IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. consumer spending rose for a second consecutive month in February and sentiment edged up in March, according to reports on Friday that backed views that the worst of the recession may be over.

Move over fancy, pricey cellphones. The buzz ahead of the annual CTIA wireless show next week is all about cheaper data plans and mobile software stores, where a few dollars can get you a game or other cool application to impress your friends.

Google Inc is cutting its sales and marketing team by roughly 200 employees, saying it had over-invested in certain parts of the company.

The legal team which could represent alleged $8 billion Ponzi scheme fraudster Allen Stanford is being assembled, a Houston attorney says, despite Stanford’s inability to pay because of the government’s freeze on his assets.

CityCenter, an $8 billion Las Vegas project owned by MGM Mirage and Dubai World , is considering filing for bankruptcy, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

U.N. nuclear watchdog governors failed to agree on a successor to Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei on Friday after five rounds of voting, opening the field to new candidates who might bridge rich-poor divisions.

South African ruling party leader Jacob Zuma on Friday criticized Western powers for holding back aid to Zimbabwe while President Robert Mugabe was still in power.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as investors booked profits following a recent rapid surge, while the energy sector dropped along with the price of oil.

Japan on Friday ordered its military to prepare to intercept any dangerous debris that might fall on its territory if a rocket launch planned by North Korea goes wrong.

U.S. consumers' mood brightened a bit in March, nudged up by increased confidence in government economic policy, but overall sentiment remained near an all-time low, a survey showed on Friday.

The world will go dark on Saturday night beginning from New Zealand's remote Chatham Islands and then spreading to thousands of cities, towns, and landmarks in observance of Earth Hour.

President Barack Obama will quiz top U.S. bankers on Friday about developments in the economy and their businesses as his administration seeks broader authority to regulate the financial system.

Wall Street was set for a lower open on Friday as investors assessed the strength of a recent surge that has March on track to see the biggest monthly percentage gain since 1974.

Japan slipped to the brink of deflation and inflation in Europe slid closer to zero, underlining a threat to the world economy before next week's G20 summit which is supposed to produce a cure for the crisis.

U.S. consumer spending rose for a second straight month in February, while incomes reversed the previous month's gains, government data showed on Friday.

In a dry quarter for deals, two massive pharmaceutical transactions helped catapult Morgan Stanley to the top of the league in global adviser rankings, bringing it up from the tenth spot a year earlier.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday as investors reassessed a recent surge that has March on track to see the biggest monthly percentage gain since 1974.

Renewable energy investment company Trading Emissions Plc fell deep into the red in the first half due to falling carbon prices but dug into growing cash reserves in order to promise its first dividend.

Japan's Toshiba Corp and Sharp Corp said on Friday they are considering working together in the solar power business amid growing demand for cleaner energy, sending their shares higher.

Electric car start-up Tesla Motors Inc unveiled its newest, cheapest vehicle on Thursday, a four-door sedan that can carry five adults and could travel up to 300 miles per charge.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday following the previous session's strong gains, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.6 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.7 percent at 1000 GMT (6 a.m. EDT).

Japan slipped to the brink of deflation and inflation in Europe slid closer to zero, underlining a threat to the world economy before next week's G20 summit which is supposed to produce a cure for the crisis.

Verizon Wireless will start selling a netbook -- a cheaper, more basic version of a notebook -- as early as next quarter, Bloomberg said, citing a person close to the project.

Global shares paused for breath on Friday at the end of a week that saw them gain nearly 7 percent on tentative hopes of economic recovery, while oil slipped below $54 a barrel after touching a 2009 high.

Apple Inc has scheduled its annual developers conference for the second week in June, with plenty of buzz surrounding its product plans.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into its negotiations in to delay the launch of a generic version of its blockbuster drug Plavix, the Wall Street Journal said.

Things are getting tense at Japanese brokerage Nomura Holdings .

Asian stocks dipped on Friday, but still headed for their best weekly gain in four months as hopes the global economy could not get any worse continue to bolster riskier assets.

Graphics chipmaker Nvidia Corp countersued Intel Corp for breach of contract on Thursday, alleging that Intel made misleading statements designed to undermine Nvidia's licensing rights.