SEC probing certain investment advisory firms: report (Reuters)

Reuters - The securities regulator is investigating investment advisory firms that channel investors' money into hedge funds, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Energy to lead Wall Street higher, semis eyed (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday after posting gains in six of the last seven sessions, buoyed by a jump in crude oil prices.

Tokyo's electric taxi experiment (Reuters)

Reuters - Yoshihiko Takahashi chuckles politely when asked if he's weary of having the same conversation with passengers, day in and day out, as he shuttles them around Tokyo in his white-and-blue all-electric taxi. How often do you have to recharge? How far can you go? Does this car really have no emissions?

Industrial Ethernet Switch tolerates -40 to +80°C temperatures.

Husky Series HMG-448GE-CD Industrial Extended Temperature, 8-port Full Gigabit Managed Ethernet Switch supports four 10/100/1,000T Ethernet ports and 4 small form pluggable ports that support dual mode and digital monitoring interface. Unit provides self-recovery in under 10 msec on full load, allowing establishment of redundant Ethernet network. Its terminal block offers 12-48 Vdc and 18-30 Vac ...

Oil rises to over $75 on U.S. supply outage (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. crude rose more than $1 to over $75 on Friday due to the shutdown of a major pipeline, but a leading forecaster said demand would remain tepid.

Industrial production 'at record'

Industrial production rose in July, reaching a monthly record and growing 12.4 per cent compared to the same month in 2009.

Greece pledges to overhaul loss-making state rail (AP)

AP - The Greek government pledged Friday to radically overhaul loss-making state rail company OSE, as official data showed efforts to cut the country's bloated budget deficit remained on track, if slightly asthmatic.

Nokia brings in Microsoft exec to replace CEO (Reuters)

Reuters - Nokia has hired Stephen Elop, a Canadian Microsoft executive of Silicon Valley pedigree, to replace its embattled chief executive and renew its drive to compete with Apple.

Oil sends factory gate inflation lower

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Factory gate inflation dropped to a six-month low in August as oil prices fell back. The Office for National Statistics reported producer prices grew by 4.7% last month from 5% in July. Market predictions had been for an annual rise of 4.8%.

Total considers sale of British petrol stations (AFP)

AFP - French energy giant Total said Friday that it could sell its 480 petrol stations in Britain as part of a strategic review by its British arm.

US court lifts ban on state-funded stem cell studies (AFP)

AFP - A US appeals court suspended Thursday a ban on state-funding for embryonic stem cell research pending a full appeal of the case, in a major boost to President Barack Obama's administration.

China to launch next lunar space mission (AFP)

AFP - China is on track to launch its second lunar satellite by year's end, as the country pursues its plans for a manned mission to the moon by 2020, state media said Friday.

Admissions Q&A: Brigham Young (BusinessWeek)

BusinessWeek - Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management (Marriott Full-Time MBA Profile) offers students more than a rigorous business education. Students at the school, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are required to abide by a strict honor code, based on the tenets of the Mormon religion. The code includes rules against academic dishonesty and requires students to "live a chaste and virtuous life." It also prohibits drugs, alcohol, and coffee -- even at home. ...

NASA Rover Halfway to Huge Crater on Mars (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Two years after setting out for a big Martian crater that could hold clues about the Red Planet's potential to support life, NASA's rover Opportunity has hit a milestone: It's more than halfway there.

Hotel Industry Seeks Ways To Make Up Lost Revenue | NJ.com

The nation’s hotel industry, already struggling to pull out of its worst slump in decades, is now suffering from another loss in revenue because of the booming popularity of cell phones and laptop computers. In the past, hotel operators could expect to collect extra money by charging guests for in-room phone calls and on-demand movies. Share But today most guests check into a hotel packing cell ...

D.Bank set to lead likely Basel cash call charge (Reuters)

Reuters - Deutsche Bank is set to lead rivals raising billions of euros as new global capital rules to be unveiled this weekend bite, and showed it may be good to get the jump on the pack.

French July industry output best of poor bunch

Gas blast near San Francisco kills 1 (Reuters)

Reuters - A fiery natural gas explosion ripped through a residential neighborhood in a San Francisco suburb on Thursday, ravaging some 50 homes and killing at least one person, officials said.

UN climate chief urges flexibility in talks (AP)

AP - The United Nations' climate chief on Friday urged countries to be flexible in order to make progress at weeklong climate talks in China next month, the last formal negotiations on climate change ahead of a major year-end meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

One-Third of Americans Back Ban on Synthetic Biology (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Engineering new synthetic organisms offers promise of fighting disease and even global warming, but also comes with risk. Now two-thirds of Americans surveyed in a new poll say the field should move forward, while one-third supports a ban until researchers better understand the possible consequences.

BP delays Q3 results due oil spill complexities (Reuters)

Reuters - BP Plc said it would delay the release of its third quarter results by a week because of added complexities in its accounts due to costs associated with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

India industrial output surges 13.8 percent

India's industrial output in July surged by a forecast-busting 13.8 percent, data showed Friday, boosting chances of further interest rate hikes to curb the country's stubbornly high inflation.

Industrial production up by 5.9% in July

In July the index of industrial production increased by 5.9 per cent from 103.6 points in July 2009 the National Statistics Office (NSO) released on Friday morning. This increase was attributed to an increase in the production of intermediate and capital goods which rose by 24.8 and 31.3 per cent respectively. On the other hand, the production [...]

The nation's weather (AP)

AP - A low pressure system in the North was forecast to bring active weather to the Central U.S. on Friday.

Dubai World reaches $24.9 billion debt deal (Reuters)

Reuters - State-owned conglomerate Dubai World on Friday reached a formal deal to restructure around $24.9 billion of liabilities, partly easing recently heightened concerns over the Gulf emirate's debt woes.

Tropical Depression Igor expected to strengthen (AP)

AP - Tropical Depression Igor is expected to regain tropical storm strength in the far eastern Atlantic.

French industry output rebounds in July

Kraft factory shooting: Two workers shot dead and third injured

The unnamed woman walked back into the Kraft Foods factory in Philadelphia and attacked colleagues.

Fiat Industrial's Board to Have Majority Comprised of Non-Fiat Executives

Fiat Industrial SpA , the unit that will be spun off from Fiat SpA by the end of the year, will have a board with a majority of members who aren’t Fiat executives, company documents show.

Trichet: phasing out crisis measures to take time (AP)

AP - It may take a while yet to phase out the special credit support that was given to banks in the wake of the financial crisis, the European Central Bank's president has said.

U.K. Factory Prices Rise At Slower Pace In August

U.K. factory output prices rose 4.7% in August compared to the same month a year ago, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.

Nevada mining industry prepays $123 million in taxes

ELKO -- The Nevada mining industry's net proceeds tax payments have soared to about $123 million for 2010, up from $97.5 million in 2009 and $91.8 million in 2008.

Italian Industrial Output Increased in July Less Than Economists Forecast

Italian industrial output rose less than economists forecast in July as domestic demand remained weak during the country’s export -led economic recovery.

July factory output better than expected: Montek

India's July factory output figures were better than expected and there is a good case for the govt to increase its economic growth target for the current fiscal year, deputy head of the Planning Commission Montek Ahluwalia said.

French Industrial Production Climbs as Recovery Prompts Renewed Investment

French industrial production rose in July as the global economic recovery prompted companies to renew investment.

Insurance industry shows losses for 2009

The insurance industry in Ireland made a loss of €124.5m last year, after a profit of €121.9m a year earlier.

Toyota plant in Australia to build greener engines (AP)

AP - Toyota will build a 300 million Australian dollars ($277 million) plant in Melbourne that will produce greener engines that deliver reduced carbon emissions, the company said Friday.

Industrial growth rises to 13.8%

Belying fears of a slowdown, industrial growth accelerated to 13.8 per cent in July from 7.2 per cent in the corresponding month last year, on the back of a 63 per cent jump in capital goods production.

Industrial Production Accelerates, Adding to Rate Pressure on Central Bank

India’s industrial output growth quickened in July, increasing pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates next week for the fifth time this year.

Embryonic stem cell funding allowed - for now (AP)

AP - The government may resume funding of embryonic stem cell research for now, an appeals court said Thursday, but the short-term approval may be of little help to research scientists caught in a legal battle that has just begun.

Fallen peanut industry executive now consults

The peanut industry executive whose filthy processing plants were blamed in a salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and sickened hundreds more two years ago is back in the business. Business - Peanut - United States - Peanut Corporation of America - Virginia

NPD:Videogame Industry Retail Sales For August Lowest Since `06

Tempe factory won't be closed; buyer steps up

A Tennessee company that had planned to shut down a Tempe precision-automotive-parts factory instead sold the operation to a local group.

Activist: Beached whale in Brazil can't be saved (AP)

AP - An animal-rights activist says an endangered right whale stranded on a beach in southern Brazil for two days is too weak to be rescued and returned safely to the sea.

Factory toxic gas leak in central China, two injured

A chemical factory in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region reported a toxic gas leak Thursday, injuring two people, according to local authorities.

Video game industry gears up for battle against California law

The industry is expected to file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing for overturning a state ban on selling or renting violent video games to minors. Girding itself for its final battle, the video game industry will lay out its arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on why California's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors violates the developers' free speech rights.

USDA sued over genetically modified beet permits (Reuters)

Reuters - Groups opposed to genetically modified foods announced a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday over the agency's recent decision to allow limited plantings of altered sugar beets.

Summary Box: Jobless claims drop, trade gap falls (AP)

AP - JOBLESS CLAIMS: The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits dropped by 27,000 last week to 451,000, the lowest level in two months.

Cable industry publication gives Sunflower Broadband high marks

A leading cable industry magazine has chosen Lawrence-based Sunflower Broadband as its System of the Year.

Mortgage rates edge up; Housing market still slow (AP)

AP - Record-low mortgage rates failed to pull the housing market out of its funk. Now rates are inching higher, but don't blame them if home sales stay sluggish.