IBT Staff Reporter

Citigroup Inc. has all but ended talks to purchase assets or a stake in stricken hedge fund manager Amaranth Advisors LLC, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday, making the chances more remote that the fund will survive. Citi held talks this week that could have kept afloat the hedge fund, which lost more than $6 billion in investments recently.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law on Friday making it a crime to buy telephone records or obtain them through deceit, an issue that has become important amid a furor over Hewlett-Packard Co.'s attempts to track down boardroom leaks to the press.

The dollar rose against major currencies on Friday as a slew of economic data eased investors' concerns about a sharp slowdown in the U.S. economy.

U.S. stocks may test record highs next week as muted oil prices take center stage. But the September jobs report on Friday could keep traders cautious and upend a rally.

Indian shares defied firm world markets to trade flat to lower on Thursday as crude oil bounced back, stoking investor fears of higher inflation.

Yahoo Inc. is set to allow outsiders to create new services using the world's most popular consumer e mail program

Recruitment firm Michael Page sees further consolidation in the staffing services market, the group's chief executive told a Swiss newspaper, adding the UK based firm was not looking to be bought.

Imagine your car warning you of an icy road ahead, reading aloud the text messages arriving on your phone and sending you an e mail that your fuel pump needs replacing soon.

Amaranth Advisors LLC, the hedge fund manager which lost billions of dollars in energy trades, will suspend redemptions......

Bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. (Other OTC:DPHIQ - news) on Friday posted a $533 million net loss for August in a limited monthly report......

Standard Chartered PLC yestoday announced an acquisition plan for Taiwan Hsinchu International Bank for $1.2 billion......

U.S. consumer spending slipped in August but falling gasoline prices elevated shoppers' moods by September and Midwest factory activity picked up as well, according to reports on Friday that suggested the economy was still motoring along. Meanwhile, indicators for consumer prices offered a mixed reading on inflation.

Shutterfly Inc., an Internet-based digital photography website, announced on Friday its first public offering of common stock on NASDAQ which will begin trading at $15 per share.

A new faith-based mobile phone company is began offering a new service on Friday, combining faith and family content with mobile phone services.

Europe's largest low-fares airline, Ryanair, announced on Friday an order for 32 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 jets valued at $2.25-billion.

`The European Commission established a Pharmaceutical Forum in Europe today to improve the information on medicine given to patients, ensure faster access to medicine and to better regulate the prices charged.

Deloitte & Touche gave an award to Induslogic Inc. for being the fastest growing technology company in Virginia at a ceremony on Thursday evening.

The move to mobility continued to be a key factor during this year's back-to-school season (BTS) one market research firm indicates.

Textechnologies Inc. said on Friday it has acquired UK printing company, Centrabell Ltd.

Economic sentiment has improved in Europe in September following a small drop in August. The mood has is up 1.6 points in the EU and 1 point in the euro area, according to the Economic Sentiment Indicator.

The Japanese Olympic Commission (JOC) will appoint Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara as the director-general of Tokyo Olympic Bidding Committee for the 2016 Summer Games, the commission said on Friday.

Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard have signed a deal to feature Yahoo services, including search, on the HP computers sold in the United States and European Markets.

Sony Ericsson announced new phones in its popular Walkman branded line, with three optimized for use in China and South East Asian markets, and one for use in the Americas.

The products including a 17-inch widescreen HD-DVD notebook PC, a HD-DVD Media Center TV PC with and an HD-DVD external drive for PCs.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole said on Friday that inflation must be kept under wraps, but if both growth and price pressures were sufficiently weak, he would back a reduction in U.S. interest rates. He said policy should be disciplined but not more than warranted.

The World Trade Organization swore in David Unterhalter from South Africa as a member of the Appellate Body by the Body's Chairman, A.V. Ganesan, at a ceremony on Thursday.

New research released by the RAC has revealed that half of young drivers are unable to read a map. Whilst 84% of drivers claim to have good map reading skills, research from RAC Direct Insurance has revealed that actual number of skilled map readers to be far lower.

Permanent tsb today announced that the slow down of growth in house prices in Ireland could have been aided by the recent rise in interest rates by the European Central Bank.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced pricing and release dates for its anticipated Zune portable media player. Once thought to be the greatest threat to Apple's dominant iPod lines, some experts now contend that the device will do more damage to Microsoft partners instead.