IBT Staff Reporter

Russia hopes next week's visit by U.S. President Barack Obama will help restore confidence between the two biggest nuclear powers, a Kremlin aide said on Friday, after strains over Georgia and a U.S. missile shield plan.

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U.S. bank regulators closed seven institutions on Thursday, including six banks in Illinois controlled by one family and a small bank in Dallas, bringing the total number of U.S. bank failures to 52 so far this year.

Top oil and gas firm PetroChina raised daily output at its largest Sulige gasfield, in northern China's Ordos Basin, to 25.6 million cubic metres, up 67 percent from last July, its parent CNPC said.

Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn said Europe's largest auto maker sold 6 percent more cars and transporters in June than in the same month a year earlier.

U.S. government guidelines to spend $4 billion to expand broadband access to underserved areas across the United States may go beyond current laws, a broadband industry group, said on Thursday.

Danish pharmaceuticals group Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Victoza, a key driver for future sales, has won European Commission approval for marketing across the European Union, the company said on Friday.

Darfur rebels signed an accord with one of Sudan's main opposition parties in Cairo on Wednesday, agreeing to push for a new transitional government, both sides said on Friday, a move that will infuriate Khartoum.

North Korea may test mid-range missiles or fire more short-range missiles to step up saber rattling that has raised regional tension, a South Korean daily said on Friday.

Myanmar junta supremo Than Shwe smiled briefly but gave nothing away as he listened Friday to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, at the start of what Ban has called a tough mission to promote democratic reform.

Firefox on Thursday gained ground after the launch of its newest its launch on June 30, gaining 2 percent share in the US market against its rival internet browsers.

A powerful Iranian cleric warned on Friday that detained British embassy staff would face trial for their alleged role in post-election unrest, and EU countries summoned Iranian envoys to protest against the detentions.

China and India lashed out on Friday at the possibility of tariffs slapped on carbon-intensive exports, even though analysts said proposed U.S. measures were years away and would be hard to implement.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who faces growing calls to quit over an extramarital affair, did not misuse public funds in trips he made to see his mistress, the state's top police official said on Thursday.

Major countries should support the dollar as the key international currency, although emerging nations may discuss a new global reserve currency on the sidelines of the G8 summit next week, a Japanese official said on Friday.

The Federal Reserve jolted the U.S. asset-backed securities market back to life this year, after a crippling credit crisis threatened to shut it down, but despite a major recovery not many are convinced the market is prepared to stand on its own.

A senior Iranian cleric suggested on Friday that detained local staff from the British embassy in Tehran would be put on trial in the Islamic Republic for their alleged role in post-election unrest.

Pop star Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe cast a shadow over the unveiling of plans on Friday for the King of Pop's memorial service next week, as a legal battle shapes up over custody of their kids.

Budding signs of stability in the ailing U.S. automotive sector will kick-start a quicker demand recovery for aluminum, even as the industrial metal's supply base in U.S. warehouses will continue to swell from the industry's severe downturn.

Top California lawmakers raised hope on Thursday that an elusive budget deal could be at hand, as officials began issuing billions of dollars in IOUs to avoid a cash crisis on the second day of a new fiscal year without an agreement to balance the state's books.

PVM Oil Futures Limited said on Friday Steve Perkins, a senior broker based at the firm's London office, was responsible for unauthorized trades earlier this week which landed the firm with a loss of nearly $10 million.

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A Chinese automaker has offered to buy a stake in General Motors unit Opel, challenging a deal from Canadian auto parts supplier Magna, sources said on Friday.

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At the midyear mark, even some of the best-performing mutual funds of 2009 are still working on comebacks from dismal losses last year, underscoring lingering uncertainty in markets and in the funds industry.

Robert Neal will take to the road this Independence Day holiday the same as millions of other Americans. But there's a difference in their road-trip ritual this Fourth of July.

Outsourcing of healthcare services is expected to gain momentum as the prolonged slowdown forces U.S.-based government agencies and healthcare firms to cut spiraling costs and deal with a shortage in qualified personnel.

Saturday will be an exciting day with the Williams's sisters meeting in the women's final followed by the men (who will be decided today) meeting in their finals on Sunday in Wimbledon.

It is a little too early to celebrate new life in the housing market, but Americans should soon have something to party about if the spring housing season is any gauge.