IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. Treasuries prices were lower on Friday, erasing their early gains after the government data said U.S. housing starts increased in June, bolstering prospects for economic recovery and damping demand for safe-haven U.S. government debt.

New U.S. housing starts and permits jumped more than expected in June, propelled by a rise in single-family homes, a government report showed on Friday.

New U.S. housing starts and permits jumped in June, propelled by a rise in ground-breaking for single-family homes and suggesting the battered housing sector was beginning to stabilize, a government report showed on Friday.

Australian investment group Macquarie CountryWide Trust (MCW.AX) has agreed to sell U.S. property assets for $1.3 billion to a joint venture including Californian state pension fund Calpers, it said on Friday.

A unit of Swiss private bank Sarasin has launched a fund to invest in the shares of environmentally aware property companies in an effort to satisfy growing demand for

A nascent housing market rebound and a rally in shares could trigger a new round of cash raising by Chinese developers, eager to replenish coffers to meet rising demand, spurred by Beijing's economic stimulus measures.

Stocks fell on Friday on worry about earnings quality after General Electric Co missed quarterly estimates, discouraging investors after Wall Street's four-day rally.

Even if California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and top lawmakers quickly plug a $26.3 billion deficit to balance the state's budget, the state's weak revenues signal that a new shortfall will emerge.

A U.S. court judge threw out an insider trading case against Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner Mark Cuban on Friday, but gave the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions a month to file an amended lawsuit.

Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc are close to a long-discussed search and online advertising deal, which could be announced in the next week.

Nissan Motor Co., the third largest automaker in Japan, seeks to develop its own hybrid technolgy for small and midsize cars. New solar electricity generation may double in 2010, according to a specialist.

Bank of America Inc. posted better than expected second quarter earnings on Friday. Bank of America said that it earned $3.2 billion, or 33 cents a share, compared to $3.4 billion, or 72 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 28 cents and revenue of $33.1 billion. BofA shares rose 5 cents or 0.4 percent, to $13.22 in morning trading Friday.

Citigroup Inc , one of the big U.S. banks hit hardest by the financial crisis, posted a quarterly profit on Friday as gains from the sale of its Smith Barney brokerage into a joint venture more than offset losses from its primary banking businesses.

CIT Group Inc shares rose on Friday, one day after the company said it was in discussions with lenders to secure financing and amid some speculation that it may be sold without the need for a bankruptcy filing.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway offered $1.7 billion in cash for Bermuda-based reinsurer IPC Holdings, which rejected the bid in favor of a lower offer from Validus, Bloomberg reported, citing two people with knowledge of the bid.

Danish soldiers in Afghanistan have been told to be more cautious after some were found to have discussed operations on the social networking website Facebook, Denmark's armed forces said Friday.

Germany has a preference for Canadian auto parts group Magna's bid for General Motors unit Opel, but the process of selecting a suitor is still open, a government spokesman said on Friday.

Hewlett Packard Co is buying privately held storage software maker IBRIX as it looks to catch up with IBM and EMC Corp in the $20 billion market for corporate data storage equipment.

China Pacific Insurance, part owned by the Carlyle Group, confirmed on Friday it would relaunch a Hong Kong initial public offering which would be the world's third-largest IPO so far this year.

General Electric Co warned investors that the economic contagion that has dragged down its finance and media businesses has spread to its heavy industrial units, prompting Chief Executive Jeff Immelt to lower his profit forecast for those businesses.

The families that own Porsche are close to a compromise agreement that could defuse the power struggle over control of the German carmaking powerhouse they seek to forge, sources close to the transaction told Reuters on Friday.

Electronics conglomerate NEC Corp is considering raising about $2.1 billion, a source familiar with the matter said, joining a rush of Japanese companies tapping a resurgent equity market for funds. Shares of NEC tumbled 9.5 percent to 286 yen as investors worried the capital raising would dilute the value of their holdings. The benchmark Nikkei average rose 0.5 percent.

BofA, Citigroup rise after beating estimates, GE slips, Mattel sharply higher

CIT Group Inc was in discussions on Thursday with potential lenders to secure financing, after the collapse of rescue talks with the government left the company on the brink of bankruptcy.

CNOOC and Sinopec have agreed to buy a stake in an Angolan oil block from U.S. oil major Marathon Oil, as the Chinese state-owned oil companies continue to buy up overseas energy assets.

Oil bounced above $62 a barrel on Friday, buoyed by U.S. data suggesting the battered housing sector was beginning to stabilize and pointing to a gradual recovery from recession.

GE beats estimates, Mattel tops views

Nissan Motor Co aims to develop its own hybrid technology for small and midsize cars and end its procurement of hybrid components from Toyota Motor Corp, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

Toy maker Mattel Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as cost cuts offset a decline in sales and the impact of the stronger U.S. dollar, sending its shares up more than 3 percent.