IBT Staff Reporter

The dollar fell to 1-1/2 year lows versus the yen on Friday as fears of wider credit-related losses at U.S. financial institutions had investors dumping risky assets and anticipating more Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said on Friday it will take a fourth-quarter writedown of C$463 million ($493 million) before tax on various securities tied to the U.S. mortgage market, and analysts said they would not be surprised to see further writedowns.

Morgan Stanley Chairman and Chief Executive John Mack has tapped co-President Zoe Cruz, a long-time lieutenant who oversees trading and banking, as the leading candidate to succeed him, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Fannie Mae posted a third-quarter net loss that was double its loss from a year earlier because of slumping home prices and the squeeze in credit markets that drove values of mortgage securities lower.

Japanese stocks ended at a nearly three-month closing low on Friday after a wave of late selling on a report that Mizuho Securities, the unlisted brokerage arm of Mizuho Financial Group, may post a subprime-related loss of over 100 billion yen and delay a merger.

Chinese resource firms are unlikely to launch a counter-offer for Rio Tinto, but may hope to team up with BHP Billiton to clinch the deal, bankers said on Friday.

Japan's Health Ministry, eager to trim swelling health-care costs, proposed changes to prescription forms on Friday in a bid to boost the use of cheaper generic drugs, sending shares in the nation's generic drug makers soaring.

Consumer sentiment posted a surprisingly sharp fall in early November, hitting its lowest in two years as high energy costs and falling home prices pummeled confidence, a survey released on Friday showed. The bleak sentiment could also be complicated by a spike in price expectations, which may make an inflation-wary Federal Reserve less likely to cut interest rates to shore up the consumer-driven economy.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, best known in Hollywood for playing the Terminator, said on Thursday he has assumed an unspecified backstage role to bring an end to the screenwriters strike.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Thursday that 12 films would be eligible to compete for the best animated feature Oscar next year, including such crowd-pleasers as Ratatouille, Shrek the Third and Bee Movie.

The sniper crouches down in the tall grass, then pauses using his scope to draw a bead on an enemy soldier, who staggers back in a spray of blood.

Finding fellow gourmands, good restaurants and exotic dishes is becoming easier on the Internet, as Web sites focused on eating well and discovering new flavors become must-have destinations for food lovers.

No. 1 U.S. movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc said on Thursday it was testing pricing for its rental formats and will experiment with store layouts to add downloading stations, books or beverages in a bid to shore up its customer base.

Hundreds of German Apple fans braved rain and wind before dawn to be among the first in Europe to get their hands on an iPhone but the arrival of the year's hottest consumer gadget passed most Germans by.

The United States must change an Internet gambling law that discriminates against European companies by preventing them from offering services in the U.S. market, the European Union's top trade official said on Thursday.

Wireless technology developer Qualcomm Inc on Thursday gave a disappointing outlook for earnings and revenue for fiscal 2008, sending its shares down 7 percent in extended trading.

Succession planning at mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments calls for the next chairman to be Abigail Johnson -- daughter of current Chairman and Chief Executive Edward Johnson III -- people familiar with the matter said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc's rejection of a $140 billion all-share offer from BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc is likely to trigger rival bids from resource companies awash with cash from record commodity and stock prices.

Wachovia Corp said on Friday it suffered a $1.1 billion loss on subprime mortgage-related debt in October, while Capital One Financial Corp said more customers are having trouble paying their bills as the U.S. credit crisis deepened.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in September to its lowest since May 2005 as exports set a record, according to U.S. Commerce Department data on Friday.

Sprint Nextel Corp, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service, said on Friday it has ditched its WiMax partnership with Clearwire Corp and is reviewing its plans for the next-generation wireless technology.

Complaints from China have added to growing doubts over whether a global accord can be reached in World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, diplomats said.

Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi thinks there may have been a change of heart within the junta on political reform after September's bloody crackdown on democracy protests, her party said on Friday.

Thirty-two miners were killed in a coal mine gas leak in southwest China's Guizhou Province and three others are missing, state media reported on Friday.

Georgia's parliament on Friday prepared to endorse President Mikhail Saakashvili's state of emergency decree banning independent media and mass meetings, defying criticism from Western allies and domestic opponents.

International television news channels BBC and CNN went off the air in Pakistan again on Friday as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest ahead of a protest rally.

Wachovia Corp, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, said on Friday that it had incurred about $1.1 billion of further losses in October from credit market turmoil.

Merck & Co has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle U.S. claims of heart attacks and strokes allegedly linked to its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, the drugmaker said on Friday.

British bank Barclays Plc categorically denied rumors it was about to announce a $10 billion writedown and see its top management quit, after the market talk sent its shares tumbling over 9 percent. There is absolutely no substance to those rumors, a spokesman for Britain's third biggest bank said when asked about a possible $10 billion writedown.