U.S. authorities said Thursday they have shut down the successor website to Silk Road, an underground online drug marketplace, and charged its alleged operator with conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering and other crimes.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's Executive Chairman Jack Ma said on Friday the e-commerce giant's deliveries in the annual Nov. 11 'Singles' Day' shopping event could be affected by next week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing.

Apple Inc pulled a "bait and switch" move to force GT Advanced Technologies into a money-losing deal to supply the iPhone maker with sapphire, according to an affidavit by a senior executive at the company.

U.S. taxi service firm Uber said it is in early talks with investors to raise money at a higher valuation than $17 billion it secured with June's round of funding, Financial Times reported on Friday citing people familiar with the matter.

AT&T Inc agreed to pay $1.7 billion to acquire Mexico's third-largest wireless operator, Iusacell, as it seeks to grab a slice of a market with lower cellular penetration than the United States and faster potential growth.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will ask a federal judge to more than double the money Texas businessman Sam Wyly must pay from $200 million to $455 million for his involvement in an offshore fraud scheme, a lawyer for Wyly said on Friday.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) on Friday said third-quarter profit fell 9 percent as it took a large writeoff on one of its investments, but operating results easily topped forecasts amid improvement in its insurance, energy and railroad operations.

Turkey's Atlasjet has reached a preliminary deal with European planemaker Airbus (AIR.PA) to buy around 30 aircraft worth $3 billion at list prices as it expands in eastern Europe and central Asia, two people familiar with the matter said.

DirecTV, the No.1 U.S. satellite TV provider, reported a quarterly profit above analysts' expectations as it earned more from each subscriber in the United States.

Japanese cabinet ministers expressed concern about the yen's rapid fall, suggesting that the government may be trying to ward off any criticism that it is intentionally devaluing its currency to boost exporters' competitiveness.

The European Central Bank is monitoring the liquidity position of the euro zone banks under its supervision on a daily basis, Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) and two other Italian banking sources said on Friday.

Struggling retailer Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) said it was exploring the conversion of 200-300 stores to a real estate investment trust (REIT) and offer it to shareholders through a rights offering to raise cash.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday, with investors holding off on making bets ahead of a key jobs report that could indicate whether the market's record levels are justified by the economy's fundamentals.

U.S. employers likely hired new workers at a fairly brisk clip last month, underscoring the economy's resilience in the face of slowing global demand.

A sudden swell in China's exports of gold and jewelry may signal a resurgence of speculative currency inflows through inflated trade receipts, raising the prospect the central bank could again act to weaken the yuan and punish speculators.

Unfazed by slumping oil prices and battering in the stock market, firms that supply sand and guar gum for shale oil and gas companies are not ready yet to call an end to a four-year boom spurred by hydraulic fracturing technology.

A number of high-profile brokers have left Bank of America Corp's (BAC.N) Merrill Lynch wealth management unit in recent weeks, and top executives at the company have grown concerned enough to ask business head John Thiel to explain the departures, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A deepening crisis of confidence in the ruble dominated financial markets action in Europe on Friday, with another 3 percent fall meaning the Russian currency has lost more than a tenth of its value in less than a week.

Kenya's Safaricom (SCOM.NR) and U.S. company MoneyGram International (MGI.O) have agreed a deal for money to be sent from abroad to Kenya through their money transfer services, targeting more than $1 billion sent in remittances every year.

Labor unions at Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) on Thursday urged the Italian government to resist what they said was pressure from the European Union for the bank to merge with another group.

PepsiCo (PEP.N) said President Zein Abdalla will retire from the soda and snacks maker by the end of the year, in the second departure of a senior executive in recent months.

Italian utility Enel (ENEI.MI) could raise 3.1 billion euros ($3.8 billion) with the flotation of up to 22 percent of its Spanish subsidiary Endesa (ELE.MC) on the stock market, according to the prospectus lodged with regulators on Thursday.

Potential buyers from at least six leading oil companies have visited Citgo Petroleum Corp’s refinery in Illinois and three firms have shown keen interest in its Texas plant, four sources familiar with efforts to sell the assets said.

Home Depot Inc (HD.N), the world's largest home improvement chain, said about 53 million email addresses were stolen during a recent breach of its payment data systems, in addition to some 56 million payment cards previously disclosed by the retailer.

Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) reported a better-than-expected 7 percent increase in quarterly revenue on Thursday, driven by hit movies "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Maleficent."

U.S. stocks edged up in a volatile session on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting fresh record closing highs on an indication that the European Central Bank would take more policy action if needed to boost a struggling euro zone economy.

Infosys Ltd said it plans to hire over 2,100 people in the United States as the company works toward scaling up its global presence and boost key work areas like client relationship management and consulting.

Recent U.S. tax changes have weakened the case for companies like Pfizer (PFE.N) to shift their tax bases overseas by striking so-called tax inversion deals, according to AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) chief executive.

The euro edged higher and European stocks pulled back on Thursday as investors waited to see what message ECB chief Mario Draghi will send after the European Central Bank's monthly meeting, following another run of poor euro zone data.

Chicago-based United Airlines is in talks with Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) and Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) to buy new narrow-body planes, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.