INVESTMENT

South Korean regulators on Friday endorsed Hana Financial Group Inc.'s 3.9 trillion won ($3.48 billion) acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank, paving the way for U.S. private-equity firm Lone Star's sale of the local lender and closing the final chapter of a drawn out and acrimonious saga.

The names of a top executive at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and a board member at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. surfaced on Friday as potential witnesses in the insider-trading trial of Rajat Gupta, a former director of Goldman, the Procter & Gamble Co., and other companies.

The Justice Department issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions as part of a new effort to investigate misconduct in the packaging and sale of home loans to investors, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday.

Vancouver-based Goldcorp announced Friday that the royalty on the production of precious metals will increase to 4 percent of gross revenue, up from 1 percent.

Gold prices posted a modest gain Friday, capping a three-day rally as well as a week in which the yellow metal jumped 4.15 percent.

President Obama revealed a new college affordability plan Friday that would increase federal grant money available in low-interest loans.

Facebook could file papers for an initial public offering, or, IPO, as early as Wednesday. Estimates of its valuation are in the range of $75 billion to $100 billion. Morgan Stanley may be lead underwriter.

Facebook could file for its initial public offering as early as Feb.1, valuing the company as high as $100 billion, a report said.

The world's biggest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates posted returns of 23 percent in 2011, in a year when most of its peers underperformed the major stock market indexes, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the firm's investment strategy.

Oshkosh Corp. shareholders handed a defeat to activist investor Carl Icahn on Friday, electing at least 12 of the 13 management-backed nominees to the company's board.

The buzzed about Ferris Bueller Super Bowl 2012 commercial is for auto company Honda, according to a report.

The U.S. economy expanded at its fastest pace in the fourth quarter of last year, as consumers loosened their purse strings, companies rebuilt inventories and housing construction perked up.

When Philips Electronics reports earnings on Monday, investors will be bracing themselves for developments on restructuring, costs cuts and whether the TV business will be sold in the first quarter.

Treasury debt prices rose on Thursday, and five-year note yields dipped to the lowest level since at least the 1960s, a day after the Federal Reserve said it will likely hold interest rates near zero at least through late 2014.

The European Union is deliberating on a €150 million ($197 million) aid package for Myanmar, according to the latest report.

A broad asset rally inspired by the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to keep rates low paused Friday, as investors sought to gauge how sustainable the burst of optimism will be while waiting for the outcome of crucial Greek debt talks.

The U.S. economy is not robust by any means, but the recent manufacturing-driven recovery, if tepid, is finally beginning to erase memories of the disappointing slowdown in 2011. On the wings of the recent gains, growth in most sectors of the economy is likely to continue - and maybe even pick up momentum towards the end of the year.

U.S. stocks sagged on Thursday as traders cashed in on red-hot bank and technology shares, while the Federal Reserve's commitment to easy money to help the U.S. economy rebound weakened the dollar.

Travellers hoping to catch a glimpse of the glittering Shwedagon Pagoda or hear the tinkly temple-bells of Kipling's Road to Mandalay might one day be able to book into a Westin or a Marriott.

Valley National Bancorp's margins fell sequentially, prompting investor concerns about its profit growth in a low-rate environment, while its Northeastern peer First Niagara Financial managed to hold the line on its margins.

The Chinese New Year celebration is expected to increase strong demand for gold in Asia, according to industry experts.