IBT Staff Reporter

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft successfully entered orbit Thursday night marking the end of a six and a half-year journey to the solar system's innermost planet.

Impending 8-magnitude aftershock is yet to come and it may devastate Tokyo and surrounding regions, says UC Davis seismologist.

The following is a roundup of the effect on the energy and commodities sector of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeast coast of Japan.

Vanessa Hudgens' nude photo hackers have reportedly target a total of 50 actresses, including Scarlett Johansson, Miley Cyrus, and Ali Larter.

U.S. food company General Mills has won the bidding for a stake in Yoplait, and will pay 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) for 50 percent of a yogurt brand whose U.S. distribution rights it has long held.

Brent crude jumped by more than $1 to $116 on Friday on fears of rising geopolitical tension in the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa, after the United Nations approved military action to contain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

In a recent interview, director Gary Ross allayed all fears regarding the choices made to bring Suzanne Collins' best-selling trilogy 'The Hunger Games' into the big screen and casting of Jennifer Lawrence.

Private equity fund PAI Partners and French dairy co-operative Sodiaal confirmed they had entered exclusive talks with General Mills toward a sale of 50 percent of yogurt brand Yoplait.

Japan bought billions of dollars to restrain a soaring yen on Friday, kicking off joint market intervention by the world's richest nations to calm global markets made nervous by the threat of a meltdown at a nuclear power plant near Tokyo.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa reiterated the central bank's resolve to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy following Friday's Group of Seven agreement to join in a rare coordinated intervention to restrain soaring yen.

The grounds of the Springfield Technical Community College, which hosted the former Springfield armory over 40 years ago, would be tested for traces of radioactive material that may have been used at the weapons facility when in operation.

Brent crude jumped by more than $1 to stand above $116 on Friday on fears of rising geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa, after the U.N. approved military action to curb Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Microsoft Corp claimed credit on Thursday for taking down one of the biggest producers of spam e-mail in a joint effort with federal authorities across the United States.

Hawaiian tourism, a keystone of the state's economy just starting to rebound from a long slump, is taking a new hit from a plunge in Japanese leisure travel after the devastating earthquake and tsunami there.

The yen tumbled more than 3 percent on Friday after Group of Seven finance ministers agreed to immediately and jointly intervene against the Japanese currency's surge to a record peak, with Bank of Japan buying pushing the dollar above 81 yen.

CBOE Holdings Inc's second exchange, C2, could quickly boost its market share once it lists the exclusive Standard and Poor's 500 Index option, the head of a rival exchange said on Thursday.

The Group of Seven industrial nations agreed on Friday to jointly intervene in the currency market to stem a sharp yen rise that complicates Japan's battle with the devastation caused by last week's violent earthquake and an unfolding nuclear crisis.

General Motors Co said it would temporarily idle its pick-up truck plant in Louisiana due to a parts shortage stemming from the crisis in Japan.

The Group of Seven finance chiefs said authorities from the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Central Bank will join with Japan in joint foreign exchange intervention from Friday, at the request of the Japanese authorities.

Samsung Electronics Co <005930.KS>, the world's top memory chip maker, forecast on Friday a challenging business outlook due to growing competition, but said it was aiming to achieve record profit this year.

The head of corporate computing giant EMC Corp., admitted Thursday that its business security division RSA become a victim of and advanced cyber attack, although it doesn't expect this to affect in a big way financially.

The yen skidded on Friday after the Group of Seven finance ministers agreed to act to limit the currency's strength, with the dollar popping above 81 yen in a move that could put further pressure on players to unwind long yen positions.

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's plans to launch a rival bid for NYSE Euronext faces hurdles as differences with potential partner IntercontinentalExchange Inc persist, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Thursday.

Kraft Foods said on Thursday it upped the U.S. prices for many of its coffees this week, raising Maxwell House by 22 percent, the biggest of four hikes in the past year as roasters face soaring markets.

The Internet giant will be sponsoring around 20 projects focusing on the fundamentals of online auctions across three Israeli universities.

Apple Inc may face shortages of key components for its newly-released iPad 2 as a result of the earthquake in Japan, according to a report released on Thursday.

Some of the largest U.S. banks will be notified on Friday whether they passed a second round of stress tests conducted by the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The New York Times will start charging for full access to its articles on phones, tablet computers and the Web, in a bold plan that risks alienating readers of its popular news website.

The United Nations Security Council has approved military strikes on Libyan air defenses, a move following weeks of talks led by France, Britain and the United States to mobilize the international community to take action against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, which is engaged in armed conflict with rebels.