IBT Staff Reporter

An increasingly heated battle in the global smartphone market is set to weigh on handset vendors' profit margins during the remainder of the year, analysts said on Friday.

The dollar fell to an eight-month low against the yen on Friday, hurt by selling from Japanese exporters and concerns that U.S. GDP data would add to signs of fading momentum for the U.S. economic recovery.

Oil prices rose on Thursday as the dollar weakened to a 12-week low against the euro, boosting demand for oil priced in dollars, and after European data showed eurozone economic sentiment has improved.

The dollar eked out small gains against the euro in early trade on Friday, but remained on the defensive near a three-month low against a basket of currencies on concerns U.S. growth may be disappointingly weak.

Gold edged down on Friday after the dollar firmed against the euro, but trading was thin as investors awaited the release of U.S. second quarter GDP data for clues on the direction of the economy.

Palladium, which has been hoping to perform better in the coming months with auto sales zooming in several countries, witnessed a turbulent month in July.

Fourteen diamond companies from Antwerp, Belgium, will exhibit in the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion at the 27th India International Jewellery Show in Mumbai from August 19 to 23.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said the risk of deflation in the United States has risen somewhat compared with the beginning of this year, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

Samsung Electronics Co, the world's top maker of memory chips and flat screen TVs, reported a record quarterly profit on Friday, aided by strong sales of both of its key products.

Citigroup Inc will pay $75 million to settle charges that it failed to disclose subprime exposure to investors in 2007, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

Navigation technology company TeleNav Inc warned that a contract renegotiation with its largest customer could lead to a fall in revenue, sending its shares down 16 percent in extended trade.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the billionaire Samuel Wyly and his brother Charles with fraud for reaping more than $550 million of illicit gains by trading stock in four companies while they were serving as directors.

A global accounting standard setter proposed a new rule for insurers on Friday, aiming to shine a light on a sector criticized by investors for being a black box that keeps them in the dark.

Google Inc said its earlier report that Internet search services in China were being fully blocked could have been the result of a technical glitch that overstated the problem.

The Australian Dollar has opened around USD0.9000 this morning after trending higher in the early part of the European session.

MetLife Inc , the biggest U.S. life insurance company, posted a second-quarter profit of $1.53 billion, helped by higher premium revenue from sales domestically and abroad.

Microsoft Corp set out its ambitions to dominate the consumer electronics market on Thursday with Windows-powered tablet computers and smartphones designed to beat back advances by Apple Inc and Google Inc.

The Aussie dollar staged a remarkable recovery over the last 24 hours rallying from a post inflation report low of 0.8904 to trade at a high of 0.9040 overnight.

Google Inc said its Web search and mobile services in China were blocked on Thursday, weeks after Beijing agree to extend the company's Chinese webpage license.

BNP Paribas SA has hired former Bank of America Corp executive Chris Innes to head equity sales for the Americas in New York, a person familiar with the matter said.

Google Inc said on Friday the firm's report that web searches in China were being blocked could have been the result of its own technical glitch that overstated the problem.

McAfee Inc, the No. 2 security software maker, reported better-than-expected profit on Thursday, lifted by growth in its consumer business.

Microsoft Corp showed off prototype phones featuring its new mobile software to Wall Street analysts on Thursday, but is yet to set a date for their rollout beyond availability this holiday shopping season.

South Australians trying to quit smoking will get free SMS messages supporting their effort from Quit onQ if they want to.

Online travel agency Expedia Inc on Thursday reported a higher-than-expected profit as travel bookings rose, boosting its shares 2 percent.

Quest Software Inc posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by a 25 percent jump in license revenue, sending its shares up 6 percent in extended trade.

Two lawsuits have been filed over a gob of toothpaste.

Google Inc's Web search and mobile services in China were blocked on Thursday, according to a message on the company's website.

(Corrects value in second sub-head to $40 bln, not $40 mln)