Talks on cutting trade tariffs on hundreds of information technology products collapsed on Friday, delaying and potentially scuppering a deal estimated to be worth $1 trillion to global trade.

Civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton will meet next week with Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal and decide whether her emails about President Barack Obama's race warrant calling for her resignation.

Canadian consumers may have ended up paying higher prices for cellphones and wireless services because of contracts between Apple Inc's Canadian unit and domestic carriers, the Canadian Competition Bureau said in a court filing this week.

Five years after President Barack Obama slammed Wall Street "fat cat" bankers, some of the nation's biggest banks this week successfully lobbied Congress to roll back a hotly debated provision in the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

The U.S. Senate on Friday struggled to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill that would avert a looming federal government shutdown, postponing a vote until Monday when procedural hurdles begin to evaporate.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned U.S. businesses to be on the alert for a sophisticated Iranian hacking operation whose targets include defense contractors, energy firms and educational institutions, according to a confidential agency document.

Brent crude oil slipped on Friday to below $63 a barrel, its lowest since July 2009, on persistent concerns over a global supply glut and a sluggish demand outlook.

Mexico's finance minister bought a home from a government contractor who is at the center of a conflict-of-interest scandal embroiling President Enrique Pena Nieto and his administration, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Once at the forefront of the fight against global warming, Japan is now facing calls from other big economies such as China to set fresh emissions targets as Tokyo increases its use of dirty coal energy to replace nuclear.

China's economy showed further signs of fatigue in November, with factory growth slowing more than expected and investment expansion hovering near a 13-year low, putting pressure on policymakers to unveil stronger stimulus measures.