IBT Staff Reporter

Cyber activists striking at companies seen as enemies of WikiLeaks sought to block the website of online payment firm Moneybookers on Friday but denied their campaign was intended to damage economic activity.

General Motors Co Chief Executive Dan Akerson said on Friday that the automaker is seeking some relaxation in the restrictions on executive pay imposed by the U.S. government.

South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak, stated that reunification with North Korea would 'definitely' take place. His statement also comes close to Wikileaks revelations that suggested that North's biggest ally China is reportedly backing a plan for reunification. A leaked diplomatic cable sent out to Washington by US diplomats maintained that South Korean officials would press for reunification but precisely, under their control.

Changes reserve ratio level in third paragraph to 18.5 percent, not 19 percent

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed much more than expected in October, as exports rose a robust 3.2 percent and imports declined slightly in the face of slackening demand for industrial and petroleum products, a Commerce Department report showed on Friday.

China's central bank on Friday increased the amount of money that lenders must keep on reserve for the third time in one month, a move to mop up excess cash in the economy and rein in inflation.

China's central bank raised its reserve ratio for the third time in five weeks as it attempts to 'normalize' its monetary policies.

Smaller developing countries should prepare measures to be able to cope with inflows of cash as investors look for bigger returns outside sluggish developed economies, Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Friday.

Australia have sprung a major over-haul of their 12-man squad for the third Ashes test at Perth against England, with the shock inclusion of the little-known Michael Beer raising eyebrows.

The company supports an initiative to create hydrogen fuel cell infrastructure in Hawaii.

Robots could assist doctors and nurses with monitoring patients, boosting efficiency.

Patent collecting company Intellectual Ventures, which was started by former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold, has filed patent lawsuits against nine companies.

U.K.'s producer prices index fell to 0.3 percent in November from 0.6 percent, mainly due to a rise in fuel and food prices, a report by the Office for National Statistics said.

Stocks were little changed on Friday with the S&P 500 locked in a tight trading range and as the dollar gained, but encouraging data limited the downside.

Bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc took another step in its restructuring this week, but it is only noticeable to those looking closely: it put the company's logo back on employee identification cards.

Fitch said it would take several years before crisis-hit Ireland would be back in 'A' credit status, after the ratings agency became the first among its peers to strip Dublin of its 'A' rating to BBB+.

Britain's parliament on December 9 approved plans to triple tuition fees paid by university students.

Ford Motors will invest $600 million to transform its Louisville Assembly Plant into a state-of-the-art facility to build the Escape and create 1,800 new jobs, the carmaker said in a statement.

Twitter is ending the year with the number of accounts touching the 100 million mark. To celebrate, the site has created an infographic on Twitter's 'Class of 2010', which includes Bill Gates, Kanye West, Tiger Woods and many more.

Germany and France pledged on Friday to better align their tax and labor policies to foster convergence in the euro zone, but rejected calls for an increase in the bloc's rescue fund and joint sovereign bonds.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed much more than expected in October, as exports rose a robust 3.2 percent and imports declined slightly in the face of slackening demand for industrial and petroleum products, a Commerce Department report showed on Friday.

China's central bank on Friday raised the amount of money the country's lenders must keep on reserve for the third time in a month, following a spate of robust data that strengthened the case for policy tightening.

China Petrochemical Corp, parent of Sinopec Corp <0386.HK>, agreed to buy all of U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp's oil and gas assets in Argentina for $2.45 billion, marking the energy giant's first foray into the upstream market in the Latin America country.

In conversation with Rebecca Joffrey, Director – Career Education, Tuck School of Business, who believes that2011 is going to be a strong year for MBA recruiting.

Cyber activists striking at companies seen as enemies of WikiLeaks tried to block the website of online payment firm Moneybookers on Friday but denied their campaign was intended to damage economic activity.

Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors Co will allow drivers of their electric vehicles to share battery chargers at their 2,900 dealerships nationwide in a bid to increase the popularity and convenience of the eco-friendly cars, report said.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp on Thursday announced its plans to invest $532 million in a new Thailand plant, where it will manufacture 'global small' cars in March 2012.

Wall Street was set for a slightly higher open on Friday following encouraging data out of China and as a two-year high in the S&P 500 had investors betting on a year-end rally.

Despite having strong sales on Black Friday, most consumers are still being cautious about holiday spending, with the majority of them saying they plan to spend about the same as last year, according to a report by NPD Group.