A 40-year career in the restructuring business was a warm-up act for Albert Koch of AlixPartners.

Financial and energy shares pulled the market higher as investors sidestepped safety bets in areas like health care or consumer necessities.

Thirty-one states said estimates about personal income taxes had been overly optimistic, and 25 said that major tax categories were not keeping up with projections.

Declining sales and clashes with Donatella Versace, sister of the late Gianni Versace and the creative director of the company, are believed to be the reasons.

Lloyds Banking Group shareholders are set to vent their anger over the merger with HBOS at the bank's annual meeting later.

Reuters - Asian shares, oil and higher-yielding currencies rose on Friday as hopes for a global economic recovery drove up appetite for riskier assets, but traders were cautious ahead of U.S. monthly job data.

Reuters - Dismissing strong objections from JPMorgan Chase and American Express Co executives, U.S. regulators insisted the banks raise equity this week before repaying bail-out funds, the Financial Times reported.

Reuters - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is aiming at a shake-up of Citigroup Inc's top management, including replacing Chief Executive Vikram Pandit, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

A deal is reached on the sharing of ticket revenue, ending a two-month dispute and paving the way for new Hindi movie releases next week.

Asian stock markets were mixed Friday as investors tread cautiously ahead of a key U.S. jobs report that could bring more signs of recovery ? or weakness ? in the world?s largest economy.

US carmaker General Motors hopes to return to profit in 2011 after emerging from bankruptcy protection, court papers show.

Mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse says it will complete the separation of its TalkTalk business by July 2010

Reuters - Asian shares, oil and higher-yielding currencies rose on Friday as positive signals from the latest U.S. weekly job data sparked tentative optimism ahead of the crucial monthly employment report.

Reuters - A little-known Chinese heavy machinery maker could face a bumpy road ahead in its quest to buy General Motors' Hummer brand, facing pitfalls ranging from regulatory to financing issues.

Prices are heading towards $70 a barrel, a new seven-month high, amid fresh economic hopes and rising stock markets

The Latvian government says markets will stabilise once it has reached a deal with lenders, but fears remain it will have to devalue its currency.

Russia's president says increased state intervention in the country's economy during the global downturn is 'inevitable'.

The pound falls against the dollar and euro, hit by uncertainty over the UK's political situation after a third minister resigns.

Peruvian smelter problem nears conclusion

Will Liverpool win extra time for loan payments?

UK factory gate prices and input costs both fell in the year to May, suggesting that inflationary pressures are still easing.

Reuters - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday, ahead of key monthly jobs data.

Reuters - World stocks rose toward this week's 7-1/2 month high on Friday as resource stocks rallied after oil prices surged past $69 a barrel and optimism grew about an improving U.S. labor market ahead of key jobs data.

A deal to sell the brand to the Roger Penske, a major auto dealer, is expected to be announced on Friday.

Boeing says orders in May were down more than 70% from a year earlier after airlines cancelled or delayed plans for new planes.

Fresh figures on the UK construction industry could mean the UK economy grew less than first thought in the first three months of 2009.

Shareholders in Lloyds are venting their anger over the merger with HBOS at the bank's annual meeting.

Multimillionaire businessman Sir Alan Sugar has been made enterprise czar by prime minister Gordon Brown in the reshuffle of his cabinet.

Reuters - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday as investors awaited key monthly data on the labor market.

The U.S. unemployment rate was the highest in 26 years, the government said on Friday, but the loss of 345,000 jobs in May, fewer than expected, was seen as a sign that the job market was no longer in free fall.

Markets gained ahead of a key U.S. jobs report, with mining companies in strong demand after Rio Tinto scrapped its $19.5 billion deal with China?s Chinalco.

At next week?s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple?s support among fans and developers will be tested. The iPhone is facing new competition, and computer sales have stalled.

US employers cut 345,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said, far fewer than expected.

Construction industry data may mean the UK economy shrank more than thought in early 2009, figures suggest.

Reuters - U.S. stocks trimmed gains on Friday as investors wrestled with mixed news on the labor market, derailing an earlier bounce.

Reuters - World stocks extended gains on Friday, rising toward this week's 7-1/2 month high after better-than-expected U.S. employment data reinforced investors' hopes that the world's biggest economy has passed its worst.

The U.S. unemployment rate was the highest in 26 years, the government said on Friday, but the loss of 345,000 jobs in May, fewer than expected, was seen as a sign that the job market was no longer in free fall.

A big auto dealer, Roger Penske, is set to acquire the Saturn brand and access to its dealership network.

Despite evidence that job cuts are slowing, investors pulled back after stocks had an initial bounce.

Sleep problems afflict millions of people, but there are measures people can take. And a new mattress isn?t necessarily one of them.

General Motors has agreed a deal to sell its Saturn brand and dealer network to former race car driver Richard Penske.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose in choppy trading on Friday as investors grappled with conflicting monthly jobs data, with the Dow industrials boosted after Wal-Mart said it was buying back more of its shares.

AP - Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s newly installed President and CEO Mike Duke pledged to shareholders Friday that the world's largest retailer will build on its success by keeping its customers even when the economy improves.

An organization of financial advisers says that a few reported rotten apples should not taint the entire group.

The world's first floating wind turbine is to be towed out to sea off the coast of Norway this weekend.

Reuters - The Dow industrials climbed on Friday after Wal-Mart unveiled plans for a stock buyback, while the broad market's gains were muted after government data showed employers cut sharply fewer jobs than expected in May and the jobless rate hit a 26-year high.

Reuters - Global stocks edged higher and the U.S. dollar gained against the euro and yen on Friday after the pace of U.S. job losses slowed sharply in May, adding to growing sentiment that the economic slowdown may be turning.

AP - Federal authorities say a former Wall Street broker charged in a subprime mortgage securities scam has jumped bail.

Mixed signals from the government?s employment report are giving investors reason to be cautious.

Following a recent management shuffle, Bank of America was keen to address concerns from regulators that the bank?s board lacked financial acumen.

President Dmitri A. Medvedev said wobbly American policies have made the dollar an undesirable currency for reserves held by central banks.

An economist predicts that the savings rate will pass the record high set in May 1975, when the country had just emerged from a severe recession.

Iceland's Prime Minister says a deal is close with the UK and Netherlands over frozen savings accounts.

Reuters - U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday as investors fretted about government data that gave conflicting signals about the job market, tempering some of the recent optimism about economic stabilization.

AP - The Federal Reserve announced a $1.2 trillion plan three months ago designed to push down mortgage rates and breathe life into the housing market.

Chrysler?s sale to Fiat is on hold until Monday while Indiana?s pension funds appeal to the Supreme Court.

Reuters - U.S. stocks flip-flopped throughout Friday's session, with the major indexes ending split as investors paused to consider conflicting signals in monthly U.S. jobs data.

Mixed signals from the government?s employment report are giving investors reason to be cautious.

Sleep problems afflict millions of people, but there are measures people can take. And a new mattress isn?t necessarily one of them.

Reuters - U.S. stocks flip-flopped throughout Friday's session, with the major indexes ending split as investors paused to consider conflicting signals in monthly U.S. jobs data.

With Bank of America and Citigroup due to report on their progress under the bailout, it?s uncertain whether their top leaders can keep their jobs.

In hard times, schemes that promise lucrative ways to earn money at home proliferate. But the old saying holds: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

At an annual shareholder meeting, the retailer?s leaders indicated they would not become complacent with their relative success.

Silverton Bank, a ?bankers? bank,? was closed after talks collapsed between federal regulators and four buyout firms.

A final vote on landmark cigarette legislation could take place on Wednesday.

The efficient market hypothesis, which argues that the stock market is essentially rational, is taking serious hits, and one analyst says it is at the root of the financial crisis.

AP - An affiliate of the Houston-based Men's Wearhouse was the successful bidder for the 100-year-old Filene's Basement chain after bidding $67 million for the off-price retailer at a bankruptcy auction.

Despite government efforts to promote the switch to digital signals and a delay of four months in the schedule, three million homes are unprepared.

Officials uncovered an apparent case of falsified research by a doctor who had befriended another physician at Walter Reed, and seemingly attached that doctor?s name to his study.

Borrowing by American consumers dropped by the second-biggest amount on record in April.

A government agency calculated that 41,800 jobs were lost in May, more than the 36,000 bank analysts anticipated in a consensus forecast.

Regulators have shut down the Bank of Lincolnwood, a small bank in Illinois, marking the 37th failure this year of a federally insured bank.

The F.D.A. approved the over-the-counter sales of a laser device for treatment of wrinkles around the eyes, sending the device maker?s shares up as much as 60 percent.

The company will pay a $2.3 million civil penalty in an agreement with the Consumer Product Safety Commission for selling toys with hazardous levels of lead.

Shares in Jackson Hewitt Tax Service rose the most in almost five years after naming Harry Buckley as chief executive to run the company.

An affiliate of the Houston-based Men?s Wearhouse bid $67 million for the off-price retailer at a bankruptcy auction.