IBT Staff Reporter

Asian stocks fell for a fourth straight session on Friday, driven by expectations of tighter financial regulation ahead of the weekend G20 meeting and uncertainty about the global economic recovery.

U.S. lawmakers on Friday were close to finalizing a historic overhaul of financial regulations as they reached a preliminary deal on derivatives, the most contentious sticking point of the bill.

Asian stocks on Friday slid for a fourth straight session, driven by expectations of tighter financial regulation ahead of the weekend G20 meeting and uncertainty about the global economic recovery.

The dollar made little headway on Friday in subdued trade as traders marked time ahead of a Group of 20 leaders' summit this weekend, but remained wary about chasing riskier assets given debt and growth worries.

China's Ministry of Commerce, a long-standing opponent of a stronger yuan, fell into line on Friday behind the scrapping of the currency's peg to the dollar but said the exchange rate would climb only gradually.

The yen rose broadly and stayed near a 1-month high against the dollar on Friday on short covering, and as falls in regional share markets prompted traders to further sell risky currencies such as the Australian dollar.

Oil slipped on Friday, heading for a weekly drop of 1.3 percent, as falling equity markets tempered an early boost from indications that the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season might be developing. Asian stocks slid on Friday for a fourth straight session, driven by expectations of tighter financial regulation and uncertainty about the global economic recovery ahead of the weekend G20 meeting. Concerns about the Greek debt crisis had also sent Wall Street lower on Thursday.

The dollar was on the defensive on Friday on doubts about a recovery in the U.S. economy while short covering and a general wariness towards riskier assets kept the yen near a one-month high against the greenback.

Gold dropped on Friday as early buying linked to crumbling stock markets subsided, but a rise in ETF holdings to a record high indicated persistent worries over the global economy. Investors were also looking to the Group of 20 summit this weekend in Toronto, where leaders from rich and developing nations will discuss how to plot the world's emergence from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Gold price rebounded strongly after being pressured in early trading session amid renewed concerns over defaults in peripheral European bonds. CDS for Greek bonds jumped to a record level while that for Spanish and Portugal bonds also soared. Weakness in market sentiment boosted flight for safety and sent gold modestly higher. The benchmark contract closed at 1245.9, up +0.90% but remained -1.63% below the all-time high at 1266.5 (June 21). Today in Asia, gold changes little but reduction in ris...

Gold prices advanced further in Asian trade Friday after equity markets fall down on global economic uncertainty. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1244.45 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while August gold was at $1245.92 an ounce on Comex division of the NY Mercantile Exchange.

The gold hysteria has hit Australia hard as investors dump paper money and turn to precious metals as a source of diversification of their wealth, according toGeorge Vo, Precious Metals Sales Manager of Gold De Royale, Australia's premier retailer for Swiss precious metals. With gold prices hitting an all time high at US$1,266.50 an ounce, investors bought Swiss precious metals as a hedge against financial turbulence caused by Europe's debt crisis.

LOS ANGELES - One question that needs to be asked a day after Google's landmark win over Viacom in the YouTube copyright-infringement case is whether Google could have gotten away with doing less about protected content on its video-sharing platform.

American International Group's failed sale of its Asian life insurance unit AIA has led to increased tensions between Chief Executive Robert Benmosche and Chairman Harvey Golub, the Financial Times said, citing people close to the situation.

Buyout funds are making a comeback, scouring deals from Australia to America after nearly two years of virtual shutdown, but private equity-backed M&A volumes remain far short of the boom times.

U.S. lawmakers on Friday neared a breakthrough in their historic rewrite of financial regulations as they agreed to tough new limits on banks' trading activity and floated a compromise on derivatives.

Banks would face stricter limits on risky trading and investing, but could make small investments in private equity and hedge funds under a modified Volcker rule backed by U.S. lawmakers on Thursday.

Boeing Co will inspect its entire test fleet of 787 Dreamliners before further flights after identifying a workmanship issue that affects the jet's horizontal stabilizers, the company said on Thursday.

World leaders aimed for a common target on Thursday of securing the economic recovery, but disagreed over how best to reach it.

Lawmakers were locked in an impasse over derivatives on Thursday as they struggled to finish their historic rewrite of U.S. financial regulations.

Research in Motion on Thursday reported subscriber and shipment figures that disappointed investors and rekindled fears that the BlackBerry maker is losing market share to Apple Inc and other rivals.

Oracle Corp reported a quarterly profit that exceeded Street projections and a 14 percent climb in sales of new software, signaling the tech spending recovery is on track as businesses shell out on big-ticket items again.

Banks would face stricter limits on risky trading and investing, but could make small investments in private equity and hedge funds under a modified Volcker rule backed by U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday.

H&R Block Inc , the largest U.S. tax preparer, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, partly helped by lower operating expenses, but declined to provide a guidance.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday that the Group of 20 leaders' summit should focus on both growth and fiscal responsibility to lay a foundation for stronger economic growth in the future.

The four largest mortgage lenders in the United States were grilled on Capitol Hill on Thursday about the limited number of home loans they have modified for homeowners facing foreclosure.

After a brief rally yesterday, the AUD has fallen back through USD0.8700 as risk aversion trading was back in play.

Banks would face tougher curbs on trading but would be able to hold limited hedge fund positions under a proposal unveiled by Senate Democrats as they closed in on a final overhaul of financial regulations.

Research in Motion said quarterly profit rose almost 20 percent, but the BlackBerry maker's shares fell 3.7 percent in trade after the bell as shipments and subscriber growth fell short of expectations.