IBT Staff Reporter

Copper fell on Friday amid ongoing concern that the U.S. economy will continue to weaken, reducing demand for the metal.

ABC Inc, the Walt Disney Entertainment division, said on Friday around 250 of its writers will continue to work after agreeing to a new contract that will run through January 2010.

Nintendo is offering a remedy to all those consumers who cannot find its popular game-console this holiday season - a rain check.

Oil prices fell on Friday on fears that the rising consumer prices could pose difficulties for the U.S economy, leading to reduced demand.

Boeing Co. said on Friday that AWAS, an airplane leasing company, has ordered 31 of its single-aisle 737-800 jets worth about $2.3 billion at list prices.

The head of the Federal Trade Commission said Friday she won't remove herself from an antitrust review of Google Inc.'s purchase of online advertiser, DoubleClick, rebuffing requests from privacy groups opposed to the transaction.

Gold futures fell for a second day on Friday, as the dollar rose to its highest level in seven weeks against other major currencies, causing investors to lose interest in the precious metal.

U.S. stocks on Friday declined sharply amid concerns that rising inflation may prevent the Federal Reserve from lowering the interest rates which may affect the economy.

Google Inc. is developing a user-generated online encyclopedia that could rival Wikipedia by allowing users to write authoritatively on subjects they are knowledgeable about and allow Google to place ads on this site.

The holiday shopping home stretch run starts this weekend, and U.S. retailers hope that dilly-dallying shoppers are ready to open up their wallets and get serious about spending. The 10 days before Christmas are the busiest of the season, with as much as 40 percent of total holiday sales coming then, according to analysts from the Telsey Advisory Group.

Nintendo is offering a remedy to all those consumers who cannot find its popular game-console this holiday season - a rain check.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday after a government report showed consumer prices rose the most in more than 2 years, raising concerns over inflation.

Nintendo Co Ltd said on Friday it will offer a rain check program to help frustrated holiday shoppers who can’t get their hands on the popular Wii game console.

Consumer prices posted their biggest gain in more than two years in November as energy costs surged and a host of other prices marched higher, damping prospects of further interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. However production at mines, factories and utilities rose more than expected, suggesting the economy may have a bit more steam than many analysts had thought.

Idled television talk-show hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are likely to return to work in early January, even if the Hollywood writers strike is not settled by then, Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition.

U R dumped -- one in seven say they have suffered the same fate as Britney Spears' ex-husband and been told it's all over via text message or email, a survey said on Friday.

Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii held on to its spot as the No. 1 video game console in the United States in November, selling 981,000 units, industry data showed on Thursday.

Intel Corp., the world's top chipmaker, is set to increase its share of a growing global semiconductor chip market this year to 12.2 percent, research firm Gartner said on Friday.

Mining group BHP Billiton is set for a make-over if it manages to gobble up Rio Tinto, jettisoning a range of mines to focus on core operations.

Pakistan was poised to lift emergency rule on Saturday, but critics said it might make little difference for an opposition complaining President Pervez Musharraf can still engineer an election win for his allies.

Amazon.com Inc, the Web retailer known for selling books, said it had paid about $4 million to buy a handwritten, illustrated book of wizardry by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

Top European central bankers expressed concern on Friday about the success of a concerted action plan to grease the wheels of seized-up money markets, as U.S. banking giant Citigroup faced fresh strife. One official said he was disappointed money market rates remained at 4.8 to 4.9 percent despite a planned liquidity injection by the world's major central banks.

Europe toned down a clash with the United States over 2020 climate goals on the final day of U.N. talks in Bali on Friday, raising hopes of a deal to start negotiations on a new global warming treaty.

Gulf Finance House, a leading Islamic investment bank based in Bahrain, will help India's western Maharashtra state develop a $10 billion industrial zone that will host software, telecom and entertainment businesses.

Stock futures pointed to a soft start on Wall Street later on Friday ahead of key consumer inflation data that could shape the market's expectations for interest rates.

A number of money managers are up in arms over a plan by several central banks to thaw frozen credit markets because it will stop investors from feeling the pain of failed bets.

New passenger car registrations in the European Union in November fell 1.3 percent to 1.217 million vehicles from a year ago but were up 0.9 percent over the first 11 months, the ACEA European car association said on Friday.

The sizzling pace of Chinese capital spending barely slowed in November despite curbs on lending, showing why the authorities intend to tighten monetary policy further in 2008.

Business sentiment among big Japanese manufacturers has sunk to a two-year low, a Bank of Japan survey showed on Friday, reinforcing expectations that any rise in interest rates will be delayed to late next year. Rising material costs, lower construction and concerns over a possible U.S. recession contributed to the slide in optimism.