U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Friday following the previous session's sharp rally, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.35 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.17 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.09 percent at 6:10 a.m. EDT. Tech and telecom stocks will be in focus

JP Morgan Chase & Co raised concerns about Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and his associates as far back as 2001, the Financial Times reported, citing an internal company document seen by the newspaper. Rajaratnam, 52, was arrested on October 16 along with five others in what prosecutors described as the biggest hedge fund

Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.5 percent on Friday, buoyed by shares of tech companies with improved earnings prospects such as Pioneer Corp, while exporters climbed on data showing the U.S. economy had returned to growth. The close of the Nikkei and the broader Topix was delayed due to problems with the close of one share

The European Commission supports Ireland's plans for its "bad bank" to pay for banks' risky commercial property loans well above their market value, Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has said. Market fears over an EU regulatory clampdown on state aid have intensified this week after the enforced break-up of Dutch bancassurer ING, helping to drive

A collection of letters written by the flamboyant British poet Lord Byron to one of his closest friends was sold on Thursday for 277,250 pounds ($455,000), far above the expected price, Sotheby's said. The letters to Byron's friend Francis Hodgson, who became a clergyman, dated from 1808 to 1821 and were expected to fetch between

Travellers seeking a quiet place need look no further than the numerous towns around the world that have been abandoned for one reason or another. Travel review website IgoUgo.com (http:www.igougo.com) has compiled a list of the top 10 ghost towns around the world based on recommendations from its readers. Reuters has not endorsed this list.

Asian stocks bounced back on Friday from their worst drop in two months after the United States pulled out of its worst slump since the Great Depression, which suggested that momentum of the global recovery is picking up. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.7 percent after a tumble of 2.4 percent

The Bank of Japan may begin withdrawing from credit markets on Friday but leave in place a key loan scheme that could relieve government pressure on it to support corporate borrowing until the economy achieves a solid recovery. To fend off criticism that its moves could hurt Japan's fragile economy, the BOJ will likely stress

British consumer confidence rose in October to its highest level since January 2008, after improvements in households' financial situation and view of the past 12 months, a monthly survey by GfK NOP showed on Friday. GfK's headline confidence indicator rose 3 points to -13, slightly better than analysts' forecasts of a rise to -15, and

European shares climbed on Thursday, led by financials and miners, after data showed the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter for the first time in a year, unofficially ending the worst recession in 70 years. In its first estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product, the Commerce Department said the economy grew at a 3.5