Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures ended lower on Thursday on US harvest pressure and following losses in neighbouring wheat futures, brokers said.
Indonesia has targeted increased production of rice, corn and soy next year, helped by larger areas under cultivation and higher yields, a government official said on Friday.
Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed over 1 percent up on Friday in a rally driven by speculators, who defied initial expectations of a drop in prices.
South Korea posted a trade surplus of 2.82 billion dollars in September, helped by brisk exports which rose 23.5 percent year-on-year, officials said Friday.
Northern Irish drug maker Warner Chilcott Plc said on Friday it had received a bid approach from a second party, raising the prospect of a 1.5 billion-pound ($2.70 billion) take-over battle.
Northern Irish drug maker Warner Chilcott Plc said on Friday it had received a bid approach from a second party, raising the prospect of a 1.5 billion-pound ($2.70 billion) take-over battle.
Kookmin Bank, South Korea's biggest retail bank, is expected to post a handsome profit for the third quarter to September despite the fallout from its accounting scandal, its outgoing president said Friday.
Kookmin Bank, South Korea's biggest retail bank, is expected to post a handsome profit for the third quarter to September despite the fallout from its accounting scandal, its outgoing president said Friday.
Up to an estimated two million workers in Britain were expected to gain financially as minimum wage rates introduced by Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour government rose eight percent on Friday.
One of the largest banking groups in New Zealand said Friday it could face a tax bill of up to 232 million dollars (154 million US dollars) for transactions undertaken in the financial years 2000-2003.
The eastern economic hub of Shanghai received its first deliveries of gas from China's newly opened East to West pipeline that runs some 4,000 kilometres (2,400 miles) from the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, state press reported Friday.
India's outsourcing industry faces a major "talent challenge" as a lack of skilled employees threatens its global success, company officials and analysts say.
US Airways Group Inc said on Friday it reached a tentative agreement with its pilots union that would save $300 million annually and move the bankrupt airline closer to carrying out a transformation plan.
PeopleSoft Inc on Friday said its board had ousted President and Chief Executive Craig Conway, who has been the chief opponent of Oracle Corp's $7.7 billion hostile bid to take over the software company.
Fishermen angry at skyrocketing oil prices on Friday blocked ports in north and north-west France including Calais, Le Havre and Boulogne-sur-Mer, disrupting cross-Channel ferry traffic for hours.
Japanese most closely watched business barometer rose to its highest in 13 years in September but the outlook for the coming months dimmed, underscoring concern that an economic recovery is losing steam.
German retail sales rose unexpectedly in August from July as a new method of calculation wrong-footed some forecasters, but analysts cautioned the figure might be revised and did not signal a turnaround for the sector.
EU governments missed the goal of introducing fully comparable accounting standards in 2005 by endorsing a compromise on Friday that will allow banks to choose between slightly different bookkeeping rules.
General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co launched new US sales incentives on Friday as both auto-makers struggle with falling market share and high inventories of unsold vehicles.
Microsoft Corp will gain "life-and-death power" over media formats used in everything from cell-phones to computers unless EU sanctions take effect quickly, an industry lawyer argued on Friday.
Insurance chiefs' calls for the industry to keep prices high rather than go for volume have been met with scepticism by analysts, who expect the damaging boom-and-bust cycles that have ruled the sector for years will continue.
The International Monetary Fund agreed to extend the global debt relief program for poor countries by two years to 2006, the global lender said late on Thursday.
China pledged to move toward a flexible exchange rate, the US Treasury Department said Friday, hours ahead of a key meeting of the world's top finance chiefs who are expected to press Beijing to ease its currency policies.
China has won the United States' blessing for its long-standing effort to become a member of the Inter-American Development Bank, the two countries said on Friday in a joint statement.
US factory growth stayed strong in September while construction spending the prior month hit a record high for a seventh straight month, according to two reports on Friday, showing the economy's expansion remains solid.
Thailand's main stock index ended at a one-week high on Friday on the back of foreign buying in big cap energy, petrochemical and telecoms stocks as easing oil prices lifted the mood, dealers said.
Philippines stocks led by number one phone firm PLDT and second-ranked Globe Telecom Inc rose on Friday to their highest level this year on expectations of strong corporate earnings.
Most Treasuries prices slipped on Thursday after firm data on US consumer spending and regional manufacturing dented hopes the Federal Reserve might soon slow the pace of its rate hikes.
Most Treasuries prices slipped on Thursday after firm data on US consumer spending and regional manufacturing dented hopes the Federal Reserve might soon slow the pace of its rate hikes.
Drug maker Merck & Co Inc dominated trading in the US stocks on Thursday, single-handedly driving the 30-stock Dow Jones average lower after it withdrew its arthritis drug Vioxx because a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Singapore shares closed weaker on Friday as investors locked in profits after the market's strong run over the past three months and amid caution ahead of the start of the corporate results season.
Sri Lanka stocks fell slightly in thin volume trade on Friday as retailers skimmed profits on small counters after recent gains, but there was renewed foreign interest in some blue chips, brokers said.
Malaysian shares finished higher for the third consecutive day on Friday, boosted by foreign buying of select market heavyweights like phone firm Telekom Malaysia Bhd.
Taiwan stocks gained 1.7 percent on Friday as financial shares like Cathay Financial Holdings touched off a broad advance after the central bank raised rates that exceeded market expectations.
The Nikkei average closed up 1.49 percent on Friday, the first day of the fiscal second half, as a strong reading in the Bank of Japan's "tankan" business survey prompted investors at home and abroad to jump into the market.
China's stock and foreign exchange markets and Shanghai's futures exchange will be closed from October 1 until October 7 for the week-long National Day break.
The Swiss franc clung to six-week highs against the dollar in early Friday trading in Europe as traders adopted a cautious stance ahead of a key G7 meeting.
The yen eased against the dollar on Friday, failing to hold gains made on a stronger-than-expected reading for the Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey of business sentiment.
The dollar dropped on Thursday to its lowest level against the euro since mid-July and suffered steep losses against other currencies after a breach of key chart levels unleashed a wave of selling, traders said.
Asian currencies gained on Friday on strength in regional stock markets and supported by a survey showing an improvement in Japanese business sentiment that briefly helped the yen, but high oil prices kept gains in check.
Indian wholesale price inflation rose 7.80 percent in the year to September 18, easing slightly from the week earlier due to lower food prices, government figures showed on Friday.
The Australian dollar held close to its offshore 10-week high on Friday, taking weak economic data in its stride, as the US dollar took a cautious stance ahead of this weekend's G7 meeting.
IMG, the sports and celebrity management group that represents such star names as Tiger Woods, Michael Schumacher and Elizabeth Hurley has been sold, it announced on Thursday.
Argentinean Guillermo Canas needed only two sets on Friday to oust seventh seeded Brazilian Ricardo Mello and book a spot in the semi-finals of the 380,000-dollar ATP Shanghai Open.
India's Zee Telefilms Ltd appealed to the Supreme Court on Friday against a cricket board decision to ask two rival channels to broadcast the home Test series against Australia, its lawyer said.
Roger Federer edged closer to a dream tenth title of the season as he applied the pressure at just the right moments, defeating Robin Soderling 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 for a spot in the semi-finals of the 550,000-dollar Thailand Open on Friday.
Record-pursuing penalty corner striker Sohail Abbas scored two goals as Pakistan held India 4-4 in the fourth Test match of the eight-match hockey series here on Friday.
Many important foreign policy topics went unexplored during the first debate of the 2004 US presidential campaign but perhaps most unusual was the lack of attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The winner of the US presidential election could reshape the Supreme Court and could have a long-lasting impact on important issues such as abortion, gay marriages and church-state separation.
A humiliating poll defeat has left Britain's opposition Conservatives floundering only eight months before an election and, analysts say, may prompt them to shift towards the right in a bid to recover.
Iraqis hail their mobile phone network as one of the few achievements in the country's reconstruction, but the technology is also being used to detonate bombs that cause daily death and destruction.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was recovering Friday from surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat, a day after revealing that he intends to serve a full third term if re-elected.
An audio tape attributed to al Qaeda's deputy leader urged Muslims on Friday to organise resistance against "crusader America" and its allies throughout the world.
Indonesia moved closer to full democracy Friday, swearing in legislators elected in landmark polls to a newly-reformed parliament free from military representation.
US destroyers equipped with Aegis missile tracking systems have been deployed in the Sea of Japan near North Korea as part of a missile defence system that Washington intends to declare operational this year, the Navy's civilian chief said Friday.
Darleen Druyun, a former Air Force official charged in a deal that allowed her to get a job with Boeing after overseeing a controversial deal on tanker planes, was sentenced Friday to nine months in prison, officials said.
Sudan has agreed in principle to an African Union (AU) proposal to deploy a force of more than 3,000 troops to stop atrocities in the troubled Darfur region, the pan-African body said on Friday.
Turkey's staunchly secularist president on Friday rejected Washington's promotion of his country as a model Muslim democracy serving as a bridge and example to the wider Islamic world.
A remote-control Beirut car bomb wounded a prominent Lebanese opposition politician and killed his driver on Friday, weeks after the former minister quit the government to protest Syria's grip on Lebanon.
Talks aimed at averting an explosion of fighting in Nigeria's oil production hub were salvaged on Friday when the government called off gunships and helicopters sent to attack rebel militia.
One of four Britons still held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba claims in a letter released by lawyers Friday that he has been subjected to "vindictive torture" and death threats.
Nato added final reinforcements on Friday to its Afghan security force as part of international efforts to safeguard the landmark October 9 presidential election from escalating violence.
A prominent member of Jordan's ruling royal family used a trip to France Friday to take issue with the official US attitude to his country - a key Middle East ally - and to question US President George W. Bush's mental capacities.
Senator John Kerry charged late Thursday that President George W. Bush committed "a colossal error" by invading Iraq, as they clashed in a high-stakes debate that may decide their battle for the White House.
Indian shares rallied on Friday to a five-month high on expectations of strong corporate earnings in an economy, which grew 7.4 percent in the year to April-June.
Stocks rose on Friday amid heavy trading on the first day of the quarter as PeopleSoft Inc and chip-related stocks boosted the tech-heavy Nasdaq to its highest level in more than two months.
Euro denominated bonds of US car makers General Motors and Ford traded higher in value on Friday, albeit in thin volumes, with traders looking forward to September US auto sales data later in the day.
Euro denominated bonds of US car makers General Motors and Ford traded higher in value on Friday, albeit in thin volumes, with traders looking forward to September US auto sales data later in the day.
Seoul shares rose more than one percent on Friday as investors shrugged off concerns about high oil prices and snapped up market leader Samsung Electronics and other blue chips following recent declines in their prices.
British shares staged their biggest rally since April 2003 on Friday, touching a 27-month high on the first day of the quarter as investors stocked up in anticipation of a strong run through year-end.
The Indian rupee rallied smartly to end Friday at a one-week closing high, helped by dollar weakness overseas and bunched-up greenback inflows after a day's break due to the half-year account closing.
Sterling fell sharply to eight-month lows against the euro and versus a basket of currencies on Friday on uncertainty about Britain's interest rate and political outlook.
The dollar recovered from a two-month low on the euro and a one-week low on the yen on Friday, looking for upbeat US manufacturing data later but wary of any currency fireworks from a Group of Seven meeting.
Oil prices held steady above $49 on Friday as market unease persisted over supply security in Nigeria, despite peace talks, while the world's richest nations suggested oil resources were scarcer than first thought.
London robusta coffee futures fell towards contract lows on origin and fund selling on Friday as conviction grew that weather forecasts in Brazil are improving, traders said.
London's cocoa market was reluctant to break into new territory on Friday as prices continued to drift a few pounds either side of unchanged in its familiar narrow band.
London white sugar futures closed mixed on Friday as speculators took profits, and traders said they remained bullish on prices amid expectations of tightening supplies into next year.
Oil prices ended above the $50-a-barrel mark on Friday amid concern over possible conflict in Nigeria's oil-producing delta region, where a two-day truce between rebel militia and government forces is holding. US light crude settled at $50.12 a barrel, up
Oil prices ended above the $50-a-barrel mark on Friday amid concern over possible conflict in Nigeria's oil-producing delta region, where a two-day truce between rebel militia and government forces is holding. US light crude settled at $50.12 a barrel, up
The European grain market welcomed an EU decision to restore export refunds for barley but traders said on Friday they were surprised by the timing and unsure whether it foreshadowed similar moves for wheat exports.
NYBOT cotton futures finished firmer Friday as the market stayed in a tight band as poor harvest weather in parts of the US cotton belt failed to provide a spark, analysts said.
Strikes against the world's two biggest platinum producers in South Africa are likely to be short-lived, but a market squeeze could develop if they extend longer than a week or two, analysts said on Friday.
Base metals were mostly lower at the end of Friday's London Metal Exchange (LME) open outcry session, but most dragged themselves off earlier lows as aggressive selling subsided.
Gold eased back in Europe on Friday as the market paused after funds had fanned prices to fresh 5-1/2 month peaks, with dealers eyeing the dollar/euro for further direction.
Arabica coffee futures fell more than 2 percent Friday, with speculative selling spurred by fund and origin selling in London's robusta market and wet weather in Brazil, traders and analysts said.
Cocoa futures ended little changed in choppy, range-bound trading Friday, with a delay in Ivory Coast's main crop season offering little fodder for market participants to feed on, traders said.
NYBOT raw sugar futures finished lower Friday as speculators cashed in their profits after running the sweetener up a 19-month peak, although players said bullish fundamentals should keep values buoyant.
Soft red winter wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade turned quietly lower early on Friday amid quiet exports and on spill-over pressure from the sharp declines posted on Thursday, traders said.
Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were firm early Friday on a mild short-covering bounce after the market dipped to contract lows the day before, trader said.
Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures firmed on Friday on forecasts for potential crop-damaging cold this weekend and speculative short-covering, but gains were limited by harvest pressure, brokers said.