IBT Staff Reporter

Safaricom, Kenya's largest company by market capitalisation, dragged down the main index after losing more than 4.0 percent on Friday.

The South African rand fell to its lowest in five weeks on Friday, as the central bank mopped up dollar supply as a measure to curb currency strength, while waning global risk appetite also weighed.

Bullion rebounded on Friday as the euro lost strength despite better-than-forecast debt auctions by Spain and Italy, while purchases from jewellers and investors, which sent premiums for gold bars to two-year highs, offered additional support.

South Africa's rand was steady against the dollar in early Friday trade, with healthy flows to the stock market balancing out central bank dollar-buying, dealers said.

The Kenyan shilling firmed against the dollar on Friday after the greenback lost ground against major hard currencies, increasing investors' appetite for riskier assets.

Telkom, Africa's biggest fixed-line phone operator, said on Friday its acting chief executive officer will not renew his contract when it expires at the end of March, sending its shares lower.

The hacker who published a jailbreak for the Sony PS3 is fighting back with his own lawyer's objections to the restraining order Sony is seeking.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday after weak retail sales and a mixed reaction to JPMorgan Chase & Co's quarterly earnings.

The Ugandan shilling strengthened marginally on Friday, supported by central bank intervention after it hit a record low against the dollar, but traders said the currency's reprieve could be short-lived.

An improving global economy, solid corporate earnings and even easing fears about euro zone debt have been more than enough to rationalise the rising hunger for riskier assets now prevalent on financial markets.

Ethiopia's annual inflation rate jumped to 14.5 percent last month from 10.2 percent in November following an almost 17 percent devaluation of its currency last year.

France will provide Cameroon with 213 billion CFA francs worth of grants over the next five years to pay for agricultural and infrastructure projects, state radio announced on Friday.

The U.S. economy still needs support from the Federal Reserve even if growth prospects appear firmer, top Federal Reserve officials said on Friday.

Optimism about corporate earnings, bolstered by JPMorgan, lifted U.S. stocks on Friday and set the S&P 500 on the path for seven straight weeks of gains.

The expected vote on whether to repeal the health reform law comes less than a year after it was passed strictly along partisan lines last March.

Wikipedia's impact on the world has yet to peak as the open online encyclopedia aims to double its reach, mainly through expansion in developing countries, founder Jimmy Wales told Reuters.

U.S. December retail sales rose slightly less than expected, but retail sales for all of 2010 reversed two years of contraction and posted the biggest gain in more than a decade.

The U.S. Treasury said on Friday it will auction warrants in Citigroup Inc , Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc and Wintrust Financial Corp. during the current quarter.

Israeli specialty cell phone manufacturer will close up shop in February.

Australia's University of New South Wales has broken the Guinness land speed record for a solar-powered car - about 55 miles per hour.

Most law firm partners are only somewhat satisfied with their pay and think they should be paid more, according to a survey conducted by Major, Lindsey & Africa on the satisfaction of law firm partners with their compensation and compensation systems.

The legal sector has lost 1,000 jobs in December, recording its third straight month of job losses, but overall, the sector has more jobs than a year ago, according to the data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Linklaters has played a lead role in advising private equity investment group Apax Partners on the $1.7 billion acquisition of the value-clothing retailer, Takko Holding GmbH from Advent International.

A federal court has granted a permanent injunction, barring a Pembroke Pines, Florida woman from preparing federal income taxes for others after federal investigators found she falsely claim tax credits and deductions, including the first-time-homebuyer credit, for her customers.

Online coupon site Groupon and Internet radio company Pandora are moving ahead with plans for initial public offerings, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Hasbro Inc said quarterly sales dropped unexpectedly as demand in the United States petered out at the end of the holiday selling season, and the No. 2 U.S. toy company's shares initially fell more than 5 percent.

Optimism about corporate earnings, bolstered by JPMorgan Chase & Co, lifted the stock market slightly on Friday, offsetting lukewarm economic data and putting the S&P 500 on track for a seventh straight week of gains.

The president of Tunisia has dismissed his government and called for early elections, according to a report from the country's state TV network.

Germany faced mounting pressure from its euro zone partners on Friday to boost a rescue fund for troubled member states after French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said governments were considering expanding it.