IBT Staff Reporter

There's only one video game that matters next week, and that's Halo 3, Microsoft's futuristic shooter that is expected to boost its Xbox 360 console and be one of the year's top titles.

The weather anomaly La Nina could influence global weather patterns through the early part of 2008, according to the National Weather Service.

U.S. stocks jumped on Friday as higher-than-expected results from software maker Oracle Corp and a share buyback from Texas Instruments Inc boosted technology shares.

Talks on global warming in the United States next week may be complicated by differences among developing countries as their climate policy positions diverge.

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, said on Friday that it would close its U.S. subprime mortgage unit, cutting 750 jobs and taking $945 million in charges and write-downs, because the business is no longer sustainable. It was the latest blow from the meltdown in the U.S. market for loans to home buyers with poor credit histories.

The European Union will press ahead with plans to include aviation in its emissions trading system despite United States' efforts through a U.N. body to discourage it, a spokeswoman for the EU executive said on Friday.

General Motors Corp and the United Auto Workers union broke off negotiations early on Friday and agreed to return to the bargaining table later in the day, as 73,000 GM workers returned for another day of work without a new contract.

Oil prices slipped a little on Friday, after hitting a succession of record highs this week which were fuelled in part by oil company production shutdowns in the Gulf of Mexico because of a storm threat.Oil slipped below $82 on Friday, but was still close to record highs because of concerns over supply disruptions from a storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

Yasuo Fukuda looks likely to win the leadership of Japan's ruling party on Sunday and become the nation's next prime minister, a job in which he will face a divided parliament and conflicting policy pressures.

Shareholders of Bausch & Lomb Inc approved a proposed $3.67 billion takeover by private equity firm Warburg Pincus on Friday, the eye care company said.

China could become the world's top wind power market in three to five years but will grow faster if it reforms its subsidy system, executives of major wind turbine maker Vestas said on Friday.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co LP and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s private equity arm are worried about certain financial conditions inside Harman International Industries Inc, concerns that could threaten the $8 billion deal, a source said on Friday.

Oracle Corp, the world's third-largest software maker, reported a 25 percent rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, but forecast slower growth in sales of new software in the current quarter.

Gold rose to its highest in nearly three decades on Friday as a struggling U.S. dollar lifted its safe-haven appeal and purchases from speculators helped the metal defy selling pressure.Gold hit a 28-year high in Europe on Friday as the dollar's continued slide to record lows versus the euro raised the metal's appeal to speculative investors.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday the central bank slashed interest rates this week to brace the U.S. economy against damage from financial turmoil but warned the outlook remains uncertain.

Shares in Japanese consumer electronics makers Sharp Corp and Pioneer Corp fell more than 2 percent on Friday, hit by investor doubts over the effects of their equity and business alliance.

Japan's NEC Corp said on Friday its ADRs would likely be delisted from the Nasdaq exchange as it could not file a report or restate results to standards required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The personal computer industry is in for a wave of consolidation, the president of Acer said on Friday, adding the Taiwanese PC maker did not plan any buys itself for up to two years.

SAP AG will unveil on Wednesday a line of business management programs to be delivered over the Web, becoming the first major software company to make a big bet on software as a service.

The new government measures in the U.K. aim to protect pupils and teachers from abusive text messages, phone calls and emails and offensive or violent video clips posted on the Internet.

Consumers could benefit from a new way to compare the cost of home loans. A dynamic annual rate (DAR) could bring greater transparency to the costs of servicing a mortgage, according to research published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The dollar rose marginally from a 15-year low against a basket of currencies on Friday, as investors debated whether the U.S. currency's decline has gone too far, too fast.

The U.S. TV networks strategize to court viewers wherever they spend time.

A few weeks ago Candace Locklear's office computer quietly started sending out dozens of instant messages with photos attached that were infected with malicious software.

The private equity buyers of Harman International Industries Inc are balking at completing the $8 billion purchase of the audio-equipment maker, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Japanese stocks slipped on Friday, weighed down by selling of exporters such as Canon Inc as the yen edged up against the dollar, with the Nikkei average closing down 0.6 percent.

Google said it would file on Friday with the European Commission for permission to acquire rival DoubleClick for $3.1 billion.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday after Nike and Oracle reported higher-than-expected financial results, but trading was likely to be volatile as equity derivative contracts expired.

A big overhang of property will bring U.S. house prices down further, but it is too early to say if the economy will plunge into recession, former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan was quoted as saying on Friday.