Family Dollar Inc (FDO.N) will delay a shareholder vote on the potential acquisition by Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR.O), CNBC said, citing sources. Family Dollar will start the shareholder meeting and then adjourn it, CNBC said.

A merger between oilfield services provider C&J Energy Services Inc (CJES.N) with a unit of Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR.N) can proceed, Delaware's supreme court ruled on Friday.

Fitness tracking wristband maker Fitbit Inc is in talks with banks for its initial public offering in the United States, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Co (RTN.N) has won a contract valued at $2.4 billion to supply 10 Patriot missile defense systems to Qatar, which is beefing up its defenses to counter a growing perceived threat from Iran.

Canadian performance company Cirque du Soleil has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) to help in its previously disclosed effort to find a strategic partner, a spokeswoman for the company said on Friday.

A federal judge on Friday rejected Hewlett-Packard Co's (HPQ.N) proposed settlement of shareholder litigation involving the information technology company's botched acquisition of Autonomy Plc.

Of every $10 spent on healthcare in the U.S., almost 90 cents is due to smoking, a new analysis says. Using recent health and medical spending surveys, researchers calculated that 8.7 percent of all healthcare spending, or $170 billion a year, is for illness caused by tobacco smoke, and public programs like Medicare and Medicaid paid for most of these costs.

AstraZeneca Plc's ovarian cancer drug has been granted an accelerated approval by the U.S. health regulator, a day after the treatment was approved by the European Commission.

BlackBerry Ltd (BB.TO) is working with Boeing Co (BA.N) on Boeing's high-security Android-based smartphone, the Canadian mobile technology company's chief executive said on Friday.

The U.S. dollar hit its highest level against major currencies in over 8-1/2 years on Friday on diverging monetary policy between the Federal Reserve and other major central banks, and bullish dollar positions heading into the end of the year.