UNCERTAINTY: Although the TAIEX closed 0.31 percent higher on Friday, gains were capped by worries over the volatility in global markets and raids on Veutron and BenQ
Asian stocks closed easier on Friday after a volatile week saw global markets roiled by fears growing problems in the US housing market could halt the stellar run of the past few years, dealers said.

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European shares drifted lower on Friday as investors took a break after a volatile week, with a continued decline in the insurance and banking sectors balanced by further bid talk around consumer goods giant Unilever.

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SKITTISH: The major US indexes all closed the week lower as the markets were roiled by concerns about the increasingly precarious situation in the housing market
Wall Street looks to the Federal Reserve meeting in the coming week for reassuring words about the economy as the market tries to shake off its latest turbulence and fears about a downturn.

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Oil prices slipped on Friday, weighed down by the front-month contract's expiration next week and the stock market's continued weakness, a possible harbinger of an economic slowdown.

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The US dollar fell sharply on Friday after an inflation snapshot triggered renewed concerns about the US economy, traders said.

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PROBED: Trying to escape a stock option backdating quagmire, the company offered to pay any extra taxes incurred by employees and let them correct option `strike' dates
In the wake of its backdated stock-options troubles, Apple Inc is offering affected employees the chance to amend the strike price of past options that were incorrectly backdated and receive cash payments to cover related losses and tax penalties, according a regulatory filing on Friday.

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DITCHED: The retail giant called off its application to establish an industrial loan corporation after critics said such a move blurred the line between banking and commerce
Wal-Mart Stores Inc is dropping its bid to establish a bank after months of heated debate over whether the world's largest retailer should be allowed to gain the added financial power of a federally insured bank.

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Richard Li (李澤楷), chairman of Hong Kong's biggest phone operator PCCW Ltd (電訊盈科), met a group of local property developers in Taichung last night to discuss possible real-estate investment opportunities in the city.

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China will allow trading in financial futures contracts and options as it seeks to spur development of the nation's capital markets and provide more choice to investors.

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Google Inc, the most-used Internet search engine, may introduce a mobile phone as the company seeks to tap a market of 2 billion mobile users, an analyst said.

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A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food on Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.

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■ Confectionery
`Peko-chan' faces ax
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