IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stock index futures rose slightly on Friday as Greece asked the European Union and International Monetary Fund to trigger an aid package in what could be the largest state bailout ever attempted.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc was involved as an underwriter and an investor in Lloyds Banking Group Plc's 23.5 billion pound (US$36.1 billion) refinancing in late 2009, the Financial Times said on Thursday, citing four people involved in the capital raising.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday as Greece asked the European Union and International Monetary Fund to trigger an aid package in what could be the largest state bailout ever attempted.

Greece asked European governments and the IMF on Friday to trigger billions of euros in emergency loans in what could be the largest state bailout ever attempted.

Shares in mobile telecom gear maker Ericsson rose sharply on Friday, defying weak first-quarter results, as investors took heart from falling costs and prospects for a recovery.

Greek media reported on Friday the government would request the activation of an EU/IMF aid package at 5 a.m. ET but officials would not confirm the reports as that deadline passed.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou asked for the activation of an EU/IMF aid package on Friday aimed at pulling the euro zone member out of a debt crisis.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3-0.4 percent, pointing to a slightly firmer start on Wall Street on Friday.

The euro clawed off a one-year low against the dollar on Friday on news that Greece will ask for financial aid while European stocks snapped a two-day fall, also helped by upbeat corporate earnings.

World number one mobile telecom gear maker Ericsson said tough market conditions hit sales and profits in the first quarter and gave no sign a recovery in operator spending was on the horizon.

Good morning dear traders,EURUSD had no easy day yesterday. Especially the Euro was the whipping boy of the day. Don´t you think so? Sure, it was a perfect day for short traders, but ...

Morgan Stanley has won an agreement with creditors on a 60-day extension on 225 billion yen ($2.41 billion) in loans used for a troubled investment in hotels in Japan, two sources with knowledge of the deal said.

Stop-loss selling hammered the euro to a one-year low on Friday on heightened speculation Greece would have to seek a bailout to avoid default, while Asian shares fell, dragged down by resource and financial stocks.

World finance leaders gather in Washington on Friday hoping to plot a course beyond the financial crisis but Greece's worsening debt woes served as a stark reminder the global economy remains vulnerable.

United Airlines parent UAL Corp and Continental Airlines Inc are considering a stock-for-stock merger with no premium, creating a company valued at roughly $6.6 billion, Bloomberg News said on Thursday, citing two people with knowledge of the talks.

Spirits sank in the Mile High City on Thursday as hometown telephone company Qwest said it would be taken over by a Louisiana company, the third strike in two years for Denver after the loss of Coors beer and Frontier Airlines.

American Express Co sounded optimistic about future client spending, even as Capital One Financial Corp cautioned that its customers are not borrowing as much as they used to.

China's auto market, which overtook the United States as the world's largest last year thanks to a raft of policy incentives, has been a major bright spot amid a global industry downturn.

New research shows that second-hand smoke could be to blame for chronic itchy, runny nose and sinus woes - also known as rhinosinusitis -- that plague one in every six US adults.

Japan can meet a 2020 goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels solely by policies that spur households and businesses to adopt low-carbon technologies, according to an environment ministry report.

China may scrap tax incentives for small cars next year if the market remains strong, and is rethinking plans to provide similar incentives for green-energy vehicles due to quality issues, a government researcher said.

Chinese carmakers, unscathed by a savage global industry downturn, are revving up their efforts to put cleaner, low-emission vehicles on the roads, counting on the green drive to help them catch up with overseas rivals.

Beetroots are an excellent source of folic acid. They are a very good source of fiber, manganese and potassium. Beet greens are a very good source of calcium, iron, vitamin A and C. Both beet greens and beetroots are a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, iron and vitamin B6.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to surprise no one on Wednesday by holding interest rates near zero and repeating its vow of an extended period of very low rates at the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting.

Satirical animated TV show South Park beeped out the words Prophet Muhammad and plastered its Wednesday episode with the word CENSORED after being issued a grim warning by a U.S. Muslim group.

Turin(Italy) - In Molinette Hospital, vagina reconstruction was performed for the first time ever by Dr. Dario Fontana, Director of the Division of Urology 2 Molinette Hospital.

Amazon.com Inc forecast a lower-than-expected profit for its second quarter, raising concerns about the online retailer's future margins and sending its shares down nearly 6 percent.

The IMF sought to maintain unity within the Group of 20 economic powers on Thursday, urging countries not to go separate ways in reforming the financial sector, as frictions emerged over a controversial plan to tax banks.

Microsoft Corp beat analysts' estimates with a 35 percent jump in quarterly profit, lifted by sales of Windows 7, but its shares fell more than 3 percent as investors expected the company to benefit more from a recovering technology sector.