Investors eagerly await Facebook debut on Wall Street

(Reuters) - Investors are bracing for Facebook's Wall Street debut on Friday after the pioneering online social network raised about $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history.

Exclusive: Did White House "spin" tip a covert op?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House efforts to soft-pedal the danger from a new "underwear bomb" plot emanating from Yemen may have inadvertently broken the news they needed most to contain.

G8 leaders look to head off euro zone crisis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the euro zone bloc, threatening the future of the common currency.

Europe thinks the unthinkable on Greece

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - European officials are working on contingency plans in case Greece bombs out of the euro zone, the EU's trade commissioner said on Friday, while Berlin said it was prepared for all eventualities.

Iran may seek "tactical gain" with U.N. nuclear deal

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog are making headway towards a framework deal on how to tackle concerns about its atomic activity, diplomats say, a potential bargaining chip for Tehran in next week's negotiations with world powers.

Poll shows Greece electing pro-bailout government

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek voters are returning to the establishment parties that negotiated its bailout, a poll showed on Thursday, offering potential salvation for European leaders who say a snap Greek election next month will decide whether it must quit the euro.

Police detain 400 "Blockupy" activists in Frankfurt

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German police said they detained 400 anti-capitalist protesters in Frankfurt on Friday for defying a ban on demonstrations against austerity policies implemented to tackle the intensifying euro zone debt crisis.

Banks' rising bad loans add to Spanish troubles

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish banks' bad loans rose in March to their highest in 18 years, underscoring the problems facing the government as it drafts in independent auditors in an attempt to reassure investors it can clean up the sector.

Syria's Assad: Nations that sow chaos will suffer

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that countries trying to "sow chaos" in Syria could be infected with it themselves, an apparent warning to Arab Gulf nations that back the insurgency aimed at forcing him from power.

U.S. firms eye Myanmar as sanctions suspended

WASHINGTON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - The suspension of U.S. sanctions barring investment in Myanmar in response to political reforms in the poor Southeast Asian state opens the door to U.S. firms queuing to scout for business in one of the last frontier markets.