Reuters - U.S. stocks could sputter next week as volumes dry up in holiday-shortened trading and with a slew of economic reports likely to illustrate the recovery is still fragile.

Reuters - U.S. chocolate maker Hershey Co is considering launching a bid of at least $17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc as it seeks to trump a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Reuters - When the U.S. holiday shopping season kicks off on the day after Thanksgiving, retailers can expect to see millions of less frightened but even more bargain hungry customers cross their thresholds.

Reuters - The U.S. economy's return to growth in the third quarter was less brisk than previously thought as the trade deficit worsened and companies still aggressively cut inventories, a Reuters survey predicted.

Reuters - The Nasdaq slid nearly 2 percent on Thursday as technology shares wilted after a bearish brokerage view on the semiconductor sector.

Reuters - The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless insurance was unchanged last week, according to government data on Thursday that showed the labor market was slowly healing.

Reuters - Sony Corp (6758.T) said it would launch 3D TVs and networked products and services to unleash its potential as an electronics and entertainment giant and reverse its fortunes as it heads for a second straight annual loss.

AFP - Malaysia's top mobile operator, Maxis, made a strong return to the bourse Thursday in Southeast Asia's biggest ever IPO worth 3.3 billion dollars.

Reuters - Gold hit another all-time high on Wednesday on worries about future inflation and economic uncertainties, while Asian stocks rebounded as the generally bearish dollar kept riskier assets in demand.