IBT Staff Reporter

Google Inc shares shed earlier gains as confidence that CEO Larry Page would rejuvenate the No. 1 Internet search company wavered.

Merrill Lynch's fourth-quarter revenue surged as the No. 2 U.S. brokerage bolstered its ranks of financial advisers and added client assets.

Industrial gas supplier Airgas Inc , which is working to stave off a hostile takeover by rival Air Products and Chemicals Inc , posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as sales surged.

Maarten Lens-Fitzgerald signs off his messages with a little joke: This email might have been written while cycling. It could be an apology for his spelling, an allusion to the fact he's Dutch or even a hint at his oddball imagination. Or perhaps, given Lens-Fitzgerald is the head of a company that wants to fuse the virtual and physical worlds, it could be taken literally.

Schlumberger Ltd , the world's largest oilfield services company, posted a higher-than-expected profit boosted by strong demand in North America, and said it expected brisk activity to continue.

Rutherford B. Hayes is running for President of the United States in 2012. So is Jeff Davis, Robert Lee of Virginia, and Jonathon “the Impaler” Sharkey.

Shares of Synaptics Inc fell 11 percent on Friday, a day after the touchpad maker said sales to its core market dropped during the second quarter hurt by weaker-than-anticipated PC sales.

The World Trade Organization will issue a confidential final ruling on January 31 concerning European claims that Boeing benefited from unfair aircraft subsidies, sources familiar with the case said on Friday.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Friday as General Electric Co's earnings bolstered views the recovery was gaining traction and helped set the market back on its up trend after two days of declines.

Stocks gained on Friday as General Electric Co's earnings bolstered views the recovery was gaining traction and helped set the market back on its up trend after two days of declines.

A New York Jets win this Sunday not only would propel the team to its first Super Bowl appearance since 1969, but could also give the team a boost in revenue while it makes payments on $650-million in debt.

Zsa Zsa Gabor and her husband Frederic Prinz von Anhalt are planning to sell their Bel Air, Calif., mansion for about $28 million. An option of lease and buy is also available, said John Blanchette, a publicist for Gabor.

Jennifer Kate Hudson, 29 years old, announced the details of hersophomore album.The long awaited album 'Remember Me' will be released on March 22 inthe US, according to the American Idol alum press release.

HP is looking to move in a new direction by parting ways with Mark Hurd's supporters on its board of directors.

Bank of America Corp, the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported a second straight quarterly net loss, hurt by a $2 billion writedown of the value of its mortgage business.

Verizon Communications plans to report a $600 million charge for the full year 2010 due to a change in the way it accounts for retirement benefits, following the lead of rival AT&T Inc.

France Telecom's Orange is in talks to buy a stake of between 30 percent and 50 percent in video-sharing web site Dailymotion, a blog on the website of French weekly L'Express said on Friday.

Bank of America Corp, the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported a second straight quarterly loss, driven by a $2 billion writedown of its mortgage business.

Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom has put his home in the Hollywood Hills for rent at a whooping $18,000 a month.

It's almost as if no one cares about earnings at Airgas and Air Products anymore.

Iran gave no sign of making concessions to world powers bent on coaxing it to curb its nuclear programme at talks on Friday, saying it would not discuss suspending sensitive uranium enrichment.

Nintendo raised questions about the health effects on children of using the 3DS, but the console also offers promise in treating visual problems, according to one expert.

General Electric Co reported better-than-expected earnings, helped by the recovery of its finance arm and a rise in revenue at its industrial units, including a sharp pickup in sales of locomotives.

Logitech says the mouse can be used on couches, pillows and beds.

Chinese President Hu Jintao took his political roadshow to the U.S. heartland on Friday, visiting Chicago to highlight business and cultural ties between the world's two largest economies.

Anti-government protesters took to the streets on Friday as Tunisia began three days of mourning for the dozens of people killed during the overthrow of president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Economic activity in Tunisia has been hit by recent political turmoil but it is hard to know exactly by how much without a proper assessment, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday.

Government troops have executed civilians and conducted ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia's Somali Region, a rebel group said on Friday.

At the age of 47, Alex Kirst, the former drummer of Iggy Pop and The Nymphs, has passed away. He was killed in a hit and run incident in California.