IBT Staff Reporter

Talks between Greece and its creditor banks to slash the country's towering debt pile broke down on Friday, with the Greeks warning of catastrophic results if a deal to swap bonds is not reached soon.

The United States pressed the European Union on Friday for hard evidence that it has complied with a trade ruling on subsidies to planemaker Airbus in a showdown that could kick off a new stage in the world's largest and costliest trade dispute.

Greek debt swap negotiators were less optimistic on Friday about reaching an agreement to avert a disorderly default after the latest round of talks with creditor banks, warning failure to reach a deal would be disastrous for Greece and Europe.

Stocks tumbled on Friday after news reports that Standard & Poor's would downgrade credit ratings on several euro-zone countries.

Aon Corp , the world's biggest insurance broker, will move its headquarters to London from Chicago to improve its access to fast-growing emerging markets and boost its presence in the British capital's global insurance centre.

A London court ruled on Friday a British student can be extradited to the United States for breaching U.S. copyright law by running a website that allowed users to access films and TV programs illegally.

Talks between Greece and its creditor banks aimed at avoiding a disorderly default broke down on Friday, with Greeks warning of disastrous results if a bond swap deal is not reached soon.

A computer hacker said on Friday it would release the source code for Symantec Corp's Norton antivirus software, citing a lawsuit that had been filed against the company.

Enraged Chinese shoppers pelted Apple Inc's flagship Beijing store with eggs and shoving matches broke out with police on Friday when customers were told the store would not begin sales of the iPhone 4S as scheduled.

Apple Inc. released on Friday an audit of its major suppliers, saying it found a number of violations including breaches in pay, benefits and environmental practices in plants in China.

U.S. stocks were on track to end the week with modest gains as major indexes pulled back from session lows after falling more than 1 percent on Friday on talk that Standard & Poor's was ready to downgrade ratings on several euro-zone countries.

Apple Inc released on Friday a comprehensive audit of its major suppliers, saying it discovered a number of environmental violations in plants in China.

Standard & Poor's is set to downgrade the credit ratings of several euro zone countries later on Friday, but not those of Germany and the Netherlands, a senior euro zone government source said.

Internet security software maker AVG Technologies NV filed with U.S. regulators to raise up to $125 million in an initial public offering.

This year's Consumer Electronics Show turned out to be the largest on record, despite a slow economy and what many industry pundits agree is a dearth of genuine scene-stealers.

This year's Consumer Electronics Show turned out to be the largest on record, despite a slow economy and what many industry pundits agree is a dearth of genuine scene-stealers.

A new video game has gotten its hooks into Brian Kealer, a 26-year-old San Francisco software engineer. He's not killing birds or using his vocabulary to impress his friends. No, Kealer is after real prizes, like the iPad2 he just scored. And he's playing with his bank account.

Consumer sentiment continued to pick up steam in early January, rising to the highest level in eight months as Americans became more optimistic about job prospects, a survey released on Friday showed.

Meeting Spain's draconian austerity targets would cost every worker more than 2,000 euros this year, and even unforgiving markets sense it may be time for the government to moderate the pain and try to bolster a stagnant economy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will gather the leaders of Austria, Sweden and Portugal next Thursday in a bid to broaden consultations on key European Union issues after criticism about Germany and France making too many big decisions themselves.

JPMorgan Chase & Co reported lower fourth-quarter profit as the European debt crisis continued to weigh on trading and corporate deal-making.

Enraged Chinese shoppers pelted Apple Inc's flagship Beijing store with eggs and shoving matches broke out with police on Friday when customers were told the store would not begin sales of the iPhone 4S as scheduled.

Stocks were set to retreat from five-month highs at the open on Friday after reports that Standard & Poor's was set to downgrade the ratings on several euro zone countries.

The trade deficit widened in November to its largest in five months, suggesting imports weighed on economic growth a bit more than expected during the fourth quarter.

Novartis AG plans to axe nearly 2,000 of its U.S. workforce ahead of the patent loss of top-selling blood pressure drug Diovan there and will take a $900 million charge after another of its key drugs failed to live up to expectations.

JPMorgan Chase & Co's fourth-quarter earnings fell 23 percent, in line with Wall Street expectations, as the European debt crisis depressed trading and corporate deal-making.

Stock index futures dipped on Friday after JPMorgan Chase reported lower quarterly profit and ahead of trade and consumer sentiment data.

Internet giants including Google and Facebook are embroiled in a growing battle in India over offensive content with a judge warning websites may be blocked like in China, stoking worries about freedom of speech in the world's largest democracy.

Stock index futures dipped on Friday after JPMorgan Chase reported lower quarterly profit and ahead of trade and consumer sentiment data.