IBT Staff Reporter

Serbia on Friday signed a contract for the purchase of 3 million doses of new flu vaccinces from Swiss Novartis AG, two days after the authorities declared epidemics of the disease.

Swedbank has boosted the reserves of its Estonian unit to cover investments made in its branches in the struggling Baltic economies of Latvia and Lithuania, the Swedish bank said on Friday.

Ireland's 54 billion euro bad bank will start transferring the biggest commercial property loans from banks from January onwards, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said on Friday.

Efforts to help smokers kick the habit have stalled in the United States, with hardly any recent change in smoking rates, federal researchers reported on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Japan's new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, pledged on Friday to revitalize their strained security alliance as they adapt to a rising China, set to overtake Japan as the world's No.2 economy.

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Friday after solid earnings from Walt Disney Co and JC Penney Co Inc, following the first losing day in seven sessions for blue chips.

French oil major Total (TOTF.PA) has admitted safety breaches and to polluting ground water, in connection with an explosion at a fuel depot in England in 2005.

U.N. negotiators will next month put farming onto the radar of climate regulations for the first time, but governments face aggressive lobbies and gaps in the science proving the extent of agricultural emissions.

The United States and Japan said they had agreed at a summit on Friday to expand cooperation in clean energy technologies in an effort to tackle climate change.

New energy economy standards could kick in for all new public buildings in the European Union from 2018, and for all new homes and offices from 2020, a source close to the EU negotiations said on Friday.

U.N. negotiators will next month put farming onto the radar of climate regulations for the first time, but governments face aggressive lobbies and gaps in the science proving the extent of agricultural emissions. Double-click here for a related story.

The Philippines will lift a three-week long cap on fuel prices on its main island of Luzon on Monday, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said, responding to a clamour from oil firms. Subject to compliance to all agreements, we can now lift EO (Executive Order) 839, Arroyo told representatives of oil companies on Friday.

Suspected oil thieves in Nigeria have increased their attacks on Royal Dutch Shell-operated oil facilities, the company said on Friday, reporting five separate incidents already in the last three months.

Suncor Energy Inc, Canada's biggest oil company, said on Friday it is budgeting C$5.5 billion ($5.23 billion) for capital spending in 2010 and will restart construction on its Firebag Stage 3 oil sands project.

Croatia's oil group INA, in which Hungary's MOL is the largest shareholder, plans to complete the modernisation of its two refineries at the end of 2012, the company said on Friday.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday after solid earnings from Walt Disney Co and JC Penney Co Inc, following the first losing day in seven sessions for blue chips.

The euro zone economy jumped out of recession in the third quarter, data showed on Friday, but with slightly less spring than expected after growth in the area's top three economies fell short of market forecasts.

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General Motors reiterated on Friday it wanted state aid to help restructure European arm Opel after Germany's economics minister said the carmaker would not ask European taxpayers for help.

Department store operator J.C. Penney Co Inc reported a lower quarterly profit on Friday but raised its forecast for the full year to a level that could top Wall Street expectations, sending shares up nearly 4 percent.

The dollar edged lower on Friday, paring some of the previous day's gains following a bout of profit-taking in perceived riskier currencies, with focus on the release of euro zone gross domestic product data.

The dollar edged lower on Friday, paring some of the previous day's gains, while the euro garnered support following the data that showed the euro zone economy had finally pulled out of recession in the third quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch posted a much better-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday, helped by cost cuts, and the retailer's shares rose more than 6 percent.

China's Commerce Minister said on Friday that use of safeguard measures by a certain large country violates international pledges against protectionism.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday after a selloff in the previous session that halted a six-day Dow winning streak, as investors awaited a slew of earnings reports and data on consumer spending.

U.S. President Barack Obama headed into talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Friday in which he will likely try to smooth strained ties as the allies adjust to a rising China.

The euro zone economy jumped out of recession in the third quarter, data showed on Friday, but with slightly less spring than expected after growth in the area's top three economies fell short of market forecasts.

The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday that capital flows to emerging markets reflected the positive outlook for those economies but warned that they can destabilise currencies and asset prices.

News, details on corporate bond issues in the European markets on Friday