AP - Australian stocks rebounded from a 3.3 percent slide early Friday to finish the session in positive territory after four consecutive days of losses.

AP - Philippine shares tumbled for the second straight session Friday as a broad sell-off by foreign investors dragged down local heavyweights.

AP - Japanese stocks gained Friday, boosted by a weakening yen and other Asian bourses rallying despite an overnight rout on Wall Street.

AP - South Korea's benchmark stock index rose sharply Friday, snapping its longest losing streak in more than five years despite another big decline on Wall Street.

AP - South Korea's benchmark stock index surged Friday, snapping an eight-day losing streak — its longest in more than five years — as investors bought financial and auto shares.

AP - Chinese stocks ended lower Friday after a volatile session punctuated by speculation of a weekend interest rate cut and suspected government buying of shares.

Reuters - European and Asian shares managed to rise and oil rose toward $50 on Friday as expectations of further interest rate cuts helped to cushion deepening gloom about the financial and auto sectors as well as the broader economy.

AP - New Zealand's dairy farmers, a mainstay of the isolated South Pacific nation's exports, face a 24 percent fall in payments for milk this year because of slumping world prices, a new blow for an economy already in recession.

AP - Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were higher at midday Friday.

AP - Wall Street looked poised to get a break from the steep sell-off of the past two days following a report that Citigroup Inc. might put itself up for sale.

AP - Hong Kong stocks advanced Friday, breaking a four-day losing streak, on bargain-hunting and speculation that China will cut interest rates over the weekend.

AP - India's benchmark stock index jumped 5.5 percent Friday, bolstered by a regional rally and expectations the government will soon take more steps to stimulate the economy.

AFP - The London stock market staged a turnaround on Friday despite a steady flow of dismal economic news.

Reuters - H.J. Heinz Co posted a higher quarterly profit as price increases, currency hedging and strong sales in North America and emerging markets helped offset higher commodity prices and slower growth in Europe.

AP - Heinz says strong sales of products such as Ore-Ida frozen potatoes and frozen meals drove up fiscal second-quarter 22 percent as cash-strapped consumers cook more meals at home.

AP - European stock markets were little changed Friday as expectations of a recovery on Wall Street prompted some investors to scoop up battered financial and energy shares, although concerns about the global economy capped most gains.

Reuters - Visa Inc said it might incur 'significant' charges in fiscal 2009, according to an SEC filing. Highlights:

Investor's Business Daily - Congressional Democrats scrambled to save something from their lame-duck session Thursday as they passed an extension of unemployment insurance but abandoned a vote on an auto industry bailout.

AP - Foodmaker H.J. Heinz Co. said Friday strong sales of products such as Ore-Ida frozen potatoes and frozen meals boosted fiscal second-quarter profit by 22 percent as cash-strapped consumers cooked more meals at home.

AP - U.S. stock markets opened higher Friday as some investors were tempted to buy shares cheapened by heavy losses this week, but European markets were down on mounting recession fears.

Reuters - Oil rallied from three-and-half-year lows on Friday, spurred partly by gains in global stock markets reflecting hopes that central banks around the world might cut interest rates, including China.

AP - Foodmaker H.J. Heinz Co. said Friday that strong sales of products such as Ore-Ida frozen potatoes and frozen meals boosted fiscal second-quarter profit by 22 percent as cash-strapped consumers cooked more meals at home.

AFP - London shares were in the backfoot again Friday after a dire manufacturing report compounded fears that a deep and prolonged recession is ever more likely.

Reuters - Oil prices steadied on Friday, after falling more than 7 percent the day before, as stock markets recovered from early lows caused by continuing economic gloom.

AP - European markets fell further Friday as early gains on Wall Street were wiped out amid mounting fears about the U.S. economy and the future of banking giant Citigroup Inc. in particular. Asian stocks closed mostly higher earlier in the day.

Reuters - Amid growing concern that a power vacuum in Washington was contributing to the global financial crisis, shares of U.S. banking giant Citigroup skidded on Friday while legislators and corporate chieftains weighed the fate of the U.S. auto industry.

AP - J.M. Smucker Co., the nation's top maker of jams and jellies and now into the coffee market, said Friday that its earnings rose 3 percent in its second fiscal quarter, due to price increases and families choosing to have meals at home in hard times.

Reuters - New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has accepted an offer from President-elect Barack Obama to become U.S. secretary of state, joining her former Democratic rival to help guide U.S. foreign policy, the New York Times said on Friday.

AP - Wall Street fluctuated Friday, with investors taking a breather from the heavy selling of recent days. Energy, utility and technology stocks showed some advances, but bank stocks declined sharply.

AP - With consumers looking for comfort foods and ways to save money, foodmakers H.J. Heinz Co. and J.M. Smucker Co. posted higher earnings Friday and said they're benefiting from price increases and the trend of more people eating at home.

AP - Here's a look at how foodmakers H.J. Heinz Co. and J.M. Smucker Co. fared in the most recent quarter:

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. agriculture secretary will face daunting tasks ranging from tightening farm subsidy rules to improving school meals, lawmakers and farm groups said on Friday.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama wants New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as his Treasury secretary, news that sparked a stock market surge on Friday and fostered confidence that Obama may be taking up the U.S. economic reins before his inauguration in January.