British shares rose early on Friday, on track for a fifth straight day of gains, as upbeat U.S. corporate earnings supported optimism about the pace of global recovery, lifting oil majors, miners and banks. By 0821 the FTSE 100 was up 0.7 percent or 30.86 points at 4,392.70, and set for its biggest weekly rise

Belgian financial investor RHJ International offered 275 million euros ($387.6 million) for a 50.1 percent stake in General Motors' Opel business in a last-ditch effort to beat out rival suitors. RHJ's non-binding offer document, entitled "Project Beam" and obtained by Reuters on Friday, foresees production cutbacks and pay cuts for staff at the German carmaker

World stocks hit a one-month high on Friday on growing optimism that the earnings season may turn out to be better than expected, while investors set their eyes on giants such as Citigroup for clearer market trend. European shares recorded a fifth straight day of gains, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares

The world's largest oil companies likely had an "ugly" second quarter, with earnings hit by a halving of oil and gas prices, sharply lower refining margins and, worst of all for many, stubbornly high costs. The oil and gas sector will likely report a 62 percent drop in second-quarter earnings compared to 2008, and a

Cyprus is among the most expensive countries in the European Union in consumer electronics, while prices are ranging EU below average in alcoholic beverages and tobacco and personal transport equipment. According to a Eurostat news release issued on Thursday, price levels for consumer goods and services differed widely across member states. The price level indices

The popular social networking site Facebook is not doing enough to protect the personal information it gets from subscribers, and it gives users confusing and incomplete information about privacy matters, Canada's privacy commissioner said on Thursday. "It's clear that privacy issues are top of mind for Facebook, and yet we found serious privacy gaps in

Asian shares extended gains on Friday on hopes the global recession is receding after key U.S. companies beat earnings expectations, but deadly blasts in Jakarta weighed on Indonesian stocks and the rupiah. The yen rose as Japanese exporters sold foreign currencies, with risk appetite dulling in the wake of the explosions and ahead of more

British Airways, unveiled plans to raise about 600 million pounds ($1 billion) through a combination of bondholder debt and bank credit, when it reported a first-quarter loss of 100 million pounds. Its shares were up 2.5 percent at 135.4 pence at 0720 GMT. On Tuesday, chairman Martin Broughton had said BA was considering a convertible

Investors were looking to Bank of America and Citigroup for a fresh dose of earnings optimism on Friday, after strong reports from JPMorgan Chase and IBM raised hopes for a global recovery. But Google's results failed to excite and there was also a note of caution from JPMorgan, which along with record investment banking and

Strong earnings from U.S. corporate heavyweights JPMorgan Chase and IBM raised investors' hopes for a global recovery, despite patchy data from the world's biggest economy. But Google's results failed to excite and there was also a note of caution from JPMorgan, which along with record investment banking and trading results reported a surge in consumer