IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday after the government reported fewer workers lost jobs in July than expected, fueling hopes of an economic recovery and providing solid footing for a recent market run-up.

U.S. employers cut 247,000 jobs in July, far less than expected and the least in any month since last August, according to a government report on Friday that provided the clearest evidence yet that the economy was turning around.

Nearly one in three children and adolescents with

Hispanic whites seeking emergency treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses wait twice as long to see a doctor compared to non-Hispanic whites, new research shows.

Children on the high-fat ketogenic, or

Current quick tests for flu miss many cases of the new pandemic H1N1 strain, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday.

Denmark's DONG Energy will build and run an up to 33-megawatt wind farm in the northern Norway municipality of Narvik in cooperation with its local affiliate Nordkraft, DONG said on Friday.

LG Chem Ltd will have the capacity to build battery cells that could support up to 250,000 electric vehicles in the United States when its first U.S. plant becomes fully operational in 2013, the chief of the U.S. unit said on Thursday.

The fate of a U.S. climate change bill will send signals to the rest of the world as to whether upcoming global climate talks will be serious or not, one of the bill's co-authors said on Thursday.

No final out-of-court settlement has yet been been reached in a tax-evasion dispute pitting the U.S. government against Swiss bank UBS AG , a U.S. Justice Department attorney said on Friday.

The U.S. Senate approved and sent to the White House on Thursday a $2 billion extension of the cash for clunkers autos sales incentive program.

Wall Street opened higher on Friday after the government reported fewer workers were laid off in July, providing fresh evidence of an economic recovery and the sustainability of a recent market run-up.

Recovery more certain, AIG soars, No final tax deal

American International Group Inc , the insurer that received about $180 billion of federal bailouts, posted its first profit in seven quarters and shares rose 9 percent.

Wall Street opened higher on Friday after the government reported fewer workers were laid off in July, providing fresh evidence of an economic recovery and the sustainability of a recent market run-up.

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Friday after the government reported fewer workers were laid off in July, providing fresh evidence of an economic recovery and the sustainability of a recent market run-up.

American International Group Inc , the insurer that received $180 billion of federal bailouts, posted its first profit in seven quarters on Friday, helped by investment gains, sending its shares up 20 percent in premarket trade.

U.S. employers cut 247,000 jobs in July, far less than expected and the least in any month since last August, according to data on Friday that provided the clearest evidence yet that the economy was turning around.

On Thursday evening, the Microsoft Xbox Live service was unreachable, joining the likes of Twitter and Facebook which also went down this week, crippling millions of its users around the world.

Canadian auto parts company Magna International Inc , one of the bidders vying to buy carmaker Opel from General Motors, reported a quarterly loss Friday, hurt by steep declines in global auto production.

U.S. stock index futures trimmed losses on Friday ahead of key monthly jobs data that could provide clues on the direction of the economy and the sustainability of a recent run-up.

Oil edged down on Friday from a six-week high as markets looked to U.S. July employment data for clues on whether the United States could be emerging from recession.

American International Group Inc , the insurer that received $180 billion of federal bailouts, posted its first profit in seven quarters on Friday, sending its shares up 9 percent in premarket trade.

U.S. stock index futures were lower on Friday as investors braced for key monthly jobs data for clues on the direction of the economy and the sustainability of a recent run-up.

Royal Bank of Scotland reported more losses on Friday as investment banking profits failed to offset bad debts and the state-owned lender warned of more poor results to come before its own and the economy's recovery.

Canadian auto parts company Magna International Inc , one of the two bidders vying to buy carmaker Opel from General Motors, on Friday reported a second quarter loss, hurt by steep declines in global auto production.

Oil edged down on Friday from a six-week high as markets looked to upcoming U.S. July employment data for clues on whether the U.S. economy could be emerging from recession.

Top Japanese tire maker Bridgestone tumbled to an operating loss in the second quarter, hit by the economic slump and a stronger yen, but raised its full-year outlook again after a surprise upgrade in June.

Toyota Motor Corp will decide by the end of this month whether to pull out of a California plant it has operated with General Motors since 1984, a top executive said on Friday.