IBT Staff Reporter

Bank of America Corp investor Jerry Finger and his family is calling on other shareholders to vote to replace Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis as chairman of the board.

Oil fell $1 on Friday to below $46 as the stock market dropped and traders awaited OPEC's meeting this weekend.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Bernard Fried said at the end of a hearing on Friday that he would issue a ruling within the next week in a legal tussle between New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Bank of America Corp , which bought Merrill on January 1. The judge will rule whether the names of 200 top bonus earners at Merrill Lynch & Co should be kept confidential.

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks fell on Friday as uncertainty about how the government will help clean up bank balance sheets tempered earlier optimism and hurt financial shares, while large-cap techs weighed.

Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg offered to relax strict bank secrecy in some tax evasion cases on Friday in a response to a global crackdown on tax havens that is rattling the offshore banking industry.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as uncertainty about how the government will help clean up bank balance sheets tempered earlier optimism and hurt financial shares, while large-cap techs weighed.

Top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers on Friday called for the United States to lead a global effort to improve regulatory standards and warned against allowing regulators to compete against one another.

Stocks fell in choppy trade on Friday as financial shares retreated and a drop in big-cap technology shares derailed Wall Street's attempt to notch up a fourth straight day of gains.

A judge said he expects to rule by the end of next week on whether the names of top bonus recipients at Merrill Lynch & Co should remain confidential.

Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg offered to relax strict bank secrecy in some tax evasion cases on Friday in a response to a global crackdown on tax havens that is rattling the offshore banking industry.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett saw his net worth plunge 40 percent in 2008 as his holdings tumbled along with the rest of the market. Meanwhile, his annual salary remained $100,000 for the 28th straight year.

U.S. consumers' mood grew less grim in March, according to a survey released on Friday, while the latest figures showed the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in January to its smallest in more than six years.

Hong Kong shares jumped 4.4 percent in its fourth day of gains on Friday, leading the main index to its best weekly rise in a month and a half, with China stocks outperforming as investors continued to cheer hints of economic recovery in the mainland.

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The Dow and the S&P 500 stock indexes rose for a fourth straight day on Friday after Citigroup said it did not need any more government aid, bolstering hopes that stabilization is returning to banking.

Mints around the world say demand for gold coins has risen sharply as interest in the precious metal soars on the back of financial instability and concerns over the inflation outlook.

Clothing maker American Apparel Inc said on Friday that it got about $80 million in financing from British private equity firm Lion Capital LLP.

Pakistan's year-old civilian government sought a compromise to appease opposition leaders and a lawyers movement on Friday as police detained hundreds of activists in a bid to stifle a nationwide protest.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Rep. Barney Frank and other lawmakers are discussing a plan to link executive pay to the long-term performance of companies, the Wall Street Journal said.

Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday China was open to holding more talks with envoys for the Dalai Lama as long as the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader renounces what Beijing describes as separat

Developing countries miss out on tax receipts worth more than the billions of dollars in foreign aid they receive because their own nationals put cash in offshore tax havens, British charity Oxfam said on Friday.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Taliban militants recovered 24 bodies and were searching for more on Friday, hours after suspected U.S. drones destroyed a camp in Pakistan's northwestern region, militants and officials said.

Britain's main suspect in the London murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko is likely to run for mayor in the Russian city hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics, according to an announcement by his party on Friday.

Consumer products group Unilever has set the size of a planned five-year bond at 350 million pounds ($485 million), an official at one of the banks managing the sale said on Friday.

Japan said on Friday it could shoot down any threatening object falling toward its territory, after North Korea said a planned rocket launch would send it across Japanese territory.

Fitch Ratings on Friday cut its credit rating and outlook on Roche Holding citing the company's increased debt after a deal was reached for it to buy the 44 percent it did not already own in Genentech.

Oil held above $47 a barrel on Friday ahead of OPEC's Sunday meeting in Vienna, after two volatile days of trade this week.

Japan joined the U.S. push for more government spending to fight the economic crisis on Friday but G20 unity looked seriously compromised after Paris accused Washington of disregarding the urgent need for tough market regulation.

U.S. consumers' mood improved unexpectedly in March as confidence in government economic policy improved, but sentiment remained anemic overall and close to a record low, a survey showed on Friday.