IBT Staff Reporter

G20 leaders convinced investors they were united enough to keep a risk-taking rally alive on Friday, lifting Asian stocks a fourth day, but the U.S. dollar fought back from early losses ahead of the latest U.S. payrolls number due later in the day.

World leaders drew praise on Friday not so much for the boldness of their $1.1 trillion package to help revive the global economy as for at least not making the crisis worse by failing to agree.

Efforts by G20 leaders convinced investors that policy makers were united enough to keep a risk taking rally alive on Friday, pushing up Asian equities for a fourth day and knocking the yen to a six-month low against the Australian dollar.

Former AIG chief executive testified before a congressional committee on Thursday that when he left the company several years ago, it was still in good financial shape.

The G20 statement on restoring the global economy the start of the current financial crisis lacks specifics on how nations will deal with toxic assets which have resulted in huge losses at companies around the world, saying banking systems have already been given support.

An agreement reached by the Group of 20 leaders from industrialized and emerging nations said today the supported a new SDR allocation of $250 billion.

Billionaire investor George Soros believes the Group of Twenty nations have done better than expected and have gotten ahead of the problems which face the world’s financial system.

Oil slid to under $52 a barrel on Friday, retreating from the previous session's near 9 percent surge, as expectations of a continued weakness in near-term energy demand prompted investors to take profit.

Hollywood and Washington have long enjoyed a close, if often tense, relationship. There is, of course, the old saying that Washington is Hollywood for ugly people.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that the United States was ready to discuss different ideas on the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in Europe, which Moscow strongly opposes.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a federal budget that embraces President Barack Obama's initiatives on healthcare, energy and education but leaves the government deeply in debt for the foreseeable future.

Gary Stern, the Federal Reserve's longest-serving regional president and a vocal critic of big bank bailouts, will retire in the summer of 2009, the Minneapolis Fed said on Thursday.

President Obama called the G20 summit on Thursday a turning point in the effort to pursuit of global economic recovery and praised the nation's joint efforts as a historic step on the road to stability.

The number of people filing new jobless claims jumped to more than 26 years high last week, as President met in London with G20 leaders to tackle the global economic crisis.

Riot police clashed with hundreds of protesters on Thursday ahead of a NATO summit of world leaders, firing repeated rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowds.

Online video games maker Changyou.com closed up 25 percent in its trading debut on Thursday, making it the most successful stock launch in nearly a year.

General Electric Co and Intel Corp have joined forces to develop devices to help doctors monitor patients' health remotely, an area they believe could become a multibillion-dollar business.

North Korea's missile preparations suggest Pyongyang could launch a satellite into space as early as Saturday, an American defense official said on Thursday as the U.S. military monitored the situation.

World leaders clinched a $1.1 trillion deal on Thursday to combat the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and said financial rules would be tightened to stop it happening again.

U.S. accounting rulemakers bowed to congressional and financial industry pressure on Thursday by allowing more flexibility in valuing toxic assets, a move expected to boost bank earnings and improve their capital levels.

The Oyster Creek nuclear reactor in New Jersey owned by Exelon Corp. was allowed to operate for another 20 years yesterday.

International Business Machines and Sun Microsystems may announce a takeover deal next week, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, showing IBM may be completing a lengthy review ahead of what would be its biggest acquisition.

Stocks rallied for a third day on Thursday as more data pointed to a stabilizing economy and changes to an accounting rule were seen as shoring up the volatile financial sector in the short term.

Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger warned the cable TV industry not to alienate consumers by restricting cable programing on the Web to paying TV subscribers because it could provoke a consumer backlash.

Research In Motion posted surprisingly strong quarterly earnings on Thursday and offered a rosy outlook that signaled further growth despite the global economic slowdown as consumers embrace its newest BlackBerry smartphones.

Congressmen Henry A. Waxman and Edward J. Markey released Thursday a draft of clean energy legislation which aims to create jobs, reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and combat global warming.

Stocks rallied for a third day on Thursday as more data pointed to a stabilizing economy and changes to a bank-accounting rule were seen as shoring up the volatile financial sector in the short term.

Stocks rallied for a third day on Thursday as more data pointed to a stabilizing economy and changes to a bank-accounting rule were seen as shoring up the volatile financial sector in the short term.

Research In Motion posted surprisingly strong quarterly earnings on Thursday and offered a rosy outlook that signaled further growth despite the global economic slowdown as consumers embrace its newest BlackBerry smartphones.