Space shuttle Atlantis was set to rocket off its seaside launch pad in Florida on Friday on the final flight in the 30-year U.S. shuttle program. Liftoff was set for 11:26 a.m. EDT (1526 GMT), but as many as 750,000 tourists who have flooded into the Cape Canaveral area may have to stay for the

The IMF executive board on Friday is expected to approve the disbursement of just over 3 bln euros for Greece, in time to help the country pay debts falling due this month. At the same time, Europeans will try to secure private-sector participation in a second bailout. The payment is part of a 110 bln

Asian stocks are set for their third consecutive week of gains on expectations of strong U.S. jobs data later on Friday while the euro held on to most of its overnight gains after the European Central Bank raised interest rates. Strong U.S. payrolls would signal the world's biggest economy is recovering from a soft patch

International financiers and European Union officials failed to make progress on Thursday in securing a private sector contribution to a second bailout of Greece, as bond yields continued to climb because of concern about the scheme. The managing director of the Institute of International Finance, a group representing around 400 banks and financial organisations, met

 * $9.4 bln takeover faces antitrust review in Europe* The New York Stock Exchange, an icon of American capitalism, moved closer to ceding control to a German company on Thursday, with few investors lodging any protest. Some 65.6% of NYSE Euronext shareholders backed the $9.4 bln takeover of the company that owns the NYSE by

 * Raises benchmark rate to 1.5%, second hike this year * The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the second time this year on Thursday and signalled further policy tightening to come to tackle inflation despite the euro zone's intensifying debt crisis. But it offered help to hard-pressed Portugal after ratings agency Moody's downgraded

European shares resumed an uptrend on Thursday, bouncing back from a pullback a day earlier, with investors awaiting comments from the European Central Bank for clues on its monetary policy outlook after the bank raised rates as expected. By 1152 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.5% at 1,124.39 points.

The European Central Bank raised interest rates a quarter of a percentage point to 1.5% on Thursday, in an effort to curb inflationary pressures threatening buying power in the common currency region. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet will explain the Governing Council's decision at a news conference at 1230 GMT. Euro zone inflation remained at 2.7%

German carmakers posted a leap in monthly sales for June on Thursday, as demand in home markets continued to pick up and sales surged in emerging economies. A car industry group said on Monday that Germany's car market was set for further growth in the second half of the year, following a 10% increase in