IBT Staff Reporter

As well as agreeing to draw up international laws against cigarette smuggling, officials at a major World Health Organization (WHO) anti-tobacco meeting adopted stringent definitions of what it means to have a smoke-free bar or office.

Dow Jones & Co.'s board and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. have completed talks on a $5 billion buyout of Dow Jones and are expected to announce a deal next week, London's The Business weekly magazine reported on Friday.

Traders said it may be linked to the embarrassing closure of a hedge fund earlier this year.

Milan judge has ordered Bank of America to stand trial for alleged market-rigging by some of its employees in connection with Italian dairy firm Parmalat's collapse.

Rio Tinto, the world's second-biggest miner, is drawing up plans to gatecrash Alcoa Inc's $28 billion hostile bid for North American rival Alcan Inc., the Daily Telegraph said on Friday.

Gold was steady on Friday ahead of the release of U.S. payrolls data, while Tokyo futures shed the previous day's gains to track losses in New York.

Financial markets focused on Friday on upcoming U.S. jobs data for a guide to the path of interest rates, leaving stocks mixed, the dollar clinging on to recent gains and bonds weaker.

Fast Retailing's surprise $900 million bid for Jones Apparel Group's Barneys New York underscores the Japanese clothing retailer's dream to become a global player and find growth outside its mature home market.

Rivals tout designs by Madonna, Kylie Minogue, and Kate Moss, but Spanish fashion retailer Zara wants no part of it.

Sony Corp.has no plans to cut the price of its PlayStation3 (PS3) at present to pep up demand and counter surging sales of Nintendo's rival game console Wii, Sony's president said on Friday.

PSA Peugeot Citroen's worldwide vehicle sales were little changed in the first half of 2007, slipping 500 units to 1,764,000 vehicles, Europe's second-biggest car group said on Friday.

A well-known hacker claims to have overcome restrictions on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, allowing highly technical users to bypass AT&T Inc.'s network to use the phone's Internet and music features.

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it will open a software development center in Vancouver, giving it a place to employ skilled workers snagged by U.S. immigration quotas.

Current U.S. interest rate policy should promote a further drop in inflation although risks are still skewed toward higher prices, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said on Thursday.

The video game industry gathers for its annual expo next week, and anticipation is running high that cheaper hardware and a host of keenly awaited new games will fuel the strongest sales in years.

Pacific rim trade ministers pushed for a revival of stalled world trade talks on Friday, but committed themselves to work towards setting up their own trade bloc if a global deal fails.

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday an unacceptable number of repairs to its Xbox 360 will force it to take a charge of more than $1 billion for its most recent quarter, and it announced a new, extended warranty for the video game console.

The chip industry rebounded in May with worldwide semiconductors sales rising 2.4 percent from a year ago to hit $20.3 billion, according to a report by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) has won approval to sell its popular Blackberry handheld device in China, the world's largest mobile phone market .

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday that it would launch an updated version of its Xbox 360 game console on October 11 in Japan as it competes against rival products from Japanese favorites, Nintendo and Sony.

Jones Apparel Group has a new, bigger bid for its Barney’s unit.

Luggage company Samsonite Corp. said it agreed to be acquired by CVC Capital Partners Ltd. For $1.1 billion on Thursday.

Shares of Hilton Hotels Corp. skyrocketed in Thursday trading after the hotel firm said late Tuesday to be acquired by private equity giant Blackstone Group for $26 billion, including debt.

JAL President Haruka Nishimatsu said Wednesday the company is considering ways to make job cuts ahead of schedule and also reduce retirement benefits by 10 percent, according to Japanese daily Nikkei.

Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. are looking to boost their exports SUVs and midsize sedans from U.S. factories to Middle East and Russia due to increased demand, reported Nikkei on Thursday.

U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on Thursday, following the lead of weaker euro zone debt and after stronger-than-expected U.S. data on jobs and the services sector.

As Europe's workers take a few weeks of holiday this summer, their American colleagues will be lucky to get a few days off work, says a report published by the European Trade Union Institute.

The dollar rose on Thursday, erasing earlier losses against the euro after a gauge of activity in the U.S. services sector beat forecasts for the month of June.

Toyota and Ford, two of the world's three largest auto makers, reported strong first-half sales in China's fast-growing market, where as relative newcomers they are competing to roll out new models to attract customers.