IBT Staff Reporter

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in China meeting with safety officials, said on Friday talks are progressing toward an agreement to boost the safety of food and drug imports.

Police cars, helicopters, radio stations, health clinics and fertilizer -- the deep pockets of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez benefit leftist allies and the poor from Bolivia to Nicaragua, but rankle opposition leaders.

Stocks rose on Friday, led by technology shares after a surprise takeover proposal in the software sector, data pointing to strength in consumer spending and a brighter outlook from McDonald's Corp.

Virgin Group, controlled by entrepreneur Richard Branson, is leading a consortium that has submitted a rescue plan for British bank Northern Rock that would inject a substantial cash sum, it said on Friday.

Technology stocks tumbled on Thursday as a sell-off in shares of Chinese Internet company Baidu.com fuelled concerns that the recent tech rally may be coming to an abrupt end.

U.S. retail sales rose solidly in September while a key inflation gauge remained muted, data on Friday showed, suggesting the economy retained some buoyancy despite a weakening housing sector. With consumers flexing their spending power, the latest batch of data paints a less gloomy picture of an economy that is slowing, but not stalling.

Japanese firms have done very well in the U.S., Europe and beyond but on their home turf, they find a shrinking and uninvolved market.

Nokia slashed this week around 15 percent off from the price of its 3G phone model E65, one of the top sales and profit generators for the world's largest cellphone maker, market data showed on Friday.

Oracle Corp on Friday said it offered to buy BEA Systems Inc for about $6.66 billion, its latest effort to up the ante against Microsoft Corp. and Germany's SAP in the fiercely competitive market for business software.

General Electric Co said on Friday that third-quarter profit rose 13.8 percent, matching expectations, boosted by demand for heavy equipment like gas turbines and jet engines and strength at its financial units. The conglomerate said earnings increased to $5.54 billion, or 54 cents per diluted share, from $4.87 billion, or 47 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.

Stock futures fell on Friday, weighed down by caution before key economic reports and news that Deutsche Bank had slashed its rating on shares of Dow component Citigroup Inc.

Oil moved back above $83 a barrel on Friday, within sight of all-time highs, on mounting tensions between Turkey and northern Iraq.

They won the prize for their part in galvanizing international action against global warming before it 'moves beyond man's control'.

Citigroup Inc, which last week forecast 60 percent declines in third-quarter earnings amid bad debt losses, said it was promoting Vikram Pandit to head banking, markets, and alternative investments, and that trading head Thomas Maheras was leaving.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, led by a retreat in the technology heavy Nasdaq index after a report on Chinese search engine Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU) predicted lower revenue for the firm, triggering a broader sell off in the Tech sector.

Wheat surged the most in 5 weeks as investors bet the USDA would cut its estimate on worldwide supplies of grain on high demand and poor harvest.

The U.S. trade gap shrank in August on record exports and claims for jobless benefits fell last week, according to government data on Thursday that showed the economy retaining some vigor despite housing market ills.

Gold rose to the highest price since 1980 as the ailing U.S dollar boosts the appeal of precious metals, while platinum set a record high in London aided by the rising bullion and concerns on over supply.

Oil approached record highs on Thursday, surpassing $83 a barrel an unexpected decline in U.S. inventories stoked concerns about supplies in the world's top consumer ahead of winter.

Stocks sank on Thursday, led by a drop of more than 1 percent in the Nasdaq, as a downbeat brokerage comment on Chinese Internet company Baidu.com Inc. unnerved investors after record highs earlier in the day.

Tokyo-Sony Financial Holdings Inc. raised 348 billion yen ($2.9B) in its initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange this Thursday.

A sickly dollar and firming oil prices swept gold to 28-year highs on Thursday, while platinum was set in London at a record high of $1,407 per ounce, aided by rising bullion prices and worries over supply.

Oil rose sharply to $83 a barrel on Thursday, within striking distance of an all-time high, after a surprise drawdown in U.S. crude and distillate stocks.

The next Batman and Chronicles of Narnia films are also among the top 5 awaited movies of 2008.

Ford Motor Co, considered the weakest of the three U.S.-based automakers, could agree on a new contract with the United Auto Workers union fairly quickly and without the strikes that marked negotiations with General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, analysts said on Thursday.

Stocks declined on Thursday, led by losses in the Nasdaq as investors took profits after recent sharp gains.

Beijing opened a new subway line this week allowing citizens to travel around the city with greater ease, and also lowered the ticket prices across its whole system.

Eugenio Beaufrand was newly appointed as the chief operating officer of Microsoft Greater China Region(MGCR),the software giant announced earlier this week.

Nine banks have agreed to pay $180 million for a minority stake in Thomson Corp's TradeWeb bond trading platform, and will invest an additional $100 million in a bid to expand the service they sold in 2004.