management.

Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba plans to take its Hong Kong-listed unit private, two sources familiar with the matter said, as part of a complex deal that would strengthen founder Jack Ma's control and give key stakeholder Yahoo cash and a direct stake in one of Alibaba's operating businesses.

Americans turned less optimistic about the economy in early February on worries about falling income even as their outlook on the jobs market rose to a record high, a survey released on Friday showed.

Excess capacity in aluminium smelting will drag on for years to come, even while losses weigh on producers, as political pressures in China and Russia to keep jobs and push self-sufficiency prevent or delay plant closures.

Chemical maker LyondellBasell Industries NV's quarterly operating profit fell far short of Wall Street's expectations as refining margins dropped and customers conserved cash.

Portugal's economy will shrink as much as Greece's this year, according to IMF projections. The two will have identical current account deficits and the red ink in Portugal's budget will be almost as deep as in Greece's.

Americans turned less optimistic about the economy in early February on worries about falling income even as their outlook on the jobs market rose to a record high, a survey released on Friday showed.

Concerns about weak incomes weighed on consumer confidence in early February, but rising optimism over the jobs market should help to support spending and the broader economy.

The U.S. trade deficit widened slightly more than expected in December, as stronger U.S. economic growth lifted imports to the highest level in three-and-a-half years.

Economists in a survey see the unemployment rate falling much faster this year than previously expected, an improvement in the jobs market that could help President Obama's re-election chances.

LyondellBasell Industries NV's quarterly operating profit fell far short of Wall Street expectations as refining margins dropped, pushing its stock down 8 percent in premarket trading.

Stocks dropped on Friday as the most recent flare-up in Greek negotiations for a financial bailout package put the S&P 500 on track to snap a three-day winning streak.

Striking Greek workers denounced a new wave of austerity on Friday as an imposition too far by Europe and the IMF. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told the nation it faced a stark choice between sacrifices inside the euro area and bigger sacrifices outside.

Stocks dropped on Friday as the most recent flare-up in Greek negotiations for a financial bailout package put the S&P 500 on track to snap a three-day winning streak.

AllianceBernstein LP , a New York-based money manager controlled by French insurer AXA , said on Friday that net revenue fell 20 percent in the fourth quarter as clients continued to pull money from its stock funds.

Economists see the unemployment rate falling much faster than previously expected this year, even though they slightly lowered their outlook for economic growth, a survey released on Friday showed.

Apollo Global Management LLC became the latest private equity group on Friday to report lower fourth-quarter earnings due to mark-to-market valuations of its assets, even as the cash flow from its share of investment profits more than tripled.

Striking Greek workers denounced a new wave of austerity on Friday as a demand too far by the IMF and EU, but Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told the nation it had to decide within days whether to take the pain and stay in the euro or not.

Stocks were poised to drop at the open on Friday as the most recent flare-up in Greek negotiations for a financial bailout package put the S&P 500 on track to snap a three-day winning streak.

China betrayed signs of spluttering domestic demand on Friday as imports crumbling to their lowest in more than two years and weaker-than-forecast bank lending signaled to investors that policymakers would soon make a fresh bid to bolster growth.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told conservative lawmakers on Friday that existing Greek reform pledges would not bring its debt down to levels that are considered sustainable, sources who attended the meeting said.

Boeing has frozen the price on its bid for a multi-billion-dollar Brazilian air force jet contract, sources close to the deal told Reuters, as the global race to sell military hardware to emerging economic powers becomes more competitive.

Stock index futures fell on Friday as the latest setback in Greek negotiations for a financial bailout package put the S&P 500 on track to snap a three-day winning streak.

German luxury carmaker Daimler AG won't slash its workforce to close the gap with rivals BMW and Audi in terms of profitability, the company's personnel chief said.

Stock index futures fell on Friday as the latest setback in Greek negotiations for a bailout package put the S&P 500 on track to snap a three-day winning streak.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso expressed confidence that a second bailout package for Greece would be finalized next week, but said Athens needed to implement structural reforms to restore confidence in its economy.

NYSE Euronext signaled it would shift focus to faster-growing areas like supplying computer systems and information from trading, as the U.S. exchange looks to an independent future following the collapse of a takeover by Deutsche Boerse.

If anyone can pull off the labyrinthine deal between Alibaba Group and Yahoo Inc, it's Jack Ma, who founded the e-commerce group and within a decade unlocked China's huge online shopping potential.

China's imports in January fell the most since the depths of the global financial crisis, raising concerns that demand may be weaker than previously thought even allowing for Lunar New Year factory shutdowns.