Facebook Inc's Oculus VR unit announced an upgraded prototype of its virtual reality headset that has higher resolution and built-in audio, but the company said it is not ready to sell a device to consumers.

French low-cost telecom operator Iliad has set a mid-October deadline to decide whether to improve its bid for T-Mobile US or walk away as it faces resistance from seller Deutsche Telekom, several people familiar with the situation said.

Oliver Samwer, chief executive and co-founder of Rocket Internet is in a position to increase his stake in the German venture capital firm under a stock options program that will be part of its planned stock market listing, a German magazine report said on Saturday.

Germany's defense industry lobby has warned that companies were looking into shifting production abroad in response to the country's restrictive arms export policy.

Financial leaders of the Group of 20 top economies remain committed to chasing higher global growth, but were divided on how to achieve it as Germany pushed back at calls from the United States and others for more immediate stimulus.

Shares in China's largest auto rental company CAR Inc (0699.HK) surged as much as 28 percent in their Hong Kong trading debut on Friday as investors scrambled for exposure to a market expected to almost double to $11 billion by 2018.

JBS SA, the world's largest meatpacker, has put off a plan to raise 4 billion reais ($1.7 billion) from the initial public offering of its pork, poultry and food-processing operations in Brazil, two sources with direct knowledge of the decision said.

To capitalize on a flood of domestic and Canadian crude into the U.S. Gulf Coast, logistics giant Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is spending more than $1.5 billion in Houston to build the most flexible oil and fuel transport hub in the country.

Japanese aluminum buyers will mostly pay record high premiums of $420 per tonne over London Metal Exchange (LME) prices for October-December shipments, up 3-5 percent from the prior quarter, five sources directly involved in the talks said.

Though diet studies disagree about what's worse for you, carbohydrates or fat, most say nice things about eating protein, including its potential for better weight control.

A looming gas glut worldwide is prompting Japanese and Indian firms to resell to European traders and utilities big chunks of U.S. liquefied natural gas they had committed to buy several years ago, signaling tempered enthusiasm for U.S. energy.

Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and two listed affiliates did not seek board clearance for the size of their record $10 billion bid for a plot of land in Seoul, more than triple its appraised value, four board members of the companies told Reuters.

Exxon Mobil said on Friday it will wind down drilling in Russia's Arctic in the face of U.S. sanctions targeting Western cooperation with Moscow's oil sector, after the Obama administration granted a brief extension to safely mothball its operations.

The asset with the greatest prowess of late has been the U.S. dollar, and if its rally continues, it threatens to eat into the earnings of multinational companies.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's record public offering of shares on Friday further spurred already elevated activity in Yahoo Inc's options, pushing volume on the U.S. Internet company to a one-day record high.

Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc on Friday announced it is rolling out a software upgrade over-the-air to its current Model S owners, a unique ability that other automakers are expected to offer within a few years.

U.S. stocks closed little changed on Friday after Alibaba's strong debut was offset by falling technology shares as Oracle and Yahoo stumbled, but the Dow managed to edge higher to set a record for a second straight session.

French media group Vivendi has finalised an agreement to sell its Brazilian broadband business GVT to Spain's Telefonica for cash and shares worth around 7.2 billion euros ($9.29 billion), the companies announced on Friday.

Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) latest phone lured throngs of gadget lovers, entrepreneurs and early adapters to its stores in New York, San Francisco and other cities around the world in the latest sign of strong initial demand for the new, larger generation of iPhones.

SoftBank Corp has no plans to invest in messaging application Line Corp, Ken Miyauchi, chief operating officer of Japan's No. 3 mobile carrier, told reporters on Friday.

Germany's Siemens (SIEGn.DE) is considering a bid for compressor and turbine maker Dresser-Rand (DRC.N) that could potentially derail a merger between Dresser-Rand and Swiss pump maker Sulzer (SUN.S), according to several media reports on Friday.

The British pound rose sharply after the Scottish independence vote indicated Scotland would remain in the United Kingdom, while Wall Street's overnight gains and Alibaba Group's red-hot initial public offering underpinned Asian shares.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) will close its Silicon Valley research-and-development operation as part of 2,100 layoffs announced on Thursday, as it moves toward its new CEO's goal of cutting 18,000 staff, or about 14 percent of its workforce.

Hyatt Hotels Corp (H.N) said it will sell as franchises 38 select service hotels to a company organized by Lone Star Funds for about $590 million.

Private banking hub Luxembourg sought to lure more wealthy investors on Wednesday by opening a high-security center designed to look like a jewel box, where collectors can store and trade valuables without paying customs or sales tax.

Qualcomm Inc executives showed off robots made with smartphone technology at an annual developer conference on Thursday, but they steered clear of talking about China, a key growth market where the chipmaker is entangled in an antitrust investigation.

The Bank of Japan bought one-year government bills at negative yields in market operations on Friday, traders said, setting a new milestone as it pushes its aggressive asset purchase scheme.

Cerner Corp and Athenahealth Inc, two leading U.S. electronic health record providers, said on Thursday they are working with Apple Inc to develop applications that leverage Apple's mobile health service HealthKit.

Singapore will be counting on its marquee Formula One race to help make up for a 30 percent drop in Chinese tourists this year.

German business software maker SAP (SAPG.DE) said on Thursday it has agreed to acquire U.S.-based expense management software maker Concur Technologies Inc (CNQR.O) in an all-stock deal valued at $7.3 billion that expands its presence in internet-based software or so-called cloud computing.