IBT Staff Reporter

Fame can be used to 'take the focus, when it's put on you, and throw it onto other things,' he says.

State restrictions on use of the Internet have spread to more than 20 countries that use catch-all and contradictory rules to help keep people off line and stifle feared political opposition, a new report says.

Film director Steven Spielberg may quit his position as artistic advisor to the 2008 Beijing Olympics if China does not take a harder line against Sudan over Darfur, ABC News reported.

It used to be lonely being a geek, but with the huge Comic-Con convention underway on Friday it's clear that, more than ever, comic book geeks have a lot of friends from around the globe.

Pratibha Patil has been sworn in this week as the President of India, in the process becoming the first woman president ever since India became a Republic in 1950.

U.S. stocks plunged for a second day on Friday, in the worst week for the S&P 500 in nearly five years, as tightening credit conditions led to concerns that takeovers would slow. Losses accelerated in the final minutes of trading, taking the Dow industrials down more than 200 points, a day after an equities sell-off that wiped out more than $300 billion in the value off the S&P 500.

Shares of Ford Motor Co. on Friday gained nearly 2 percent after the struggling automaker posted a surprise second-quarter profit, prompting Wall Street analysts to forecast a faster turnaround and a narrower loss for the year.

Shares of Blackstone Group LP, the private equity firm that went public late last month, fell as much as 7 percent on Friday, amid a debt market freeze that has shut off funding for leveraged buyouts. Blackstone's stock has fallen 21 percent since its June 21 debut, making it one of the year's worst performers for U.S. IPOs.

The former chief executive of Qwest Communications International, Joseph Nacchio, was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison and ordered to forfeit $52 million in stock gains from insider trading.

A key branch of the Bancroft family plans to vote against accepting News Corp's $5 billion bid for Dow Jones & Co Inc, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Friday.

Microsoft Corp.(NASDAQ: MSFT) said late Thursday that it will acquire online advertising exchange AdECN Inc., in a move it hopes will strengthen its advertising solutions against rivals.

Sony Corp. said its first-quarter profit more than tripled, beating expectations, after strong contributions from digital camera sales and a softer yen far outweighed losses on the slow selling PlayStation 3 game console.

Sprint Nextel Corp. and Google Inc. said Thursday they are teaming up to create a mobile Internet portal that will offer web search and social networking on the mobile carrier’s upcoming high-speed wireless network.

Outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. said on Friday its quarterly profit rose 43 percent, helped by growth in ads by automotive, telecommunications and retail companies.

Stocks and high-yield corporate bonds are back to appropriate levels, the world's biggest bond fund manager said on Friday, a day after fears of spreading problems in the housing market triggered a rout in global stock and credit markets.

Economic growth rebounded during the second quarter to its strongest pace since the beginning of last year on a surge in business investment, more government spending and a better trade performance, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

Consumer sentiment softened slightly in late July from earlier in the month, but optimism about job and income prospects kept it at its highest reading since February, a survey showed on Friday.

Chevron Corp posted a better-than-expected 24 percent rise in quarterly earnings on Friday on higher profits from its refineries and a gain from the sale of its stake in power company Dynegy Inc. Net income in the second quarter increased to $5.38 billion, or $2.52 a share, from $4.35 billion, or $1.97 a share, last year.

Medical technology company Medtronic Inc. said on Friday that it would acquire Kyphon Inc. for $3.9 billion to expand its spinal treatment business. Medtronic will acquire all of medical device maker Kyphon's outstanding stock and pay about $71 per share in cash. The offer represents a 32 percent premium over Kyphon's closing price on Thursday, the company said.

The current brutal conditions in markets from mortgages to corporate loans should be giving banks good reason to think long and hard about their loans to hedge funds.

European shares bounced back while the yen and government bonds erased gains in volatile trade on Friday after robust corporate results eased credit fears which have triggered sharp moves across financial markets.

Infineon is actively seeking ways to cut its stake in its loss-making memory-chip subsidiary Qimonda, Infineon's chief executive said, lifting Infineon shares after unspectacular quarterly results.

Volkswagen will meet its 2008 pretax profit target of 5.1 billion euros ($7 billion) a year earlier than planned as cost cuts boost results, the group said on Friday, sending its shares sharply higher.

Japan's Nikkei average dropped 2.36 percent to its lowest in nearly three months on Friday on a plunge in the U.S. market and a stronger yen, while this Sunday's parliamentary election kept the market in check.

Asia's monsoon misery has spread to Nepal, leaving thousands of people homeless, while more rain is expected to bring further chaos to China's drowned southwest, where many have already lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones.

Britain's Cadbury Schweppes said on Friday it was extending the timetable for the sale of its North American drinks business due to the turbulence in debt markets, although it said buying interest was keen.

Oil steadied above $75 on Friday, supported by the fundamentals of energy supply and demand and shrugging off immediate worries over corporate borrowing costs and the U.S. economy that roiled stock markets.

High yielding currencies fell sharply in volatile markets on Friday as a sell-off in credit and stock markets led investors to pare risky carry trades.

Japan's Toshiba Corp., the world's No.2 maker of flash memory chips, posted a 1.6 percent rise in quarterly operating profit on Friday and raised its first-half forecast as chip prices recover.