IBT Staff Reporter

With the U.S. team playing in the World Cup tournament, Wall Street traders are taking advantage of mediocre volume to focus on the games, with trading floor atmosphere anything but dull.

Ford Motor Co is counting on a leaner and greener makeover of its Explorer to find new buyers for a once hot-selling sport utility vehicle that powered the automaker's profits a decade ago.

Borders Group Inc Chief Financial Officer Mark Bierley is taking on the additional role of chief operating officer, the latest change to the U.S. bookseller's upper management ranks.

Stocks were little changed on Friday as energy shares gained modestly and investors took a breather from the financial crisis in Europe.

Borders Group Inc Chief Financial Officer Mark Bierley is taking on the role of chief operating officer, the latest change to the U.S. bookseller's upper management ranks.

Cubans' ability to communicate with one another and the world remained well below the norm for the Caribbean and Latin America in 2009, according to a government report released this week.

As early word of BP's Deepwater Horizon blowout began spreading, investors panicked. After closing above $60 before the April 20 disaster, the energy giant's shares plunged almost 20 percent in New York, to below $50, in just two weeks.

The United States pressed China on Friday to move toward a market-based exchange rate but Beijing said not to meddle with its management of the yuan, setting the stage for a clash at next week's G20 summit.

BP CEO Tony Hayward may cling on after Thursday's mauling by U.S. lawmakers over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, investors and analysts said, while chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg looked less secure.

CVS Caremark Corp and Walgreen Co ended an 11-day standoff over reimbursements for drug prescriptions, saving a relationship worth billions of dollars and lifting shares of the two biggest U.S. drugstore chains.

The euro held near a three-week high against the dollar on Friday, heading for its biggest weekly gain in more than a year as investors debated the single currency's outlook while awaiting results of European bank stress tests.

Majority of the investors who took part in the 2010 Resource Investor Survey felt that gold prices will reach $1500 by end of 2010, according to Dig Media Inc. Dig Media recently conducted its Resources Investing News 2010 Survey to gauge the interests of its readers and gain insight into investors' perception of the markets.

Gold rallied to a record high above $1,260 an ounce on Friday as momentum triggered by buying of the metal as a haven from sovereign and financial risk pushed prices through technical resistance.

Antwerp World Diamond Centre elections witnessed an Indian onslaught this week when they swept the polls held on Wednesday. AWDC is the governing body of Antwerp's diamond trade, presiding over a multibillion dollar business that accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Belgium's exports.

Communications authorities on Thursday took a small but significant step toward regulating high-speed Internet in a bid to reclaim oversight, setting the stage for an eventual legal showdown with industry heavyweights.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday and were set for back-to-back weekly gains as investors braced for volatility ahead of the expiration of stock options.

BP shares gained in London on Friday after its boss survived a bruising encounter with U.S. lawmakers and as hopes rose its $20 billion oil spill compensation and clean-up fund will cap public anger.

CVS Caremark Corp and Walgreen Co ended a fight over reimbursements for drug prescriptions, saving a relationship worth billions of dollars and lifting shares of the two biggest U.S. drugstore chains.

The euro held near a three-week high against the U.S. dollar on Friday, heading for its biggest weekly gain in more than a year as results of Spain's bond auctions eased worries about the European debt crisis.

China told the rest of the world on Friday not to meddle with the way it manages the yuan, setting the stage for a clash with its biggest trading partners at next week's G20 summit.

President Barack Obama raised the prospect of a clash with China at a summit next week by calling for market-determined exchange rates, shortly after Beijing told the world not to criticize its currency policy.

Stocks were set to edge lower at the open on Friday, following a late Wall Street rally, as investors positioned for the expiration of futures and options contracts.

Citigroup Inc is looking to raise more than $3 billion for private equity and hedge funds this year, a person familiar with the matter said.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday, following a late rally in a choppy session on Wall Street as investors positioned for the expiration of futures and options contracts.

Gold held within reach of record highs in Europe on Friday as buyers looked to it as a haven against persistent fears of sovereign risk in Europe and after lackluster U.S. data raised doubts over wider economic recovery.

The euro was pinned near three-week highs on Friday, on track for its second successive week of gains, while the dollar appeared vulnerable to further losses after falling below a key chart level. The dollar slipped after a slew of disappointing U.S. economic data, which helped push U.S. Treasury yields to their lowest in a week.

A parts supplier for Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. said on Friday it was dealing with its second strike in China this week, the latest in a rash of factory labor disputes across the country.

Oil prices fell more then $1 per barrel on Friday, retracing after sharp gains, on signs economic growth in the world's top two oil consumers may not be as rapid as expected. A Chinese central bank adviser said on Friday economic growth was expected to slow in the second half of this year and that double-digit growth for the full year seemed unlikely.

The euro was pinned near three-week highs on Friday, on track for its second successive week of gains, while the dollar appeared vulnerable to further losses after falling below a key chart level.