IBT Staff Reporter

General Motors Corp. said on Friday it is accelerating its hydrogen fuel cell program, shifting work from laboratory to engineering groups that aim to develop the technology for mass production.

Central banks should be ready to respond to events that could have systemic risks but should not try to 'prick' asset bubbles with tighter monetary policy, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen said on Friday.

The control of a reorganized and potentially profitable U.S. auto parts maker Delphi Corp. may come down to a fight between its two largest shareholders.

The world of professional e-sports and virtual heroes may soon see profound changes.

They may not be blaming him for making their lives more difficult -- yet. But rivals at private equity firms sure wish that Stephen Schwarzman, the founder and CEO of buyout firm The Blackstone Group, would get his name off the front pages.

South Korea said on Sunday that the United States had proposed some revisions to a free trade agreement between the two countries, in areas including labor rights, environment and investment.

Japan and the United States are set to allow private defense contractors to directly share and transfer information on defense technology, the Nikkei business daily said on Sunday.

Powerful investors continue to buy into commodities despite sharp price falls in some markets.

Stocks rose for a third straight day on Friday after tame consumer price data put aside inflation fears, while an upgrade of bellwether Intel helped fuel gains in the tech sector.

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Friday said a complaint lodged by Google Inc. was 'baseless' as the software company was complying with a 2002 antitrust settlement.

DVD sales to consumers are down nearly 8%, as of the first quarter. And no wonder: After years of trying to space out big new releases throughout the year, studios again appear to be focusing on the fourth quarter and cutting back on the rest of the year.

China has censored part of the latest installment of hit Hollywood movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean' for 'vilifying and defacing the Chinese,' the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the world's largest memory chip maker, said it would invest $3.5 billion in its 10-year-old U.S. chip plant by 2008 to produce flash memory chips.

Blackstone Group LP, which is preparing to go public, said on Friday that proposed U.S. Senate legislation on the taxation of private equity firms could materially increase its tax liability and lower the partnership's value.

Changes in financial and credit conditions can amplify cyclical swings in the economy and the effect of monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday.

Boston's police, facing an upsurge in murder and other violent crimes, have set up a system to allow witnesses to tip them off to crime by sending anonymous text messages.

For tourism chiefs eager to entice 'set-jetters' to Britain, Harry Potter offers the ideal location vacation -- and the latest book and film look certain to stoke renewed Pottermania.

Oil steadied around $71 a barrel on Friday after two days of gains sparked by worries of low fuel supplies from creaking U.S. refineries and an upsurge of violence in the Middle East.

Two months after Amazon.com Inc. posted first-quarter results that gave a boost to bulls anxious for a sign of improved earnings and profit margins, the online retailer's valuation is soaring -- and perplexing many.

Reports showing a moderate rise in a key U.S. inflation gauge and continued manufacturing gains helped fire investor optimism on Friday, despite signs consumers' spirits were dampened by higher gasoline prices.

Treasury debt prices rose on Friday after tame inflation data eased some recent concerns over the potential for Federal Reserve rate hikes.

The high priests of free software have congregated at Google Inc. headquarters this week to debate the future of the movement and face down recent patent threats by Microsoft Corp.

The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the world's largest energy market, is exploring a sale for about $14.3 billion, a news agency reported on Friday, as exchanges worldwide hustle for the best merger partners.

Global stocks rose on Friday, absorbing further gains in U.S. and euro zone government bond yields ahead of U.S. inflation data, while the yen sank after the Bank of Japan left interest rates on hold.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat to slightly higher open on Friday, with technology shares likely to underpin gains after a broker upgrade of Intel Corp. , but investors were cautious ahead of key inflation data.

Cadbury Schweppes Plc, the world's largest confectionery group, pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of selling unsafe chocolate in Britain and Ireland during 2006 and faces an unlimited fine.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. are learning that it's a tough time to be in the U.S. mortgage business. Both banks suffered from rising home buyer defaults in the latest quarter.

Volkswagen's Audi premium unit aims to raise sales in the United States to 200,000 vehicles by 2015 from last year's 90,000, Audi's sales and marketing boss told a German newspaper.

Gold retreated from earlier highs on Friday as bargain hunting subsided amid nervousness caused by this week's sell-off triggered by the strength of the dollar and rising U.S. Treasury yields.