IBT Staff Reporter

India may shut down Google and Skype Internet-based messaging services over security concerns, the Financial Times reported on Friday, as the government threatened a similar crackdown on BlackBerry services.

Germany's economy grew 2.2 percent in the second quarter, well above forecast and its biggest gain in 23 years, boding well for a first estimate of euro zone numbers later on Friday.

European stocks rallied on Friday and the euro climbed against the dollar and the yen as investors cheered solid readings of economic growth in euro zone countries and a stellar performance in Germany.

The euro jumped and Asian stocks extended gains on Friday after stunning German data showed Europe's biggest economy grew at its fastest pace in 23 years, alleviating some doubts about the strength of global growth.

The yen inched further away from 15-year peaks on Friday as talk swirled that Japan's authorities may soon intervene to curb it, while Asian stocks edged up to claw back some of the week's heavy losses.

A rare 1794 U.S. silver dollar, one of the first minted in the country, sold for $1,207,500 at a Boston auction, the auctioneers said. Bowers and Merena Auctions of California, which held the auction Saturday at the Park Plaza Hotel and Towers in Boston, said the so-called Flowing Hair silver dollar is considered the fourth finest still in existence. Only about 140 are believed to remain in the world, the Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted Financial Technologies Group's Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) the final approval yesterday to operate as an international commodity and currency derivatives exchange.

The much-hyped plan to reopen Scotland's only gold mine in a national park has hit rough weather with its planning chief saying that the project should be abandoned due to the long-term impact on environment. According to media reports, Scotgold Resources wants to extract 20,000 ounces of gold a year from Cononish, south of Tyndrum, Argyll, which lies about 50 miles north of Glasgow and within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

General Motors Co Chief Executive Ed Whitacre resigned on Thursday in an abrupt shift that came as the automaker hit the homestretch in preparing a stock offering to pay back its controversial bailout.

Blockbuster Inc said it has delayed releasing its second-quarter results until Friday from Thursday.

Hewlett-Packard Co's top lawyer, Mike Holston, came to the company on the wings of a board spying scandal in 2006. He is now at the center of another storm, this time surrounding the ouster of his friend, Chief Executive Mark Hurd.

Dan Akerson arrives at General Motors as CEO with the same mandate given his predecessor just eight months ago: bring new leadership to an automaker still struggling with the legacy of its government bailout.

Oracle Corp on Thursday said it has sued Google Inc, alleging patent and copyright infringement in the development of Android software.

Scientists and environmentalists lambasted the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) on Wednesday for failing to conclude the safety review of many pesticides for as long as 17 years.

Researchers at the United Kingdom's Oxford University and the United States National Institutes of Health (USNIH) have found that stress can prevent women from getting pregnant.

A device that can detect if one has cancer or not through his or her breath alone can now also detect the type of cancer the patient has, according to scientists who developed the breath test.

You may have seen a whole new slew of advertisements online and on television trying to revamp the poor image of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). They are basically trying to promote this junk food additive as healthy.

Don't miss another powder day with an injury or weak legs that can't ski more than a half day!

It was a quiet night for currencies overnight, the AUD grinding higher at one stage, back above USD0.9000.

The Aussie dollar experienced a roller coaster ride over the last 24 hours dropping to 0.8920 in Asia before bouncing back to 90 cents in early Europe only to retest 0.8920 in North American trade overnight.

(Corrects to show Brodsky's cash on hand paragraph 19)

Bank regulators on Thursday pledged an open door policy for carrying out financial reform, also saying they will inform the public of meetings between senior officials and private sector individuals.

India, the world's fastest-growing telecom market, said it would hobble Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphone unless the company gives it the keys to decode encrypted email and messages by the end of August.

Researchers believe that a link between brain activity and anxiety disorder may lead to the detection and treatment of the mental illness among children.

Stocks ended down for a third straight day on Thursday as an unexpected rise in jobless claims and a sobering revenue outlook from Cisco underscored the hurdles to economic recovery.

There have been at least three Australian patients who have contracted the new bacterial gene which is highly resistant to antibiotics, says experts.

Chocolate prescription for health sounds wonderful, but scientists in Australia have found that patients usually favored boring pills over antioxidant-packed chocolate as a way to control their blood pressure.

General Motors Co Chief Executive Ed Whitacre resigned suddenly on Thursday as the automaker posted its biggest quarterly profit in six years and readied an IPO expected to allow the U.S. government to relinquish its majority stake.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week to the highest level in close to six months, the latest evidence the economy's recovery is faltering.