Barclays agrees to sell its fund management division, Barclays Global Investors to US money management firm Blackrock for £8.2bn.

The West Bromwich Building Society has reached an agreement with debt holders as it battles to secure its future.

Struggling Irish pay-TV broadcaster Setanta could be saved from administration by a new investor, the BBC understands.

Reuters - BlackRock Inc. said on Thursday it will buy British bank Barclays Plc's investment arm BGI for $13.5 billion in a blockbuster deal that will create the world's biggest asset manager.

Analogue TV signals will be switched off in one go across the US, with more than 2m households still unprepared.

Negative equity may have speeded up the UK economy's fall into recession, the Bank of England says.

The Gulf state of Qatar is considering buying a stake in either Porsche or Volkswagen as merger talks between the two remain in stalemate.

Reuters - British bank Barclays confirmed on Friday that it had agreed to sell its BGI investment arm to U.S. firm BlackRock for $13.5 billion, creating the world's biggest asset manager.

AFP - China's May industrial output and retail sales both grew at a faster pace than in previous months, the government has said, as massive stimulus measures introduced since last year kicked in.

The Nikkei closed above 10,000 and other Asian stock markets advanced Friday as improving economic data from the China and U.S. supported views that the worst of the global recession is passing.

The Nikkei closes above 10,000 points for the first time in eight months, amid rising optimism about a global recovery

Latvia's prime minister says that budget cuts implemented in the country have saved it from bankruptcy.

The next version of the Windows operating system will be sold without a browser in Europe, says Microsoft.

Tax cuts and incentives give a boost to Kenyan broadband and mobile phone users ahead of the launch of a fibre optic cable.

Reuters - BlackRock has agreed to buy Barclays Global Investors to create the world's biggest asset manager, in a $13.5 billion deal that British bank Barclays hopes will put to rest concerns about its capital.

Reuters - World stocks were flat on Friday ahead of a G8 meeting as investors paused for breath to discern further signs of economic recovery while euro zone government bond prices rose after a successful 30-year U.S. bond auction soothed worries over the rising U.S. budget deficit.

Reuters - Oil prices slid toward $72 a barrel on Friday, as investors locked in gains from a near eight-month high settlement a day ago, but stronger-than-expected China factory output and retail sales data lent support.

Reuters - Dutch Philips Electronics may have to take additional measures in the next months to keep the company healthy, its chief executive told workers in an internal magazine.

The bill would give the F.D.A. regulatory power over cigarettes and other products, although the agency would not be able to ban them. President Obama is expected to sign it.

The diverging fortunes of the U.S. and Europe show the perils and upsides of the recovery plans of each.

India's industrial output rose unexpectedly in April, figures show, fuelling hopes that a recovery may be in sight.

Australia dismisses threats of sanctions from China against its two largest mining firms Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

Industrial production in eurozone countries was down a record 21.6% in April from a year ago, figures show.

The US aircraft maker slashes its global outlook for new plane demand for the first time in a decade amid an industry slowdown.

Chinese exports have dropped by a record in May as demand for its goods from the US and Europe slumped.

Reuters - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday as commodity prices eased and investors looked ahead to key consumer confidence data.

Reuters - Bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co, billionaire Gerald J. Ford and a unit of money manager Legg Mason Inc are eyeing ways to buy up bank's toxic loans, the New York Post said.

Reuters - Oil dropped below $72 a barrel on Friday, a day after reaching a near eight-month high, pressured by a firmer dollar and views that prices have risen too far despite improving sentiment about the economy.

Reuters - Oil demand is still shrinking as the world economy contracts, OPEC said on Friday, but the worst appears to be over for the oil market and stocks should be moving back toward more normal levels by the end of the year.

A record 2,000 exhibitors will be in attendance when the aviation industry's biggest gathering opens on Monday, but there will not be any major plane debuts and few big orders.

Across the United States today, television stations will power down the analog signals that have sent TV shows into homes for six decades.

European regulators signaled that Microsoft?s offer to sell a browser-less Windows system on the Continent did not go far enough to enable competition.

Import prices in the United States rose 1.3 percent in May, the government said, with oil prices fueling the rise, but underlying import price pressure was muted.

Shares lost ground as investors awaited a reading on consumer sentiment.

US investor Len Blavatnik is offering £20m for a 51% stake in the troubled Irish pay-tv channel Setanta, the BBC learns.

As the economic downturn continues, BBC News tracks a selection of job losses and new jobs created across the UK.

Aer Lingus announces it is to suspend flights from Dublin to some of its US destinations over the winter.

Tax cuts and incentives give a boost to Kenyan broadband and mobile phone users ahead of the launch of a fibre optic cable.

Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence rose to a nine-month high in June but failed again to surpass its level of September 2008, when the spectacular failure of Lehman Brothers sent the world economy into a tailspin, a survey showed on Friday.

Reuters - BlackRock has agreed to buy Barclays Global Investors to create the world's biggest asset manager in a $13.5 billion deal that British bank Barclays hopes will put to rest concerns about its capital.

Reuters - Stocks opened lower on Friday as commodity prices fell, while investors looked ahead to consumer confidence data for insight into the prospects for spending, a key driver of the economy.

Reuters - General Motors is close to selling loss-making Swedish unit Saab after tiny supercar maker Koenigsegg agreed to ride to the rescue, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters.

Reuters - Hartford Financial Services Group Inc said on Friday it will take $3.4 billion of federal bailout money and plans to sell as much as $750 million of common stock.

The deadline for America?s transition to digital TV is Friday, and stations are shutting off their analog signals.

Consumer confidence climbed but failed again to surpass its level of September 2008, when the failure of Lehman Brothers sent the world economy into a tailspin.

Commodities and technology stocks, which have helped fuel a three-month rally, led the market in a modest pullback early Friday.

The Hartford Financial Services Group said that it would take as much as $3.4 billion of federal bailout funds and sell up to $750 million of common stock after large losses on investments.

Reuters - Technology shares fell on Friday after disappointing results from National Semiconductor, but a rise in defensive stocks, like healthcare, cushioned losses in the Dow and S&P 500.

Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence rose to a nine-month high in June, a survey showed on Friday, but inflation gauges showed worrisome signs of price increases that could slow any recovery from the longest recession since the Great Depression.

The deadline for America?s transition to digital TV is Friday, and stations are shutting off their analog signals.

The House on Friday gave final approval to legislation empowering the F.D.A. to regulate cigarettes.

Executives from G.M. and Chrysler defended their decisions to shut down 2,000 dealerships, telling skeptical lawmakers that the cull was needed for the carmakers? survival.

The European Union will drop its investigation and any fines if the company reduced its royalty rates for DRAM memory chip patents.

Abandoned by the Bush administration, a major project to capture and store carbon dioxide is being restarted, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced.

Increased use of electronic medical records surely means a rise in ID theft , and many don?t know yet that they are victims.

Reuters - Technology shares led Wall Street's drop on Friday after National Semiconductor's disappointing results, but a rise in defensive sectors like healthcare limited losses in the Dow and S&P 500.

Reuters - The two primary watchdogs of the U.S. financial bailout program are studying whether taxpayers will get a fair return on banks' warrants as the largest firms repay government investments, according to a letter sent to lawmakers this week.

Reuters - BlackRock Inc , the fund manager famed for buying assets on the cheap, has snapped up Barclays Global Investors for $13.5 billion in a deal creating the world's largest money manager.

In the wake of the Ponzi scheme, investors are asking wealth managers tougher questions, including how to vet what?s on their statement.

Financial planners say now is the time to protect portfolios, before the effects of inflation, when it comes, can limit investors? strategies.

A bankruptcy court approved the sale of the Tropicana Casino to creditors led by Carl C. Icahn, who will forgive about $200 million of debt in exchange for control of the company.

Two chronicles of the final days of the ?working class? investment bank, by Kate Kelly and William D. Cohan.

An account of how J. P. Morgan bankers invented dangerous new ways of dispersing risk that contributed to the present financial crisis.

Zimbabwe's economy could grow by between 4% and 6% this year according to the country's finance minister.

Reuters - Technology shares pushed the Nasdaq lower on Friday after National Semiconductor's disappointing outlook, but a climb in defensive sectors like pharmaceuticals lifted the Dow industrials and S&P 500.

Reuters - Plans by major U.S. airlines to slash the number of seats they sell may bolster fares this fall, further stabilizing prices that tumbled this year as economic weakness drained travel demand.

Increased use of electronic medical records surely means a rise in ID theft , and many don?t know yet that they are victims.

Businesses falsely promising to save homeowners from default are bilking customers, sometimes for thousands of dollars.

If Taiwan Semiconductor, one of the world?s most formidable manufacturers, moves into solar cells and LED lights, prices could fall sharply.

Kenneth Feinberg says he plans to address the issue of excessive corporate risk-taking in his role as the new US 'pay czar'.

Reuters - The Dow moved into positive territory for the year for the first time since early January on Friday, lifted by defensive sectors like pharmaceuticals while a disappointing outlook from National Semiconductor weighed on technology stocks.

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury Department is facing mounting pressure to ensure that taxpayers get a fair return on banks' warrants as the largest firms prepare to shake off government ownership stakes.

Reuters - Virtually all dealers asked to do business with the new General Motors Corp after bankruptcy have agreed to do so, while the automaker will work through the weekend to weigh appeals from those that are being cut loose, the company's chief executive said on Friday.

Financial planners say now is the time to protect portfolios, before the effects of inflation, when it comes, can limit investors? strategies.

If Taiwan Semiconductor, one of the world?s most formidable manufacturers, moves into solar cells and LED lights, prices could fall sharply.

European regulators signaled that Microsoft?s offer to sell a browser-less Windows system on the Continent did not go far enough to enable competition.

The European Union will drop its investigation and any fines if the company reduced its royalty rates for DRAM memory chip patents.

Stronger regulation of executive compensation at all banks is vital to restrain the risk-taking that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

David Blanchflower, the Bank of England official who predicted the recession, is made a CBE in the Birthday Honours list.

Analogue TV signals are switched off across the US, but about one million households are still unprepared.

Despite warnings, some consumers were not ready for the full transition from analog TV to digital broadcasts.

The rising tide of gout ? a painful arthritis of the big toe and other joints ? is leading the pharmaceutical industry to rediscover what it had considered a disease of the past.

Businesses falsely promising to save homeowners from default are bilking customers, sometimes for thousands of dollars.

A coal plant is to be built that will store nearly all of its emissions underground to avoid contributing to global warming.

Since March, when the central bank stepped in to fill a lending vacuum, it has had to decide which of many industries should be eligible for government financing.

The third generation of the Prius was an instant hit in Japan. Prius plants are working 24 hours a day.

The plan will expand the audience for four groups? investigative journalism projects, and may help newspapers fill some gaps in coverage.

Despite warnings, some consumers were not ready for the full transition from analog TV to digital broadcasts.

The legislation, which now goes to the president for signing, would let the government limit advertising, set standards for some products and ban others.

The company said it paid an Army doctor, who is accused of falsifying research about a Medtronic product, to give speeches and train others earlier than was previously known.

Decades ago, the drug allopurinol was a godsend for gout sufferers. Now, the race is on to find an updated medicine with fewer side effects.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore offers incoming lawyers $80,000 to defer starting dates and restricts starts of summer associates hired for full-time positions.

The online retailer will pay the toy seller to end a legal dispute over a partnership that gave Toys ?R? Us exclusive rights to supply some products on Amazon?s site.

Interest in the discount department store heated up after the judge overseeing the case ordered the auction reopened because of complaints from rival bidders about the auction process.

Ping An Insurance Company plans to buy a $3.2 billion stake in the Shenzhen Development Bank Company.

The agency wants the asthma medication Singulair and similar medicines to come with a caution about reports of psychiatric problems in some patients.

Reuters - U.S. regulators are drawing up rules that would make it easier for private equity firms to acquire troubled banks, aiming to free up more funds to recapitalize lenders, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the situation.