IBT Staff Reporter

Even though demand for gold witnessed a fall in India due to the high prices, gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) are going strong still. In fact gold ETFs are expected to see an upward trend on the back of uncertainties in the global financial system.

Sony Corp CEO Howard Stringer took home $4.5 million plus stock options in the past financial year -- when the electronics giant lost close to $450 million -- making him one of the highest paid executives at a Japanese company.

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney cautioned investors again on Friday not to take another interest rate hike for granted, saying volatile global conditions mean no particular path for monetary policy is preordained.

Small and mid-cap Chinese companies are going offshore to meet their U.S. dollar needs, using guarantees from mainland banks despite the increased costs the deals incur. With credit controls tightening in China, going offshore for dollar funding had become a lifeline for many of small- and mid-cap companies, according to bank sources, and as such they did not mind the costs incurred with the guarantee structures.

Citigroup Inc is looking to raise more than $3 billion for its private equity and hedge fund units this year, Bloomberg said, citing people with direct knowledge of the plan.

Asian stocks on Friday ended their best week in six months as investors regained an appetite for risk and brushed aside European debt concerns, while the euro hovered near three-week highs against the dollar.

China told the rest of the world on Friday not to meddle with the way it manages the yuan, calling the exchange rate a sovereign matter for it alone to decide and all but ruling it out of bounds at next week's G20 summit.

The euro held at 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.

Gold held steady near an all-time high on Friday after a rise in physical gold holdings supported by a weaker dollar and persistent worries about Europe's fiscal outlook.

U.S. crude futures extended losses on Friday as sluggish economic indicators raised doubts about the sustainability of a recent acceleration in demand growth by top oil consumer the United States.

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

Stock index futures pointed to a pause in the rally on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.15 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.06 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.03 percent at 0705 GMT.

Gold prices remained near record high in Asian trade Friday as investors continued to trust the precious yellow metal amid Europe's financial crisis. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1244.84 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time after hitting as high as $1248.35 in early trade.

Most Asian stocks rose on Friday, encouraged by a late rebound on Wall Street, while the euro hovered near 3-week highs against the dollar after a strong investor response to Spanish bond auctions.

Motorola Inc will buy back most of its debt and pump the bulk of its remaining cash into its proposed spinoff of its money-losing mobile devices unit, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Investors set aside sovereign debt fears and shifted their money to higher-returning assets in mid June, with emerging market assets and U.S. equities among the recipients of fresh cash, EPFR Global said in a report on Friday.

BP Plc bosses weathered a week of anger in Washington but the energy giant's financial outlook faces renewed scrutiny from investors trying to gauge remaining costs and risks from the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.

Lawmakers accused BP Plc Chief Executive Tony Hayward of evasion and ducking responsibility for the worst oil spill in U.S. history at a hearing on Thursday that was rocked by a Republican member of the panel apologizing to the company.

Europe's fiscal problems are a risk that will have some effect on U.S. growth during the rest of this year and 2011, U.S. Federal Reserve vice chairman Donald Kohn said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

The White House intervened to weaken a provision in the final financial regulation bill that aims to give shareholders more say on how companies are governed, three people familiar with matter said on Thursday.

Facebook's financial performance is stronger than previously believed, as the Internet social network's explosive growth in users and advertisers boosted 2009 revenue to as much as $800 million, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Facebook's financial performance is stronger than previously believed, as the Internet social network's explosive growth in users and advertisers boosted 2009 revenue to as much as $800 million, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

A sweeping overhaul of financial regulations will include a controversial plan to insulate banks from risky swap dealing, aides said on Thursday as lawmakers hammered out a final bill.

A top MySpace executive has decided to quit News Corp's social networking site after just four months at the job, the second high-profile departure in a year for the struggling company.

The White House intervened to weaken a provision in the final financial regulation bill that aims to give shareholders more say on how companies are governed, three people familiar with matter said on Thursday.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects to launch a new online brokerage service on Monday to attract less affluent investors who trade through discount firms like Charles Schwab or E*Trade, a bank spokeswoman said on Thursday.

The Australian dollar has rallied more than half a US cent overnight on the back of gains in equity markets in Europe and the US. The AUD rallied to a high of USD0.8684, driven by stronger equity markets and investor confidence.

Broadcom Corp, whose chips power Apple Inc's iPad, expects more tablet computers using its chips to hit the U.S. market as early as this year, an executive for Broadcom said on Thursday.

United Airlines and Continental Airlines need to merge to be profitable in competing with low-cost and foreign carriers, executives of the two U.S. major airlines said on Thursday.