IBT Staff Reporter

Russia accused General Motors of showing the United States' scorn of business with Europe by abandoning its sale of Opel, whose German workers went on strike on Thursday.

Suncor Energy Inc's third-quarter operating profit fell 64 percent as oil and gas prices sank in its first quarterly reporting period including results from Petro-Canada assets it acquired in August.

China's Culture Ministry has accused the publishing watchdog of abusing its authority by threatening access to the popular online game, World of Warcraft, stoking bureaucratic rivalry over control of the Internet.

Russian regional fixed-line telecom operator Southern Telecom has secured 3 billion roubles ($103 million) of credit lines to fund current activities and refinance debts.

Smith & Nephew beat forecasts for the third quarter as patients and governments began to resume spending on surgical procedures after cutting back during the recession.

The Carlyle Group said on Friday it would buy a Japanese restaurant chain operator in a 21 billion yen ($230 million) management buyout, its second deal in Japan in two weeks.

Bank of America's consumer banking chief, tipped to be a leading candidate to replace outgoing chief executive Kenneth Lewis, said he is keen to step into the top job but will stay on if he misses out, addressing one of Wall Street's most talked-about issues.

Korea Life Insurance Co., the country's No. 2 life insurer, may raise around $2 billion through its public offering, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, in what would be Korea's largest IPO since 2006.

Citigroup Inc said on Thursday it plans to raise up to $100 million through selling shares of its Primerica Inc life insurance unit, as the financial colossus looks to shed assets outside its main banking business.

In Asia lately, it pays to be a seller -- even if you're a company under pressure to offload an asset or two.

Capgemini is planning a series of acquisitions to strengthen its position in the U.S. market, its chief executive told the Financial Times.

Japanese chip maker Elpida said it will outsource production of advanced PC memory chips to Taiwan's ProMOS, a move aimed at locking in production capacity in Taiwan, cutting costs, and putting it on stronger competitive footing against its big South Korean rivals.

Asian stocks rose ahead of the latest U.S. payrolls report on Friday, expected to show the fewest job losses since August 2008, while oil prices recovered to $80 a barrel after a sharp drop on high U.S. fuel inventories.

Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co Ltd and Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc said they plan to merge, creating Japan's largest trust bank with scale to better compete in a crowded asset management industry.

Five years after retiring from Japan Airlines Corp, former pilot Tsutomu Watanabe is fighting to protect the pension he was promised but that the airline can no longer afford to pay.

NEC Corp, Japan's biggest PC maker, plans to raise 133.9 billion yen ($1.5 billion) via a share issue to help restore its battered capital base as it scrambles to cut costs in search of growth.

Verizon's Motorola Droid - the rumored iPhone Killer - goes on sale across the country today, with thousands of customers ready to get their hands on the new Google Android handset.

Verizon jump started its launch of the Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris by opening its doors at midnight at its primary retail store in New York City.

Intel , the world's largest chip maker, is planning to participate in bids invited by Indian state-owned telecom equipment maker ITI Ltd to set up joint ventures, the Business Standard reported on Friday.

Starbucks Corp raised its financial forecasts for 2010 in the latest sign a year-long turnaround effort is boosting margins and putting it back on track for growth, sending shares up almost 4 percent.

Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc reported a quarterly profit that matched analysts' estimates and revenue that was higher than expected, led by sales of the company's latest Guitar Hero offering.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved AT&T Inc's $944 million bid to buy Centennial Communications Corp , two sources familiar with the decision said on Thursday.

Verizon made a last minute announcement today that its moved up the launch of the Motorola Droid for just one of its stores in New York City.

In closing arguments in the trial of the first high-profile Wall Streeters on fraud charges stemming from the financial crisis, a U.S. prosecutor said two hedge fund managers told black and white lies, but a defense lawyer attacked the government for misleading the jury.

General Motors Co on Thursday said it was readying a plan to restructure Opel and could pay off debt due this month as German workers went on strike to protest the automakers decision to keep the European unit.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Thursday said it was mulling whether changes are needed to regulations governing access to telephone lines largely controlled by telecom giants.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's balance sheet grew slightly in the latest week on increased holdings of government and mortgage agency debt, Fed data showed on Thursday.

Bank of America Corp's credit card loss rate may have peaked in the third quarter, but it will remain elevated for a substantial number of quarters, the bank's head of consumer banking said on Thursday.

Fourteen people were charged with fraud and conspiracy in a dramatic widening of an insider trading scandal that has ensnared hedge fund managers, top Silicon Valley executives and a bevy of white-shoe advisers.