The S&P 500 posted its best day since August on Friday following a stronger-than-expected September U.S. jobs report that bolstered the outlook for the U.S. economy.

Rome's opera house has sacked nearly 200 members of its permanent orchestra and chorus as Italy's worst economic crisis for decades chokes state spending on the arts.

Japan's August core machinery orders due next week are expected to rise modestly for a third straight month, a Reuters poll found - doing little to ease fears that the government's growth-promotion policies aren't working fast enough.

Boeing Co (BA.N) on Thursday announced plans to raise output of 737 jetliners beyond its already blistering production pace, saying global demand for new aircraft justifies it.

Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) board extended Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Iger's contract through June 2018, keeping him at the helm of the media and theme park company two years longer than he previously planned.

Softbank Corp’s investment in a Hollywood movie studio represents the coming out party for two new players in the U.S. entertainment industry -- the Japanese telecommunications company and Nikesh Arora, the former Google Inc executive running a new media and internet company.

Facebook (FB.O), the world's most popular social network, gained European Union clearance on Friday for its proposed $19 billion takeover of mobile messaging startup WhatsApp in a deal setting it against the telecoms industry.

Euro zone business grew at the slowest rate this year in September, reflecting falling demand in the region where new orders were the weakest in almost a year, surveys showed on Friday.

U.S. employers likely stepped up hiring in September and the jobless rate probably held at a six-year low, which could bolster bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike in mid-2015.

Software giant Google Inc plans to launch a mobile messaging app it is likely to test in India and other emerging markets, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Friday, citing sources.