IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. antitrust regulators gave Google Inc approval to buy mobile advertising rival AdMob, after months of delay and rumor that Google was headed for a court fight with government officials over the $750 million transaction.

Stocks rose on Friday, with bank shares leading a rebound as worries ebbed over the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and an overhaul of U.S. financial regulation.

Jim Owens, chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar Inc., is concerned that the U.S. is not on a path to sustain the global economic competitiveness our country has sustained for a long time.

U.S. antitrust regulators gave Google Inc approval to buy mobile advertising rival AdMob, after months of delay and rumor that Google was headed for a court fight with government officials over the transaction.

A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a ruling requiring Verizon Wireless customers to resolve disputes over alleged fraudulent cell phone charges individually through arbitration rather than as a class.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc shares rose as much as 4.5 percent on Friday morning on rumors of a possible settlement with U.S. regulators and a feeling that the stock could be oversold.

Stocks rose on Friday, with bank shares leading a rebound as worries ebbed over the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and an overhaul of U.S. financial regulation.

PepsiCo Inc plans to invest $2.5 billion in China over the next three years to expand its presence in a major, growing market where its drinks lag behind rival Coca-Cola Co .

U.S. state April unemployment rates were higher than a year ago in most states but fell from March 2010 levels in dozens of states, the Labor Department reported on Friday, as recession-fueled joblessness eased.

President Barack Obama will meet on financial reform on Friday with Senator Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate banking committee, and Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House financial services committee, the White House said.

U.S. regulators and Goldman Sachs Group Inc have not reached an agreement to settle civil fraud charges, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

A key lawmaker from Switzerland's largest party said on Friday he expected parliament to back a controversial Swiss-U.S. deal to end a bitter tax dispute over UBS.

Stocks rose 1 percent on Friday, with bank shares leading a rebound from earlier declines as worries ebbed over the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and U.S. financial reform.

Ann Taylor Stores Corp reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Friday, as demand at its women's clothing stores was stronger than anticipated and it benefited from more full-price selling.

Keeping expectations of future price levels intact is vital, especially when interest rates are very low, the Federal Reserve's number two official said on Friday.

Norwegian browser developer Opera Software is moving its data processing capacity to a newly-built center in Iceland, one of the first foreign investment deals for the crisis-hit island as it tries to rebuild its economy.

Six out of nine people who were in contact with a Hendra virus-infected horse at the Queensland Sunshine Coast have been cleared of infection based on the preliminary test results

Borders Group Inc said on Friday that a company controlled by financier Bennett LeBow has taken a $25 million equity stake in the struggling bookseller, making him its largest shareholder.

(Corrects lead to say flash crash was May 6, not last month)

Wall Street was slightly higher in volatile trade on Friday as the S&P 500 fell below the level reached during the market flash crash earlier this month before muscling into positive territory.

The number of mass layoffs by U.S. employers rose in April led by manufacturers who shed workers even as the economy began to recover.

Wall Street was slightly higher in volatile trade on Friday as the S&P 500 fell below the level reached during last month's market flash crash before muscling into positive territory.

The latest study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiary reveals older Australians as the country's primary consumers of antidepressant drugs, despite higher rates of depression observed among younger population.

Pregnant women who drink six cups of coffee every day may have smaller babies than women who consume less caffeine, according to a Dutch study.

(Reuters) - People using cholesterol-lowering statins have a higher risks of liver dysfunction, kidney failure, muscle weakness and cataracts and such side effects of the drug should be closely tracked, doctors said on Friday.

(Reuters) - Older women with early stage breast cancer can safely skip radiation therapy and go straight to taking pills that help keep tumors from coming back, researchers reported on Thursday.

Abbott Laboratories Inc will pay $3.72 billion to acquire the branded generics business of India's Piramal Healthcare , as global drugmakers look to boost their presence in emerging markets.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cancer survivors might want to try yoga to sleep better and have more energy, according to a new study that will be presented at a meeting in early June.

Toyota Motor Corp said it would take a $50 million stake in U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors, a move that gives the Japanese automaker a chance to repair its dented public image and vaults the California start-up on to the world stage.