Mark Brooks

The ministers have failed twice in the last two weeks to reach an agreement to release the funds for the cash-strapped country.

Early results show that online shopping was up 24.1 percent compared with the same time period a year ago.

She will take over at a critical time for the agency, which is finalizing new rules crafted in response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Palladium led the gains, rising $16.30, or 2.5 percent, to $667.60 an ounce.

After the European Union leaders picked Yves Mersch in the dead of night Thursday, overriding the objections of its parliament, it left the ECB executive board with six men out of six, and an all-male 23-strong governing council.

Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove says a deal on a cell phone with a prepaid, unlimited usage plan "led to excitement among our customers."

Currency trading is light on Friday as many traders take a long weekend after Thanksgiving Day.

Beef and pork futures rose on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

EU diplomatic sources say the meeting is over. They spoke Friday only on condition of anonymity in line with common practice

Friday's killing is the first violence since a truce between Israel and the militant Hamas group was reached two days ago.

Cyprus sought international aid in June to support its banks which took huge losses on bad Greek debt and loans and to pay its bills.

Beef and pork futures rose on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The national average Wednesday was $3.43, down 44 cents from mid-September although still 8 cents higher than a year earlier.

Hostess now has the green light to terminate the jobs of its 18,000 workers and sell off its brands.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Wednesday that Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations has been cited numerous times for incidents in which it failed to comply with regulations.

EU finance ministers failed to agree on a plan to release more money for the debt-crippled country after a meeting Tuesday.

It used to be enough for stores to promise discounts of up to 70 percent off to lure shoppers during the busy holiday shopping season. But the ease of ordering online and the sluggish economy has created more demanding U.S. consumers who aren't impressed by discounts alone.

The University of Michigan says its consumer sentiment index ticked up to 82.7 this month from 82.6 in October.

Benchmark oil is rose 8 cents at $86.83 per barrel.

The Conference Board said Wednesday that its index of leading indicators increased 0.2 percent in October after a 0.5 percent gain in September.