Business Blog Posts

The keenly awaited non-farm payroll report for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT). Employment is seen rising for the first time since May with 60,000 non-farm payrolls added in the month, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain elevated at 9.6 percent.

The employment report follows a sharp rally in stocks and commodities worldwide on Thursday that was spurred by the Fed's decision to buy $600 billion in government bonds.

The dollar was mired near 11-month lows against a basket of currencies while oil eased from a two-year high, but losses were limited by the new round of U.S. economic stimulus, which has boosted the appeal of commodities as an asset class in an environment of a weak dollar.

Data on September pending-home sales will be released at 10:00 a.m. (1400 GMT).

S&P 500 futures fell 5.2 points were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 38 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 4 points.

The S&P 500 index is up about 16 percent since the start of September as investors bet that action by the Fed and Republican gains in the U.S. midterm election would create a better environment for corporate profits. The Dow index closed at its highest since the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank in September 2008.

Europe's biggest bank HSBC (HSBA.L) said profits so far this year were "well ahead" of 2009 levels with losses on bad loans hurting less than at any point since the onset of the credit crisis in 2007. U.S. traded shares of HSBC (HBC.N) fell 2.3 percent to $55.61 in premarket trade.

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) (TM.N) cautiously nudged up its profit forecast, underscoring how vulnerable Japan's biggest company is to the firm yen and a tepid sales recovery that are weighing on its shares.

The premium investors demand to hold 10-year Irish government bonds rather than German benchmarks rose to a euro lifetime high on Friday after a budget some traders said was "unrealistic", keeping pressure on other peripheral sovereign issuers.

Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) raised its full-year profit forecast, boosting confidence it has entered a new phase of growth.

CBS Corp (CBS.N) reported a 42 percent rise in third-quarter profit on Thursday and authorized a $1.5 billion share repurchase program.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N), the world's biggest retailer, said it was cooperating with an investigation into possible insider trading related to its takeover of Japanese retail chain Seiyu Ltd.

Eli Lilly (LLY.N) said on Thursday U.S. regulators approved the use of Cymbalta, its blockbuster anti-depressant drug, for chronic musculoskeletal pain, including lower back pain and osteoarthritis.

S&P 500 companies scheduled to report earnings throughout the day include American International Group (AIG.N), Coventry Health Care Inc (CVH.N), Ventas Inc (VTR.N) and Washington Post Co (WPO.N).

(Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)