IBT Staff Reporter

Prices for hard drives are jumping as flooding in Thailand creates a shortage of the major components used in personal computers, while one big customer is already complaining of price gouging.

Prices for hard drives are jumping as flooding in Thailand creates a shortage of the major component used in personal computers and one big customer is complaining of price gouging.

A World Trade Organization panel largely backed China on Friday in a complaint about European Union import duties on Chinese footwear, dealing a partial victory also to European importers and retailers.

Bank of America Corp, after receiving heavy public criticism for a planned $5-per-month debit card fee, is likely to give customers more ways to avoid the fee, a person familiar with the bank's plans said Friday.

Stocks closed out a fourth week of gains in quiet fashion on Friday, edging higher as the market took a breather after rallying 3 percent on Europe's deal to stem its debt crisis.

MF Global Holdings Ltd. is racing to sell all or part of its business this weekend, with its futures brokerage business seen as the most attractive, a source familiar with the situation said Friday.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said in an interview in a German newspaper to be published Sunday that the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis is not yet over and that it is too early for the all-clear signal.

Groupon Inc is considering raising its IPO price range due to investor demand, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Former Olympus Corp Chief Executive Michael Woodford said on Friday he has met with U.S. federal prosecutors and hired a Washington law firm, as pressure mounted in Japan on the camera and endoscope maker to conduct an independent probe into controversial acquisitions.

The crowded advertising technology sector may be about to shake out some losers.

With the S&P 500 about to end its best month in almost 40 years, many would be happy to cash in gains and start packing for the ski slopes.

Chevron Corp and Total posted higher profits on Friday, the latest two major oil companies lifted by pricier oil and rosier refining conditions, even if increasing oil and gas production remains a struggle.

Stock buybacks among large U.S. multinationals are poised to reach their highest level since the recession once third-quarter results are done, as companies step up repurchases to take advantage of lower stock prices.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will not endorse anyone in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, he told conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham on Thursday.

The Commerce Department on Friday set preliminary anti-dumping duty rates on products from China, Taiwan, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates it said were being sold in the United States at unfairly low prices.

Boeing Co is battling to prevent teething problems on its 747-8 freighter from turning into a wider customer revolt as jittery airlines seize on a chance to curb their exposure to a slump in the global freight market, industry sources said.

Some major U.S. auto parts makers projected disappointing full-year outlooks on Friday and said the rebound in the auto industry could be more tempered than previously expected.

A genius for mixing the humanities and sciences coupled with a Svengali-like ability to motivate people powered Steve Jobs's mission to change the world, biographer Walter Isaacson concludes in his exhaustive new study of the Apple co-founder.

Pluto is once again considered the ninth biggest object orbiting the Sun.

Jason Alexander, famous for playing George Costanza on 'Seinfeld,' went on an informational tour of Israel this week.

Shares of MF Global Holdings Ltd hit another all-time low and its bonds were in freefall on Friday as troubles intensified for the U.S. futures brokerage that is looking to sell off units in order to retain customers and to survive.

European shares slipped Friday after the previous session's rally on the European Union's debt deal, as a disappointing Italian bond auction fueled investors' skepticism about the plan to tackle the region's debt crisis.

Bank of America Corp, after receiving heavy public criticism for a planned $5 per-month debit card fee, is likely to give customers more ways to avoid the fee, a person familiar with the bank's plans said Friday.

The world's two top appliance makers are planning large rounds of cost-cutting, including thousands of job cuts, as recession-weary shoppers have held off on buying refrigerators, washing machines and other costly items.

NEW YORK - For the small club of companies who trade the food, fuels and metals that keep the world running, the last decade has been sensational. Driven by the rise of Brazil, China, India and other fast-growing economies, the global commodities boom has turbocharged profits at the world's biggest trading houses.

Veteran actor and comedian Steve Martin is writing a book based on his Twitter posts, with all profits going to charity, the book's publishers said on Friday.

Oil prices retreated on Friday in choppy trading as uncertainties about Europe's plan to tackle its debt problems prompted some profit taking after the previous session's rally.

Allen Gregory, brought to life by Superbad actor Jonah Hill, debuts on Fox this Sunday telling of a pretentious boy named Allen Gregory, who struggles to adapt to public school after his family loses all its money.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has been hit with a new $1.07 billion lawsuit for having allegedly sold risky debt that it expected would tumble in value to an Australian hedge fund, causing that fund to become insolvent.