IBT Staff Reporter

(Reuters) - A couple of cups of coffee a day may help some heart attack patients to avoid further serious problems, provided they have normal blood pressure, researchers said on Friday.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as worry persisted about a financial meltdown stemming from the European debt crisis and after a dramatic intraday drop in indexes in the previous session.

U.S. employment grew at the fastest pace in four years in April as private sector businesses ramped up hiring, showing the labor market recovery gaining steam.

The Securities and Exchange Commission held urgent discussions on Friday to calm investors' raw nerves a day after a plunge of nearly 1,000 points in the Dow Jones industrial average, during which some stocks lost more than 60 percent of their value.

Borders Group Inc said on Friday that it is taking pre-orders for the Kobo eReader, which will arrive in customers' homes starting on June 17, and plans to launch its eBook store in June.

Switzerland's economy minister said on Friday she believed parliament would back a crucial deal to pass on data of U.S. clients of UBS to U.S. tax authorities.

American International Group Inc posted a first-quarter profit, reversing a year-earlier loss, as the bailed-out insurer's investment portfolio gained in value.

Consumer Reports lifted on Friday its warning not to buy Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus GX 460 sports utility vehicle, after the automaker recalled vehicles for repairs and made changes on the assembly line.

U.S. stocks index futures rose in volatile trade on Friday, pointing to a higher open after a steep fall in the previous session, as data showed the economy added jobs at the fastest pace in four years.

General Growth Properties Inc is expected to ask a bankruptcy court on Friday to approve an investment led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc , after reducing a related warrants package by 14 percent, a source familiar with the situation said.

India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, scored a win against his estranged brother on Friday when the Supreme Court ruled they must renegotiate a deal over the country's largest gas field, effectively giving the government control over gas prices.

Stocks worldwide plunged as fears about Greece's debt crisis went global, with investors seeing it as an omen of turmoil in other European economies and governments struggling to calm markets.

Hong Kong's securities watchdog said on Friday that a local court found two warrant traders guilty of manipulating the market in listed derivative warrants issued by Macquarie Group's Macquarie Bank .

U.S. stock index futures pared gains on Friday ahead of the U.S. government's April payrolls report, as nervous investors braced for volatility in the markets following Thursday's dramatic intraday bounce in shares.

Stock exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc issued the names of hundreds of stocks for which it is canceling trades following Thursday's sudden stock market plunge.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, with shares set to rebound after a steep fall in the previous session and ahead of a report expected to show the U.S. economy added more jobs last month.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, with shares set to rebound after a steep fall in the previous session and ahead of a report expected to show the U.S. economy added more jobs last month.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc's lawyers are in talks with representatives of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle the fraud charges brought against it by the regulator, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.

U.S. stock futures rose on Friday, as equities were set to rebound after a steep fall in the previous session and ahead of a key payrolls report.

Royal Bank of Scotland beat expectations with a return to profit in the first quarter as bad debts continued to shrink, even as investment banking earnings more than halved from its strong start to last year.

Stocks worldwide plunged as concerns about Greece's debt crisis went global, with investors seeing it as an omen of turmoil in other European economies and governments struggling to calm markets.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a stronger start for Wall Street on Friday, with equities set to rebound after falling sharply in the previous session.

India's Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of billionaire Mukesh Ambani in a gas pricing dispute with brother Anil, closing a chapter on a five-year battle that now gives the government control over setting prices.

World stocks extended sharp falls on Friday while government bonds rose as a global rout triggered by fears of contagion from the euro zone debt crisis prompted investors to dump risky assets.

A compound derived from broccoli could help prevent or treat breast cancer by targeting cancer stem cells according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

European stocks are primed for a pummeling on Friday, following ravaged U.S. and Asian shares, as Europe's debt crisis sent waves of dread through global markets and battered sterling and the euro.

Royal Bank of Scotland beat expectations with a return to profit in the first quarter as bad debts continued to shrink, even as investment banking profits more than halved after a bumper start to last year.

American International Group has replaced Goldman Sachs as its main corporate adviser with Citigroup and Bank of America Corp , the New York Times said, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

Shock waves from the relatively small Greek economy reverberated around the world, as investors worried about the chances of other European governments facing a similar debt crisis.