Wall Street moved sharply higher on the back of several positive earnings reports.

New Zealand's economy has shrunk for a fifth quarter, making it officially the longest recession in its history.

Boeing, the world?s No. 2 plane-maker, suffered another heavy blow to its Dreamliner project on Friday when a major customer, Australia?s Qantas Airways, scrapped and deferred orders for 30 new planes.

UBS, one of the world?s hardest-hit major banks in the global financial crisis, said it plans to raise about $3.48 billion by selling stock and expects a second quarter loss.

Until recently, altering the retirement age had been taboo for a government wary of stirring up unions irked by job losses and moves to introduce market discipline into state structures.

A Chinese firm's bid to buy the Hummer brand will be blocked on environmental grounds, according to state radio.

Australian airline Qantas cancels an order worth $3bn for 15 of Boeing's delayed Dreamliner aircraft.

BSkyB should be forced to make its premium sports and film channels available to rivals, watchdog Ofcom proposes.

House builder Berkeley sees its annual profits slump more than a third in the face of 'extremely challenging' trading conditions.

Reuters - UBS , the world's largest wealth manager, said simple market opportunity was behind its decision to seek about 3.8 billion Swiss francs ($3.46 billion) of new capital in a share offer.

Reuters - Dealmakers saw business pick up again in the second quarter as they helped companies raise cash in capital markets, but lucrative mergers and acquisitions (M&A) languished.

Reuters - Nigeria's main militant group said it had blown up a well-head in a Royal Dutch Shell oil field in Delta state late Thursday, hours after President Umaru Yar'Adua announced an amnesty offer for gunmen.

Reuters - Oil climbed toward $71 a barrel on Friday, extending a 2 percent gain the day before, after rebel attacks on Nigerian oil facilities disrupted supply and equity markets rallied on optimism the global recession was ebbing.

Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS, is to raise 3.8bn Swiss francs (£2.1bn) of capital by selling new shares.

Prices in Japan fell by the most on record last month, raising fears of a new bout of deflation, official figures show.

Gaza's industries are struggling to recover from war

House prices in England and Wales fell slightly again last month, according to figures from the Land Registry.

Ticketholders for the sell-out Michael Jackson concerts at the O2 Centre in July should now get their money back.

Reuters - Investors welcomed UBS plans to raise 3.8 billion Swiss francs ($3.5 billion) of new capital but said the bank will not turn the corner until it stems client withdrawals and settles U.S. legal problems.

Reuters - Oil rose above $71 a barrel on Friday after Nigerian rebels said they blew up a wellhead in a Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) oilfield and as equity markets rallied on optimism the global recession was easing.

China's central bank reiterates its call for a new global reserve currency to replace the US dollar.

AEG Live, the organiser of Michael Jackson's concerts at the 02 arena, could lose millions from their cancellation.

Japan has punished US bank Citigroup for what it calls lax policies to protect against money laundering.

'Spendaholic' singer dies in debt after spending millions

Reuters - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a weak open on Friday with investors set to take profits after a gain of more than 2 percent in the previous session.

Teenagers in suburban Dayton, Ohio, are heading to community colleges after manufacturing plants closed.

The Australian airline, citing cost savings, said that it would cancel or defer delivery of 30 787 Dreamliner aircraft, dealing a heavy blow to the U.S. manufacturer.

Japanese regulators ordered the bank to suspend all sales operations in its retail banking unit for a month, saying it failed to monitor suspicious transactions.

The Swiss bank announced the move to shore up its balance sheet as European regulators presented a mixed picture of the health of the banking sector.

Tax cuts and increases on Social Security checks lifted personal incomes in May, but it appears that many people are putting that money away instead of spending it.

Rising commodity prices pushed European markets higher, but gains were trimmed ahead of an expected weak opening on Wall Street.

The Internet has been abuzz with theories about attempts to smuggle a purported $134.5 billion in government bearer bonds into Switzerland.

Oil prices rise past $71 a barrel as investors remain optimistic about an economic recovery.

Spain has launched a 9bn-euro ($12.7bn; £7.7bn) fund in case any of its troubled banks needs rescuing.

More job cuts may be made at Jaguar Land Rover, after it reported a £280m 10-month loss, owner Tata Motors warns.

Some Network Rail bosses are to receive bonuses of more than £300,000 each, drawing fierce criticism from unions.

Reuters - U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday as investors took some profits after stocks gained more than 2 percent in the previous session, and as a jump in the rate of savings pointed to a more cautious consumer.

Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence rose in June to the highest since February 2008, as expectations grew that the worst economic recession since the Great Depression may be ending, a survey showed on Friday.

Reuters - U.S. consumer spending rose last month for the first time since February as government stimulus pushed incomes sharply higher, the Commerce Department said on Friday, supporting the view the economy was close to pulling out of recession.

Reuters - KB Home , the No. 5 U.S. homebuilder, posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday, but said it saw signs that negative trends in the housing market were moderating.

BusinessWeek Online - You've got a dirty little secret. During long lunch breaks, or after work when everyone else heads home to their families, you're sneaking out to a secret rendezvous. You know what you're doing is perfectly justified, but you still feel a little bad afterwards. You never thought it would come to this. But here you are -- cheating on your financial planner.

Reuters - Freddie Mac , the second-largest U.S. home funding company, on Friday said its mortgage investment portfolio shrank by an annualized 9.9 percent rate in May, while delinquencies on loans it guarantees accelerated.

The Swiss bank announced the move to shore up its balance sheet as European regulators presented a mixed picture of the health of the banking sector.

Wall Street lost ground after the government reported that personal spending, incomes and savings all rose in May.

If you?ve cared for an elderly parent, you know the importance of being prepared for the cost of your own long-term care.

The derivatives industry has started a public relations campaign arguing that it is helpful to businesses.

AEG Live, the organiser of Michael Jackson's concerts at the O2 arena, could lose millions from their cancellation.

Reuters - U.S. stocks faltered on Friday as weak oil futures pressured energy shares and a jump in the savings rate raised worries the economic recovery will not make much headway if consumers continue to be frugal.

Reuters - U.S. consumer spending in May rose for the first time since February as government stimulus measures boosted income, while a consumer sentiment index in June edged higher, bolstering the view that the economy was close to emerging from recession.

Reuters - Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America's embattled chief executive, retained the backing of a top lieutenant on Friday, when investment bank and wealth management chief Brian Moynihan called him the 'right person' to lead the nation's largest bank.

Reuters - AIG's American Life Insurance Company (Alico) will restructure its western European businesses in order to generate cost savings, according to an internal document obtained by Reuters.

In a worldwide event, amateur radio operators will talk to each other by bouncing their messages off the craggy face of the moon.

New-home sales are suffering more than those for existing homes in this recession, which isn?t what usually happens.

The administration has set the process for pricing the stock warrants the government owns in many of the large banks that participated in the $700 billion Tarp bailout.

The state won a three-state battle to host a new G.M. plant that will build small cars. Separately, General Electric chose Michigan for a technology and software center.

The nationalised Northern Rock bank is to split in two later this year.

Reuters - The Dow and the S&P 500 fell on Friday as a jump in the savings rate indicated that the debt-burdened consumer may not drive the economy out of recession as fast as hoped, and a slide in crude futures prompted investors to sell some energy shares.

Reuters - General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said on Friday the United States needs to refocus its economy on manufacturing and exporting if it wishes to recover from a brutal recession.

Reuters - Hartford Financial Services Group Inc said on Friday it has taken $3.4 billion of federal bailout money, the maximum it was authorized to accept, to bolster capital in the wake of large investment losses.

AP - Retail gas prices fell every day this week, easing off their summer peak of $2.693 a gallon as U.S. storage facilities swelled with unused supplies.

For the AARP to save cash by cutting the match to its 401(k) retirement plan is like the Teamsters hiring nonunion labor.

Prosecutors are fighting the $500,000 bail that was set for R. Allen Stanford, the man accused of masterminding a $7 billion fraud against 30,000 investors.

Reuters - U.S. consumer spending in May rose for the first time since February and savings hit a record high as federal stimulus measures boosted incomes, while consumer sentiment edged higher in June, bolstering the view that the economy was close to emerging from recession.

A letter to potential buyers said the company intended to make a deal quickly and initial bids were due on July 8.

Unlike mass-market auto dealers, sellers of upscale models haven?t bent over backward to sell vehicles. But a serious buyer may still get a deal.

A federal judge will review an earlier decision to set the bail at $500,000 for R. Allen Stanford, the man accused of orchestrating a $7 billion fraud against 30,000 investors.

A bidder offers $810,100 to dine with investor Warren Buffett, as part of a charity auction, which ends soon.

Reuters - The Nasdaq rose on Friday, helped by gains in smartphone maker Palm Inc while other indexes ended little changed in choppy trading.

Reuters - U.S. consumer spending in May rose for the first time since February and savings hit a record high as federal stimulus measures boosted incomes, bolstering the view that the economy was close to emerging from recession.

The 219-212 vote marked the first time that either house of Congress has approved a bill aimed at curbing the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change, and it could lead to sweeping changes in the economy.

While the U.S. law may help raise demand for new cars, it is more restrictive than a similar law that proved popular in Germany.

Federal prosecutors recommended on Friday that Bernard L. Madoff be sentenced to 150 years in prison for conducting his enormous worldwide Ponzi scheme.

New-home sales are suffering more than those for existing homes in this recession, which isn?t what usually happens.

For the AARP to save cash by cutting the match to its 401(k) retirement plan is like the Teamsters hiring nonunion labor.

Despite losses in the billions this year, Gazprom?s chief executive reaffirmed major commitments to new pipelines.

An ill-fated stock manipulation case exemplifies the misspent resources and misplaced priorities at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

One man's quest for clues to Madoff's fraud

Reuters - The Nasdaq rose on Friday, on strong demand for Palm's Inc's Pre smartphone, while the Dow was dragged lower by sliding oil prices and strength in some financial stocks helped cushion the S&P 500's decline.

While the U.S. law may help raise demand for new cars, it is more restrictive than a similar law that proved popular in Germany.

Federal prosecutors recommended on Friday that Bernard L. Madoff be sentenced to 150 years in prison for conducting his enormous worldwide Ponzi scheme.

In a worldwide event, amateur radio operators will talk to each other by bouncing their messages off the craggy face of the moon.

TMZ, a celebrity news Web site, reported Michael Jackson?s death well ahead of traditional news outlets, which hesitated to follow suit.

The reduced order is an example of an airline responding to falling demand during the worldwide economic downturn.

Japanese regulators said the bank failed to monitor suspicious transactions, and had governance problems.

The center hopes to put former auto industry engineers and scientists to work in manufacturing research, including wind turbine technology.

After retiring from the timber company, Mr. Pamplin helped his son build a family holding company with interests in media and manufacturing.

KB Home, the Los Angeles-based home builder that caters to first-time buyers, fell 9.1 percent after reporting a wider quarterly loss than analysts expected.

Reuters - U.S. commercial banks reported record trading revenue in the first quarter of 2009, benefiting from wide trading margins and gains from interest rate products, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said on Friday.

In a worldwide event, amateur radio operators will talk to each other by bouncing their messages off the craggy face of the moon.

Mr. Jackson?s business life, like his public life, was a perplexing mass of contradictions, and his personal finances, at least in recent years, were perpetually in tatters.

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are expanding their ?jumbo? mortgage businesses used to buy the most expensive homes.

Regulators shut down four small banks, raising to 44 the number of failures this year of federally insured banks.

Palm, maker of the new Pre smartphone, had its best day in five months in Nasdaq trading after reporting a smaller loss than analysts had estimated and spending less cash.

Creditors and suppliers of Nortel Networks filed a series of objections to the proposed sale of a unit of the bankrupt telecom equipment maker to Nokia Siemens Networks.

Cisco Systems, Alcatel-Lucent and other companies do not have to follow ?buy American? rules for some computer components supplied under a $4.7 billion program to build high-speed Internet lines.

Personal savings rates rose again in May to 6.9 percent, the highest rate in 15 years. Is that impressive? Not particularly, at least in historical terms. It's about equal to the average savings rate of the last 50 years.

An annual auction for lunch with investor Warren Buffett ends with a winning bid of $1.68m, 20% less than last year.