IBT Staff Reporter

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.

Nigerian interbank lending rates fell to an average of 4.92 percent this week from 9.25 percent last week as budgetary allocations to the three tiers of government boosted liquidity, traders said on Friday.

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's sister-in-law Marion Madoff has listed her Palm Beach, FL home for $6.5 million.

The Kenyan shilling was barely moved against the dollar on Friday as traders squared positions but they said high oil prices were likely to stoke dollar demand and weigh on the local currency next week.

South African government bonds sharply extended losses on Friday, a day after the central bank left interest rates unchanged and hinted it might have ended a cutting cycle as inflationary pressures rise.

EU sanctions aiming to squeeze Ivory Coast incumbent Laurent Gbagbo's access to funding could hurt the nation's 40,000-barrel-per-day oil sector and may shut down its 80,000 bpd refinery within months, according to the head of the state oil firm.

India's largest listed company, Reliance Industries Ltd , posted its highest ever quarterly profit on higher refining and petrochemical margins, but lagged market estimates.

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.

General Electric Co reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, as strong emerging-market demand for industrial equipment brought its first rise in overall revenue since late 2008.

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.

The Swiss prosecutor's office said on Friday former banker Rudolf Elmer would be detained over the weekend after police questioned him this week over possible fresh breaches of Swiss bank law.

Twitter accounts have been hijacked to send out links directing to a fake anti-virus website without the account user's permission.

Investors brushed aside concerns that a surprise shake-up at Google Inc putting co-founder Larry Page back in the top job would prove a distraction at a critical time and focused instead on the company's stellar results.

The U.S. national debt is growing fast and will require massive tax hikes if Congress doesn't act to cut federal spending, Republican lawmakers warned on Thursday.

By lunchtime in London – and compared with New Year 2011's record highs – the Gold Price in Dollars stood 6% lower, in Euros 7.5% down, and in British Pounds nearly 9% lower.

Industrial gas supplier Airgas Inc , which is fending off a hostile takeover by rival Air Products and Chemicals Inc , posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday and boosted its dividend.

The changes at Google have been compared to those at another Internet giant, Yahoo!. But beyond the fact that a founder took over as CEO, the companies are in very different positions.

Gold touched a two-month low in Europe on Friday, pressured by a firmer appetite for assets seen as higher risk on expectations the economic recovery was gaining traction, but a retreat in the dollar prevented a steeper drop.

Strong industrial gas demand from solar panel and semiconductor makers lifted Air Products and Chemicals Inc's quarterly profit above expectations and prompted the company to boost its fiscal 2011 forecast.

The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, supporting her fight for democracy.

Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy announced a service under which customers pay only for the electricity consumed rather than buying its fuel cell energy servers.

Spain plans a partial state takeover of its weakest savings banks as it seeks to reassure investors a rescue will not weigh on its deficit.

President Barack Obama will name General Electric Co. Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt to head a new advisory panel focused on promoting economic growth by investing in business, the White House said on Friday.

Trapster, a site that warns iPhone, Blackberry and Android phone users of speed traps is now warning its 10 million or so users that their passwords and email addresses have been compromised.

Bank of America Corp, the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported a second straight quarterly loss, driven by writedowns in the value of its mortgage business.

Shares in Warner Music Group climbed over 20 percent in premarket trade on Friday.