IBT Staff Reporter

Rising gasoline and food prices lifted U.S. consumer spending in March and the increase in overall inflation from a year-ago was the largest in 10 months, government data showed on Friday.

Kate Middleton's wedding dress was the talk of the Royal Wedding days before the actual event.

U.S. consumer spending rose in March as households stretched to cover higher costs for food and gasoline, with inflation posting its biggest year-on-year rise in 10 months.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co reported a profit that was more than four times what Wall Street expected, with strength in its home North American market pushing quarterly sales to an all-time high, and its shares jumped more than 10 percent.

Strong quarterly results from Caterpillar and Merck on Friday looked set to drive the Dow to its best month since December, with a bullish stock market on course to buck a seasonally weak May.

The dollar hit new 2011 lows against the euro and the British pound yesterday, while the Dollar Index (USDX) is currently trading at around 73 - close to record lows.

Strong demand for smartphones gave a further boost to overall cellphone market volumes in January-March and made iPhone supplier Apple Inc a rare winner on the market, research firms said on Friday.

Jacyee Lee Dugard's kidnappers, a California couple who held her captive for 18 years and sexually abused her, pleaded guilty on Thursday and face life sentence.

Verizon is reportedly pushing back the launch of the HTC Droid Charge 4G-capable phone a few days in the wake of its LTE network outage.

Looking to sell the information, which also includes customer names, passwords, and addresses, the hackers have priced the credit card database at $100,000.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co showed a net profit of 42 cents per share on the highest sales of any quarter in company history, on strength in its home North American market.

The U.S. embassy in Cairo has resumed normal operations on Friday, citing improvement just over three months after massive protests developed into a revolution which toppled President Hosni Mubarak and left nearly 850 people dead.

Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil company, reported a 36 percent jump in quarterly earnings as oil prices surged and refining profits improved along with the global economy.

Gold continued its explosive rise, when measured in the falling US dollar currency, on Friday trading for $1,540 per ounce, marking a new record high yet again and set for its seventh successive weekly gain.

Euro zone inflation rose further above the European Central Bank's target in April, increasing the chances of an interest rate rise in June, despite a weakening of economic sentiment and household demand.

Merck & Co reported higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings, fueled by cost cutting and strong sales of its drugs for diabetes, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are officially a married couple.

Oil prices hovered near 31-month highs as a weak dollar and violence in North Africa and the Middle East outweighed concerns about slowing growth in top consumer the United States.

Asia needs to work to ensure the potential of its economic and political rise is realized, including fulfilling its responsibilities as a global player, the Asian Development Bank said ahead of its annual meeting next week in Vietnam.

Caterpillar Inc recorded a fivefold surge in profit and raised its forecast for the rest of the year, citing rising demand for its bulldozers, excavators and other heavy equipment.

Rising gasoline and food prices lifted consumer spending in March and the increase in overall inflation from a year-ago was the largest in 10 months, government data showed on Friday.

Here are photos of the procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.

President Barack Obama - who will tour an area in Alabama devastated by fierce and deadly storms on Friday - signed a major disaster declaration for Alabama on Thursday, a move which authorizes federal funds for the state to deal with the aftermath of deadly storms that have killed 305 people.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday as a bullish stock market was set to enter the seasonally weak month of May with the Dow and the Nasdaq about to post their best month since December.

Caterpillar Inc recorded a fivefold surge in quarterly profit and raised its forecast for the rest of the year, citing rising demand for its bulldozers, excavators and other heavy equipment.

Kate Middleton's dress was the Royal Wedding's best kept secret. As it has been speculated before, Middleton's dress was by the head designer of Alexander McQueen, Sarah Burton.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat to lower open for Wall Street on Friday, reversing gains from the previous session on the last trading session of the month.

Gold steadied on Friday, just shy of fresh record highs and set for its seventh successive weekly gain, driven largely by the decline in the dollar to its lowest in nearly three years.

As the space shuttle Endeavour is set to launch for the final time, here is a look back at some of its 19-year history.