IBT Staff Reporter

Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly fell in May for the first time in eight months, but a jump in consumer sentiment to a near 2-1/2 year high in early June tempered fears of a slowing economic recovery.

Stocks rose in a late rally on Friday as a strong forecast from a chip maker lifted tech shares and helped alleviate concerns about the economy's health after an unexpected drop in retail sales.

Google Inc is working with U.S. and European officials to build a case that would argue Internet censorship acts as a trade barrier, a top company executive said on Friday.

Two Federal Reserve officials on Friday painted divergent pictures of U.S. economic strength, suggesting a growing split at the central bank that could affect the outlook for interest rates.

Stocks rose in a late rally on Friday as a strong forecast from a chip maker lifted tech shares and helped alleviate concerns about the economy's health after an unexpected drop in retail sales.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc's mounting legal and regulatory woes stemming from the firm's sale of subprime mortgage-linked securities are turning into gold for a growing number of lawyers in New York and Washington.

A bidder offered to pay $1,500,100 for a steak lunch with the billionaire investor Warren Buffett as the annual charity auction on eBay Inc's website entered its final hours.

Stocks rose in light volume on Friday as a strong forecast from a chip maker lifted tech shares and helped relieve concerns about the economy's health after an unexpected drop in retail sales.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul has used his Twitter page to condemn his country's ban on YouTube and some Google services.

Cellphone rivals Motorola Inc and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd have reached a technology licensing agreement, ending more than two years of litigation.

Stocks mostly fell on Friday, tracking an unexpected decline in retail sales that raised concerns about the health of consumers, a key component of the economic recovery.

Stocks mostly fell on Friday, tracking an unexpected decline in retail sales that raised concerns about the health of consumers, a key component of the economic recovery.

A parliamentary group has given Russian schoolchildren a leaflet that prays for the foes of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his government partner, President Dmitry Medvedev, to be reduced to ashes.

Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co are likely to be the lead underwriters in General Motors' initial public offering, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, a role more attractive for its prestige than its fees.

Getco LLC, a big market maker and high-frequency trader, has hired a key U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission associate in charge of crafting rules for the equity and option markets.

Boeing Co workers at a C-17 plant in Long Beach, California, will return to the job on Monday, ending a one-month strike, but Boeing faces another possible work stoppage at a plant in St. Louis.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said it would step up scrutiny of online security and privacy issues following recent security breaches involving Apple Inc's iPad and Google Inc's collection of private data by its Street View cars.

In the past few years the over the counter foreign exchange (Forex) market has gained tremendous popularity.

The Dow and the S&P 500 declined on Friday as May retail sales unexpectedly fell, though a better-than-expected read on June consumer sentiment and strength in tech lifted the Nasdaq.

Motorola Inc and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd have reached a technology licensing agreement, ending more than two years of litigation with each other, the companies said on Friday.

As investors struggle to shake fears -- fueled by European debt and U.S. unemployment -- of a double-dip recession, shareholders of FedEx Corp are looking elsewhere for signs of economic growth.

Financial markets are exaggerating the risks to the euro zone, which is on an economic recovery path, and to the single currency, European Central Bank policymakers said on Friday.

The Dow and the S&P 500 declined on Friday as May retail sales unexpectedly fell, though a better-than-expected read on consumer sentiment and strength in tech lifted the Nasdaq.

A U.S. Congressional committee investigating the recent recall of Johnson & Johnson's children's medicine is deeply concerned about the manufacturer's cooperation, a committee spokeswoman said on Friday.

BP expects the total bill for the clean up of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to be $3-6 billion, an analyst briefed by the oil giant's Chief of Staff said in a research note on Friday.

A lawmaker investigating a recent recall of Johnson & Johnson's children's medicine has accused the company of stymieing the inquiry, the New York Times reported.

Sales at retailers unexpectedly fell in May for the first time since September, pulled down by a record slump in purchases of building materials, according to a government report on Friday that added to fears the economic recovery was losing some muscle.

Sales at retailers unexpectedly fell in May for the first time in eight months, but a jump in consumer sentiment to a near 2-1/2 year high in early June eased fears of a slowdown in the economic recovery.

Stocks were little changed on Friday as May sales at U.S. retailers fell unexpectedly, while a consumer sentiment index topped forecasts, offering a mixed picture of the health of the U.S. economy.