World shares tested record highs on Friday as hopes of more easy money from top central banks pushed Japan's Nikkei past 20,000 points for the first time in 15 years and European stocks reached similar heights.

Discussions on a takeover by Intel Corp of smaller chip maker Altera Corp have ended as the companies were unable to agree on price, a person familiar with the matter said, but Altera shares rose, suggesting it is still a potential target.

Cirque du Soleil is in advanced talks with two private equity consortia about selling a majority stake in what is the largest theatrical production company in the world, according to people familiar with the matter.

Professional social network operator LinkedIn Corp (LNKD.N) said it would buy privately held online education company lynda.com in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion.

Nippon Life Insurance Co [NPNLI.UL] is looking for acquisition targets both in developed and emerging markets, including asset managers in the United States, as the domestic-focused insurer seeks to diversify sources of income.

PayPal, eBay Inc's electronic payments division, said the two firms had agreed that eBay would not reduce the volume of transactions it channels through PayPal, while continuing to get better rates for its merchants for five years after the two split.

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) has won approval from U.S. federal regulators to test a delivery drone outdoors, less than a month after the e-commerce powerhouse blasted regulators for being slow to approve commercial drone testing.

Consumers in Australia flocked to Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) store in Sydney on Friday to get the world's first up-close look at the tech giant's smartwatch, which the company expects will be its next runaway hit.

General Electric Co is nearing a deal to sell practically all of its $30 billion real estate assets to a consortium led by Blackstone Group and Wells Fargo & Co, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) expects tremendous interest for its new smartwatch and demand to outstrip supply as consumers get an up-close look on Friday at CEO Tim Cook's first major product.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with energy shares leading the advance as crude oil rebounded off a sharp decline, while investors bet that companies would top lowered expectations this earnings season.

Oil prices rose on Thursday on strong German economic data and uncertainty about negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, even as a strong dollar curbed oil's bounce a day after futures tumbled 6 percent.

A diamond brooch given by Spain's King Alfonso XII to his wife as a wedding gift and ruby ear pendants once owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis are among highlights of an auction of precious jewels that could fetch more than $80 million, Christie's said on Thursday.

India's biggest online cab-hailing service Ola has raised about $314 million in a fresh funding round from investors led by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner's DST Global, a company filing showed.

Tokyoites will get a chance to zip around town on Toyota Motor Corp's three-wheeled electric car-motorbike from Friday, in a trial aimed at crafting a global business model to reduce gridlock and pollution.

China's economy probably cooled further to grow 7 percent in the first three months of the year, a Reuters poll showed, which would be the weakest pace in six years and raise pressure on policymakers to do more to bolster growth.

Euro zone partners set Greece a deadline of six working days to improve proposed economic reforms in time for finance ministers to consider some emergency funding to keep the country afloat after it makes a repayment to the IMF on Thursday.

Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) "beautiful" and "stylish" smartwatch could make life easier for people on the move, reviewers say, but the gadget gets poor marks for battery life and slow-loading apps.

Some of the biggest dollar bulls in the global bond fund sector have reversed course in recent weeks, cutting exposure to the greenback amid concern the U.S. Federal Reserve will delay a widely-anticipated interest rate hike.

Oil prices rallied more than 2 percent on Thursday, clawing back part of a 6 percent slump triggered by a jump in U.S. crude inventories and record Saudi output, although analysts said sentiment remained bearish.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) and its finance affiliate accelerated a drive to be a full-fledged Chinese online financial network, with the launch on Thursday of an e-commerce tracking stock index and plans for a June start of an internet bank.

World stocks marched higher again on Thursday, drawing support from European auto sales and German trade data, while expectations that the first U.S. interest rate increase will come in the latter part of the year continue to grow.

Airbus (AIR.PA) plans to offer airlines more choice in the way they configure their planes, and sees carriers opting for different levels of comfort within their economy cabins, a senior Airbus executive said on Wednesday.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) agreed to buy smaller rival BG Group (BG.L) for 47 billion pounds ($70 billion) in the first major energy industry merger in more than a decade, closing the gap on market leader U.S. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) after a plunge in prices.

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) has rejected a contract offer from the United Steelworkers (USW) local chapter representing hourly workers at the company's Beaumont, Texas, refinery and renewed its offer of a six-year contract, a union official said on Wednesday.

Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) said it expects record shipments for the new Galaxy S smartphones that go on sale on Friday, but will have trouble meeting demand for its curved-edged model due to production constraints.

Oil prices rose more than a percent on Thursday, clawing back a part of the 6 percent slump in the previous session that was triggered by a shock jump in U.S. crude inventories and record Saudi output, although analysts said sentiment remained bearish.

Asian stocks rose on Thursday, extending the previous session's gains, while the dollar drew support from minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting showing the U.S. central bank was still on course to hike interest rates this year.

Twitter Inc's (TWTR.N) shares jumped 5 percent and activity in its options surged on Tuesday on unsubstantiated market chatter about the company fending off a takeover bid.

Japan and Taiwan have imposed trade restrictions on poultry and poultry products from Ontario, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Tuesday, a day after bird flu was confirmed in the Canadian province.