IBT Staff Reporter

GlaxoSmithKline Plc's diabetes pill Avandia came under intense scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic on Friday, leaving the drug's future uncertain as its maker battles a growing tide of lawsuits.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc was sued by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co, which accused the Wall Street bank of fraudulently misleading it into buying preferred stock of mortgage financier Fannie Mae that would become virtually worthless.

Stocks edged higher on Friday, headed for their best week in a year, as investors looked forward to the start of the earnings season after weeks of selling.

A contract has been awarded for research to help counter computer-based threats to national-security networks, the chief U.S. code-cracking and eavesdropping agency said, amid mounting concern over cyber vulnerabilities.

Sales at U.S. wholesalers fell unexpectedly in May for the first time in more than a year, lifting inventories to their highest level in 11 months, a government report showed on Friday.

Ford Motor Co is recalling 33,700 of its Transit Connect small commercial vans over an interior liner while Chrysler Group said it was recalling certain 2010 SUVs and trucks over a possible brake fluid leak.

Toyota Motor Corp is working to develop a prototype electric vehicle with Tesla Motors as it continues work on a battery-powered small car the Japanese automaker plans to launch in 2012.

Denso Corp, Japan's No.1 car parts maker, will likely review its earnings outlook around late October for a possible upgrade after a strong first quarter eased worries about the impact of the yen's strength

The Dow and S&P 500 were little changed on Friday as the S&P was headed for its best week so far this year and investors looked ahead to the start of earnings season.

German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle has rebuffed a request by Ford's German unit for state support, saying the U.S. carmaker's business was recovering, a newspaper reported on Friday.

French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen on Friday signed a deal to set up a 50-50 manufacturing venture with China Changan Automotive Group as it moves to ramp up capacity in the world's largest auto market.

Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda said on Friday higher wages among Chinese factory workers would create a new class of consumers, and that the trend therefore had both good and bad elements.

An upstart online news service has led the way in investigating France's latest political funding scandal, defying President Nicolas Sarkozy's efforts to stamp his influence on the media.

Alcoa Inc (AA.N), facing a sharp drop in aluminum prices, is losing favor on Wall Street as analysts lower their expectations for the company's earnings. Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, is expected to turn a second-quarter profit after a year-ago loss, but analysts have recently been cutting their forecasts, and one sees the possibility of a return to red ink later this year.

Boeing Co submitted its formal proposal to begin building a new U.S. Air Force aerial tanker fleet in a contest worth up to $50 billion that pits it once more against archrival Airbus.

Gold rose 1.5 percent to above $1,210 an ounce on Friday, alongside other commodities such as copper and oil, while underlying cautiousness in the market continued to boost its safe-haven appeal. Traders said some short-covering and momentum buying after bullion broke above the key $1,200 an ounce mark have accelerated gains, but added that they did not expect further hefty gains.

A rally that pushed the euro to its highest level in more than two months stalled on Friday and the currency fell due largely to technical factors as investors took profits before the weekend. The euro rose 1.3 percent this week and touched $1.2723 earlier in the session, its highest level since early May, supported by strong German factory data, a positive U.S. jobs report and more clarity on European bank stress tests.

Oil topped $76 a barrel on Friday and was heading for a weekly gain of more than 4 percent following bullish economic and crude inventory data this week. U.S. shares seesawed on Friday after three positive sessions in a pre-earnings pause before U.S. corporations kick off earnings season next week.

Gold rose back above $1,210 an ounce on Friday as a stock market rally showed signs of running out of steam, pointing to persistent jitters among investors, with buyers also attracted by the metal's dip to six-week lows.

The Dow and S&P were little changed on Friday, following three days of gains as investors looked ahead to the start of earnings season while Google helped keep the Nasdaq in modestly positive territory.

Mid- and small-capitalization stocks often serve as a leading indicator for the direction of the U.S. economy. So what does it say that they are down roughly 15 to 20 percent?

Canada's economy created far more jobs than expected in June in a surprising sign of strength after a raft of discouraging data, fueling expectations the central bank will hike interest rates again this month.

U.S. 30-year mortgage rates dropped to a new record low in the past week, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac FMCC.OB, as concerns mounted about the economic recovery.

Wholesales sales fell unexpectedly for the first time in more than a year, lifting inventories to their highest level in 11 months, a government report showed on Friday.

Stocks rose slightly on Friday as Wall Street looked for a fourth straight session of gains ahead of the start of earnings season next week.

Oil edged up toward $76 a barrel on Friday and was heading for a weekly gain of more than 4 percent, after a drop in U.S. inventories and positive economic indicators lifted sentiment across markets. European shares drifted higher on Friday for a fourth straight session, supported by soothing U.S. jobless and retail sales numbers. Wall Street rose in early trade, while the euro slipped off two-month highs against the dollar.

Palladium, which was expected to gain this year due to the high growth in auto ales in China and India, may in fact decline by 12 per cent to about $395 an ounce in the coming weeks.Palladium is hugely used in catalytic converters in cars. Palladium has been the worst-performing precious metal last quarter.

Google Inc said on Friday that the Chinese authorities had renewed its license to operate a website, averting a potential shutdown of its flagship search page in the world's biggest Internet market.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open in what could be a volatile session on Friday after Wall Street recorded three straight winning days and as investors braced for the start of earnings season next week.