IBT Staff Reporter

The world's largest bilateral trade gap -- and how to narrow it -- will be the focus of high-level China-U.S. talks in Beijing next week, with export barriers taking center stage and the yuan lurking on the side.

Wall Street was set for a lower open on Friday as concerns over the euro-zone debt crisis and U.S. financial reform fractured investor confidence in risky assets.

PepsiCo Inc said it is planning to up its investment in China by $2.5 billion over the next three years, as it sees more growth in the market.

It's not easy to balance on a two-legged stool, but the heads of some big U.S. industrial companies might need to try that stunt again.

Prudential boss Tidjane Thiam is struggling to make headway with skeptical investors who question the value of his $35.5 billion acquisition of AIA.

Opel Chief Executive Nick Reilly and labor leader Klaus Franz have called a joint press conference for 1200 GMT (8 a.m. ET) to inform on significant progress in the restructuring of Opel, the carmaker said on Friday.

Stock index futures fell on Friday as the recent sell-off stemming from the euro-zone debt crisis and U.S. financial regulation has ruptured investor confidence, causing a flight from risky assets.

Stock index futures fell on Friday as the recent sell-off stemming from the euro-zone debt crisis and U.S. financial regulation has ruptured investor confidence, causing a flight from risky assets.

S&P 500 index June futures contracts fell on Friday below 1,060, the lowest level hit during the still unexplained market plunge on May 6, which some analysts see as technical support level.

The Senate approved a sweeping Wall Street reform bill on Thursday night, capping months of wrangling over the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s.

Corrects paragraph four to read wage freeze, not hike

Opel Chief Executive Nick Reilly and labor leader Klaus Franz have called a joint press conference for 1200 GMT to inform on significant progress in the restructuring of Opel, the carmaker said on Friday.

The Bank of Japan raised its outlook for the economy Friday, citing signs of sustained recovery in domestic demand, but also warned that Europe's debt debacle posed a risk to the global economy.

A meeting on Monday between the top brass of Samsung Electronics Co and Sony Corp will likely focus on further cooperation in LCD panels, with the Japanese electronics maker facing tight supplies in the sector.

British Airways posted a record 531 million pounds full-year loss on Friday, hit by the recession, industrial disputes and the winter snow, though its ambitions to break even next year could by hit by more strikes.

China's largest oil producer, PetroChina Co Ltd said Friday it plans to earmark $60 billion to increase its overseas oil and natural gas output. In a statement, the company said it aimed to increase the output to 200 million tons per year, or equivalent to 4 million barrels output per day.

India's wheat procurement hit a record 31 million tones so far and the country is likely to export a major chunk of it mainly due to lack of storing facilities. This season's whet procurement mounted to 31 million tones, almost eight times its target of 4 million, forcing authorities to pile up nearly 7 million tones of grain under tarpaulin in Punjab and Haryana, its two main wheat producing states.

Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1165.41 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while US gold futures for June delivery was at $1171.84 an ounce. Equity markets across Asia fell Friday with Japan's benchmark Nikkei average sliding more than 3 percent and hitting a five-month low as exporters were hurt after the yen strengthened against the euro on worries about disunity among euro zone leaders on how to address the region's debt crisis.

Opel Chief Executive Nick Reilly and labor leader Klaus Franz have called a joint press conference for 1200 GMT (8 a.m. ET) to inform on significant progress in the restructuring of Opel, the carmaker said on Friday.

The Bank of Japan raised its outlook for the economy by a notch on Friday and announced a loan scheme targeting growth industries, but also warned that Europe's debt debacle posed a risk to the global economy.

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.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Friday, following the previous session's steep sell-off, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.29 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.15 percent at 0800 GMT (4 a.m. ET).

Stocks slid further around the world on Friday on fears Europe's debt crisis and tougher financial regulation will hurt a global economic recovery, as Germany prepared to vote on a massive standby package to stabilize the euro.

Abbott Laboratories Inc agreed to acquire India's Piramal Healthcare's healthcare solutions business for an up-front payment of $2.12 billion, in a deal it said would make it the largest pharmaceuticals company in India.

Good morning dear traders, EURUSD kept its strength and did not leave the morning range until 6:27 GMT when news of the FED according to EU policy and bad news from Wallstreet were published.

Dell Inc's quarterly sales and profit beat expectations but its gross margin fell short of analysts' forecasts and the computer maker warned that components supply will remain tight.

Lush green fields greet visitors to the agricultural heartland in India's northwest, some dotted with tall bundles of paddy covered with black tarpaulin, exposed to the sun, the occasional thundershower and rodents.

British Airways on Friday predicted a return to breakeven next year, helped by recovering business-class traffic, after it posted a record 531 million pounds full-year loss, hit by strikes and winter snow.

Web search king Google Inc on Thursday showed off a risky attempt to marry the Web to television and reach the $70 billion TV advertising market, chasing a dream that has eluded even archrival Apple Inc.