The dollar fell to a three-month low against the euro on Friday, as disappointing data on U.S. domestic factory activity and consumer sentiment spurred doubts about the recovery in the world's largest economy.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the suspicious buyout bid for cosmetics company Avon Products Inc (AVP.N) by purported acquirer PTG Capital Partners, an agency official said on Friday.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said it has boosted its holdings in some of the billionaire's favorite companies, including Wells Fargo & Co and International Business Machines Corp.

U.S. shares ended little changed on Friday, with the S&P 500 edging up to a record high for a second straight session after a ream of weak economic data.

SABMiller (SAB.L) is buying Britain's Meantime Brewing Company, swallowing up one of the pioneers of the country's craft brewing movement to give the owner of big brands such as Peroni and Grolsch exposure to a fast-growing part of the drinks market.

Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] heir apparent Jay Y. Lee will take over from his father Lee Kun-hee as head of two key foundations, the conglomerate said on Friday, suggesting that a transfer of leadership is underway at South Korea's largest conglomerate.

China's three state-owned wireless carriers said on Friday they will cut mobile data prices and boost data speeds this year, potentially spurring a mass migration of customers to more lucrative 4G contracts.

Manufacturing activity growth in New York State accelerated in May after weakening for three consecutive months, as the pace of new orders improved from a multi-year low, a New York Federal Reserve survey showed on Friday.

Brent crude oil steadied below $67 a barrel on Friday after reports that a growing supply glut is boosting inventories worldwide.

U.S. shares were set to open higher on Friday as a selloff in the global bond market eased after purchases by the European Central Bank, lifting stock index futures.

Japan's big trading houses, stung by large asset writedowns in the wake of the global commodities slump, plan to step up asset sales and wind back investment spending by up to $10 billion over the next three years.

U.S. producer prices resumed their downward trend in April as the cost of energy fell and a strong dollar kept underlying inflation pressures benign, supporting views that the Federal Reserve will only raise interest rates later in the year.

Honda Motor Co (7267.T) on Thursday recalled close to 5 million vehicles fitted with potentially faulty Takata Corp (7312.T) air bag inflators, as investigations showed the problem behind one of the biggest auto safety crises may be more widespread than thought.

A 12-nation Pacific trade agreement cleared a crucial test in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, giving a resounding thumbs-up to legislation that holds the key to President Barack Obama's diplomatic pivot to Asia.

Pimco's global equities Chief Investment Officer Virginie Maisonneuve is leaving after less than a year and a half as the bond investment giant narrows its stock-investing focus, it said on Thursday.

Shares of Avon Products Inc (AVP.N) soared as much as 20 percent after an apparently non-existent firm incorporated in a remote archipelago in the Indian Ocean offered to buy the cosmetics company for almost three times its market value.

U.S. stocks ended sharply stronger on Thursday and the S&P 500 closed at a record high as investors worried less about interest rates and a weaker dollar offered the possibility of stronger sales for U.S. multinationals.

Japan's Sharp Corp said it had secured a $1.9 billion bailout, its second major bank-led rescue in three years, after falling deep into the red as its smartphone display business was battered by competition from Asian rivals.

The dollar fell on Thursday to its weakest against a basket of major currencies since the European Central Bank announced a program of quantitative easing in January, hit by growing concern that the U.S. economy has not just been suffering from a winter chill.

Wall Street was set to open higher on Thursday as weekly jobless claims fell, suggesting that the labor market was on solid footing even as the economy struggles to regain momentum.

Major banks wary of heavy U.S. penalties will be reluctant to restore ties with Iran even if sanctions are lifted in a possible nuclear deal, bank executives and advisers say, likely denting Iran's ambition to attract foreign investment to revive its crippled economy.

The euro hit a three-month high against the dollar on Thursday, lifted by another lurch higher in euro zone government bond yields that again kept global stock markets in check.

Nissan Motor Co (7201.T), Japan's second-biggest automaker, said it expects operating profit to climb 15 percent this financial year, forecasting vehicle sales growth in most regions and promising large cost cuts.

The Venezuela division of Ford Motor Co (F.N) will sell pickups and sport utility vehicles in dollars, a union leader said on Wednesday, part of a deal with the government to restart operations stalled for lack of hard currency to import parts.

The normally secretive family that owns BMW (BMWG.DE) broke silence on Wednesday to laud the company's seamless management transition as rival German carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) inspects the damage from a bitter leadership crisis.

Russian telecoms group Vimpelcom (VIP.O) is in talks with Asia's Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK) about merging their mobile phone businesses in Italy as a joint venture, Vimpelcom Chief Executive Jean-Yves Charlier said on Wednesday.

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc's (CSCO.O) quarterly profit was a cent ahead of market estimates as new switches, routers, wireless gear and servers drove demand.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday awarded $92.13 billion of overnight fixed-rate reverse repurchase agreements to 37 bidders at an interest rate of 0.05 percent, the New York Fed said on its website.

The dollar index hit its lowest in more than three months while gold prices jumped on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales bolstered confidence the Federal Reserve will hold off raising rates soon.

Oil prices fell after initially rallying on Wednesday as worries about huge supplies weighed on the market despite a second straight week of draws in U.S. crude.