IBT Staff Reporter

Apple's iPhones will go on sale later this year in China, the world's largest mobile market, its partner China Unicom confirmed on Friday, after the country's No. 2 mobile carrier posted first-half profits that fell 45 percent yet beat expectations.

* Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average DJc1, the S&P 500 SPc1 and the Nasdaq 100 NDc1 stock indexes are up from 0.2 to 0.4 percent, pointing to a higher start when the U.S. markets open on Friday.

NEW YORK - Progress Energy Inc's (PGN.N) 838-megawatt Crystal River 3 nuclear power unit in Florida was back at full power early Friday, up from 77 percent of capacity late Thursday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in its power reactor status report.

WASHINGTON - U.S. drug reviewers questioned a Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) study meant to back wider use of the company's Clolar leukemia drug, according to documents released on Friday ahead of an advisory panel review.

Tiffany & Co reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on cost cuts, and the retailer raised its full-year outlook as demand for jewelry increased, sending its shares up more than 7 percent.

NEW YORK - U.S. stock futures rose on Friday after a better-than expected quarterly performance from computer maker Dell Inc (DELL.O) boosted the technology sector ahead of key U.S. consumer data.

A debate is emerging over how curbs on energy market speculation may impact oil prices, with at least one major bank boldly expecting the new rules will trigger a 30-percent price plunge.

Stock futures rose on Friday after a better-than expected quarterly performance from computer maker Dell Inc boosted the technology sector ahead of key U.S. consumer data.

Upscale jeweler Tiffany & Co posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as it squeezed out costs and saw a modest improvement in demand for its pricey baubles.

Japanese core consumer prices fell at the fastest annual pace on record in July, potentially putting pressure on a reluctant Bank of Japan to rein in deepening deflation.

Stock futures rose on Friday fueled by higher oil prices and a better-than expected quarterly performance by computer maker Dell Inc .

Major credit rating companies hold diverging views on the state of the U.S. junk bond market in 2010.

Oil rose above $73 a barrel on Friday, lifted by slightly better GDP and jobs data out of the United States, although still rangebound over the week.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 stock indexes are up from 0.2 to 0.4 percent, pointing to a higher start when the U.S. markets open on Friday.

China Unicom, China's No.2 mobile carrier, said on Friday it had sealed a deal to sell the wildly popular iPhone in China, giving iPhone maker Apple access to the world's largest mobile market.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 stock indexes are up from 0.2 to 0.4 percent, pointing to a higher start when the U.S. markets open on Friday.

A surge in auto sales as drivers rushed to take advantage of the cash-for-clunkers scheme probably nudged U.S. consumer spending higher for the third straight month in July, according to a Reuters poll.

It's a 7-year-old boy's dream team -- Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton and David Koepp moving on from rampaging dinosaurs to marauding pirates.

Getting better access to information on derivative transactions was a critical factor in U.S. regulators' efforts to curb market abuses, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro told Bloomberg in an interview.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her government is committed to its negotiating stance over carmaker Opel, which has strongly favored auto parts maker Magna's bid, a newspaper reported.

Oil climbed toward $73 on Friday after snapping a two-day fall a day ago from 10-month highs, boosted by better-than-expected GDP and jobs data in the United States that signal the economic recovery is on track.

Jaycee Lee Dugard, now 29, who was 11 years old when she was abducted on June 10, 1991, walked into the Concord Police Department and revealed her identity on Wednesday, according to the New York Times.

Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke was among hundreds of victims of an identity fraud ring that stole more than $2.1 million from consumers and financial institutions across the United States, Newsweek magazine reported on its website.

A California girl who was kidnapped at the age of 11 in 1991 has been found alive, having spent 18 years living in sheds and tents behind the home of her accused abductor, a convicted rapist who fathered two children with her, police said on Thursday.

Oil rose further above $72 on Friday after snapping a two-day fall from 10-month highs a day ago, boosted by better-than-expected GDP and jobs data in the United States that signal the economic recovery is on track.

Research into clean energy technology should get a leading role in new U.N. climate pact ahead of ever tougher curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, a study said on Friday.

Oklahoma pastor Carol Daniels, 61, was killed at her own church in Anadarko while she may have been preparing for Sunday Service.

Dollar bulls beware; Regret after Toyota Leaves; Dell's Surprise

U.S. retailers could see sales in the 2009 holiday season decline from last year's dismal results or show only a slight increase, even in the best scenario, according to a new forecast.