IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. consumer sentiment fell in early November amid a grim outlook for future job prospects, although separate data showing rising imports in September raised some hopes of renewed U.S. economic growth.

Shares of GVT, the Brazilian telecommunications target of a takeover attempt by two global rivals, posted on Friday their biggest tumble since late August, as suitors are seen as increasingly unlikely to raise their bids further.

The dollar fell across the board on Friday after unexpectedly weak trade deficit and consumer sentiment figures stoked worries about the outlook for a U.S. economic recovery. Gains in the U.S. stock market also helped boost risk appetite, pressuring the safe-haven greenback and lifting the euro and higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

Nortel Networks Corp said on Friday that, in light of discussions with interested parties, it will delay the auction of its global optical networking and carrier ethernet businesses.

Suncor Energy Inc, Canada's biggest oil company, said on Friday it has earmarked C$5.5 billion ($5.23 billion) for capital expenditures next year and will restart projects the economic crisis had forced it to suspend.

Lafarge, the world's largest cement maker, and Shui On Construction and Materials Ltd are set to spinoff their cement joint venture, aiming to raise $500 million-$600 million from a Hong Kong initial public offering in 2010, sources close to the matter said.

The U.S. imported slightly more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day from Saudi Arabia during the first 8 months of 2009. Despite a decline of more than 33 percent compared to the same period in 2008, Saudi Arabia was still the third largest source of U.S. crude oil imports during the first 8 months of this year, according toEIA import data.

U.S. department store operator J.C. Penney Co Inc forecast earnings for the holiday quarter that could surpass Wall Street expectations, and its shares rose 7.2 percent on Friday.

Shares of youth apparel retailer rue21 Inc rose in their debut on the Nasdaq, opening 26.3 percent over Thursday's initial public offering and putting the company on pace for one of the biggest first-day performances of an IPO this year.

Nasdaq OMX Group said the number of Greater China companies that list on its exchange could double in as little as two years, fueled by a growing appetite for these shares from a wider range of U.S. institutional investors.

Nasdaq listings by companies in the Greater China region could double in 2-3 years, as mainland firms make up a larger percentage of all foreign listings, an executive from Nasdaq OMX Group said on Friday.

Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, accused in the biggest U.S. hedge fund insider trading case, has asked a federal court to unseal records of a 2001 criminal charge against former trader Roomy Khan, one of the government's cooperating witnesses.

U.S. stocks rose 1 percent on Friday as upbeat news from some retailers reinforced hopes of an uptick in consumer spending in the key holiday season, even as an early November gauge of consumer sentiment fell.

German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said on Thursday U.S. carmaker General Motors Co does not need state aid for its European unit Opel because the company can shoulder the cost of restructuring by itself.

MTS, Russia's largest mobile phone operator, posted a 4.1 percent fall in its third-quarter net profit as sales fell and debt-servicing costs rose, but its figures were ahead of most analysts' forecasts.

Italian oil refiner ERG SpA swung to a third-quarter net loss below forecasts and warned that refining margins in the final quarter remained very weak.

Hemisphere GPS, a manufacturer of global positioning systems products, posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on weak demand in its key agriculture sector, sending its shares down a new 52-week low.

British Airways' pension fund deficit could yet scupper its planned merger with Spain's Iberia , as the UK airline still has to agree the size of the multi-billion pound shortfall with the fund's trustees.

Chinese solar panel maker Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit on strong shipments, sending its shares up 9 percent.

2012 the latest apocalyptic film directed by Roland Emmerich from Independence Day and The Day after Tomorrow hits theaters Friday getting a wave of mixed reviews.

Playboy Enterprises Inc is in talks with Jim Griffiths, a former entertainment president at Playboy, and private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, to sell itself for about $300 million, a source familiar with the matter said Friday.

- U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the Dow industrials briefly rising more than 1 percent, as robust commentary from some retailers reinforced hopes of an uptick in consumer spending in the holiday season.

Hewlett-Packard Co's $3.1 billion play for 3Com Corp will help the technology giant expand its product portfolio amid rapid industry consolidation -- and few think HP is done shopping.

Two computer programmers provided technical support to falsify documents and trading records for swindler Bernard Madoff and took hush money to help keep the massive fraud going, U.S. authorities said.

White House Counsel Gregory Craig, who has played a central role in the Obama administration's rocky efforts to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, said on Friday he was resigning.

Warren Buffett's warning to Kraft over using its undervalued stock to bid for Cadbury may return to haunt Irene Rosenfeld as the Kraft CEO ponders an increased bid to win over the British confectioner.

U.S. consumer sentiment fell in early November to the weakest in three months amid grim expectations for job and income prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon called the idea that any bank is too big to fail ethically bankrupt and said regulators should have the power to wind down even the largest lenders.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is best equipped to supervise the largest, most complex firms, a top U.S. Treasury official said on Friday.