IBT Staff Reporter

Wall Street retreated from its 29-month high on Friday as escalating anti-government protests in Egypt prompted investors to move away from equities and into safer assets.

Crude oil prices surged, stocks fell around the world and the dollar gained on Friday as images of street battles in Egypt riveted investors and raised concerns the protests will intensify and spread across the Middle East.

Egypt has officially cut off Internet access to the country, marking the first time in the history of the Internet when a nation-state has gone dark. Other nations, though, seem reluctant to follow suit.

A Mauri, Hawaii-based man has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for passing on classified national defense information to China, besides committing other offenses such as money laundering and filing false tax returns.

Donald Verrilli Jr., a former partner at Jenner & Block, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the Solicitor General of the United States.

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has agreed to pay the U.S. government $2 million to settle charges that it acted with others in knowingly violating the False Claims Act by rigging a contract at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

A federal judge in California has allowed a committee of Hewlett-Packard's directors to begin a probe into the circumstances culminating in Mark Hurd's departure from the company.

BigLaw layoffs have slowed considerably in 2010 compared to the previous year, according to a blog that tracks layoffs at major law firms.

Bank of America Corp's Merrill Lynch unit has agreed to pay $10 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that has accused it of fraudulently misusing customer orders so it could trade for its own benefit.

U.S. generic drug maker Mylan Inc has settled two U.S. patent disputes with global pharma giant Pfizer Inc, which will enable the former to sell the generic versions of cholesterol drug Lipitor and combination blood pressure and cholesterol treatment Caduet.

Sara Lee Corp plans to split into two separate public companies focusing on North American meats and international coffee after takeover bids it received were not enough to entice it to sell the company.

The final moments of the Challenger mission captured on audio and video.

The National Football League is tackling the event hospitality business for its top properties, including the Super Bowl, as a way to boost business and bring it closer to its corporate and individual fans.

Stocks fell from 29-month highs on Friday as investors worried about escalating anti-government protests in Egypt and as Amazon and Ford shares tumbled after results.

Chevron Corp reported a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Friday, lifted by the sharp rise in oil prices and the sale of its stake in a pipeline company.

All across Europe, from Brussels to the Balkans, a new generation of WikiLeaks-style websites is sprouting.

Sara Lee Corp plans to split into two separate public companies focusing on North American meats and international coffee after takeover bids it received were not enough to entice it to sell the company.

AirTran Holdings Inc, which has agreed to be acquired by low-cost rival Southwest Airlines Co, said higher fuel costs led to a lower quarterly profit.

The U.S. economy gathered speed in the fourth quarter, though a touch below expectations, with the biggest gain in consumer spending in more than four years and strong exports offering the clearest signals yet that a sustainable recovery is under way.

British Petroleum (NYSE: BP) is said to be considering spilling cash – not oil – to its public shareholders. Shareholders of the oil giant, which is infamous for being responsible for the oil spill off the Gulf coast region in June, the worst oil spill in history, are calling for the company to pay a dividend once again

Nasdaq did not publish quotes for its main indexes after the market opened on Friday due to a data outage, but individual stock quotes were unaffected.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc raised its 2011 profit forecast on Friday and said it would sell a unit that makes antifreeze and other car care products for $950 million.

Harvard Business School has included the heroic response of Taj Mahal hotel staff during the 26/11 terror attacks in the western Indian financial capital of Mumbai as part of a case study, according to a hotel spokesperson.

South Africa has taken measures to counter capital inflows but the rand is still overvalued, the country's finance minister said on Friday.

Vulnerable economy and parental unemployment affecting students' emotional health, finds CIRP Survey

Stocks fell on Friday as weak corporate results, including Ford's, offset data showing the U.S. economic expansion gathered speed in the fourth quarter.

Fund manager T Rowe Price Group said fourth-quarter profit rose 26 percent as assets increased on market appreciation and inflows.

The U.S. economy gathered speed in the fourth quarter to regain its pre-recession peak with a big gain in consumer spending and strong exports, removing doubts about the recovery's sustainability.

U.S. grain prices should stay unrelentingly high this year, according to a Reuters poll, the latest sign that the era of cheap food has come to an end.