IBT Staff Reporter

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

The U.S. dollar eased on Friday after overnight gains and ahead of euro zone growth data, boosting metal and crude prices, while world stocks drifted higher. The dollar rose overnight against a basket of currencies but succumbed to another sporadic bout of profit-taking, and traders said the currency's broad weakness was likely to continue over the longer term.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for U.S. shares on Friday after snapping a six-day winning streak in the previous session, with investors awaiting earnings from JC Penney and Abercrombie & Fitch .

A rare rally in the U.S. dollar was the focus in Asia on Friday as investors wondered if President Barack Obama's nine-day visit to the region would generate pressure on some countries to let their currencies rise.

U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital is finalizing a roughly 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) deal to buy Japanese telemarketer Bellsystem24 from Citigroup Inc , three sources familiar with the matter said.

Some former bankers are planning to bid for failing banks in the Federal Insurance Deposit Corp auction process, and getting financial backing from Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Deutsche Bank AG , the Wall Street Journal reported citing sources.

Chinese Internet users want to quiz U.S. President Barack Obama about trade feuds, basketball, Tibet and whether he will cede California to China, according to websites seeking questions for a town hall meeting.

Apple's global smartphone share reached 17 percent as iPhone sales totaled 7 million units in the third quarter, following the continued rollout of the iPhone 3GS in new countries, research firm Gartner said on Thursday.

Gold retreated from a record high above $1,120 an ounce on Thursday and global stocks lost ground as doubts about a lasting economic recovery underpinned the dollar.

Blockbuster Inc , the largest U.S. movie rental chain, posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss as revenue fell more than 20 percent, and its shares dropped 12 percent in after-hours trade.

Buffett's Crisis Declaration; Disney Beats Street; Starbucks' Competition

Clicker.com launched a TV Guide for Internet television on Thursday, designed to provide a new way to find everything from old Seinfeld episodes to cooking shows.

Sales of video game equipment and software in the United States tumbled 19 percent in October to $1.07 billion, research group NPD said on Thursday, troubling figures as the industry heads into the most important selling weeks of the year.

Clicker.com launched a TV Guide for Internet television on Thursday, designed to provide a new way to find everything from old Seinfeld episodes to cooking shows.

The weakness in the U.S. dollar risks inflating a bubble in the oil market, which could threaten consumer spending and potentially cause a double dip recession.

WASHINGTON - Drug makers, Internet companies and nonprofits called for clarity on what is a gray area for U.S. health regulators: how drug promotion on Twitter, Wikipedia, blogs and other social media can be regulated.

U.S. monetary authorities did not intervene in the foreign exchange markets in the third quarter as the dollar fell broadly against major and emerging market currencies, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will face questioning next year about Britain's entry into the Iraq war from a committee which has heard the decision was illegal and based on deception, its chairman said on Friday.

Chile's government said on Thursday any eventual purchase of U.S. missiles and radar equipment will be infinitely lower than a possible $665 million purchase the Pentagon has disclosed.

A 19-year-old New York man who was arrested for armed robbery has been exonerated thanks to a status update he posted on social networking site Facebook.

American Idol champion Kris Allen, who once traveled the world on church missionary trips, took an equally wayfaring approach to record his new album, working in studios across the United States.

Michael Jackson's concert movie This Is It has taken more than $200 million at box offices worldwide in the first two weeks of release, the studio behind the movie said on Thursday.

Finding a video of a TV Program or movie online can sometimes be tough with all the content that is out there - now there is a new online internet TV and Movie guide that indexes all this content for you.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's balance sheet shrank in the latest week, Fed data showed on Thursday.

Walt Disney Co posted a larger-than-expected rise in both quarterly profit and revenue, as strong results from its cable business helped it overcome a disappointing stretch for its film studio.

The Obama administration is weighing how a $700 billion financial rescue fund could be used to ease the U.S. debt burden, the White House budget director said on Thursday, as data showed the deficit had deepened.

The scandal-hit liberal grass-roots group ACORN sued the U.S. government on Thursday, saying it did not have the right to cut off ACORN's federal funding because the group had not been convicted of a crime.

Foreign central banks' holdings of U.S. Treasuries fell and agency debt holdings at the Federal Reserve rose in the latest week, data from the U.S. central bank showed on Thursday.

Thousands of vehicles have been trapped on roads after two days of snow in China's biggest coal-mining province, disrupting the movement of people and coal, state media reported on Wednesday.