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Ukraine's parliament gave preliminary approval on Friday to a government draft law that would allow Kiev tighter control over the energy sector in the face of dwindling natural gas supplies after Russia cut off exports last month. The parliament approved, also in a first reading, a bill which would allow private consortia with European or U.S. companies to operate Ukraine's gas distribution system and storage facilities.



Asian shares rose to a three-year peak on Friday and the dollar held near its overnight highs after U.S. jobs data which showed the lowest unemployment rate in six years and underscored the strength of the economic recovery. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent, touching its highest levels since May 2011 and on track for a weekly gain of 1.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.6 percent, hitting a 5-1/2-month high and poised to gain 2.3 percent for the week.



A surprisingly robust job market is energizing the 5-year-old U.S. recovery and driving the economy closer to full health. Employers added 288,000 jobs in June and helped cut the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent, the lowest since 2008. It was the fifth straight gain above 200,000 — the best such stretch since the late 1990s tech boom. The stock market signaled its approval. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 92 points to top 17,000 for the first time. The breadth and consistency of the job growth are striking in part because of how poorly the year began. The economy shrank at a steep 2.9 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter as a harsh winter contributed to the sharpest contraction since the depths of the recession.



Telefonica said on Friday it had agreed to buy the 22 percent stake held by Mediaset Espana in pay-TV firm Distribuidora de Television (DTS), giving full ownership of the TV firm to the telecoms group. Spanish media group Prisa in May agreed to sell 56 percent of DTS, known as Canal+ in Spain, to Telefonica, which already held 22 percent of the company.



Mexico's central bank is likely to hold its main interest rate steady at a record low next Friday to support a rocky economic recovery after a surprise rate cut last month. All 24 analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the central bank to hold its main interest rate at 3.00 percent on July 11. Mexico unexpectedly slashed interest rates by 50 basis points in June, saying the sluggish economy gave it room for a one-off cut to spur growth without fanning inflation pressures.



Luxury car maker BMW revealed a $1 billion Mexican plant investment on Thursday, becoming the latest major automaker to take advantage of the country's growing industrial base and tariff-free access to the U.S. market. The automaker outlined plans to build a factory in the central Mexican city of San Luis Potosi, reducing the German company's dependence on higher-cost plants at home.

Hillary Rodham Clinton blasted the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision saying some privately held companies with religious objections cannot be forced to offer insurance coverage for certain kinds of birth control. Clinton said, “I disagree with the reasoning as well as the conclusion. ”She said the ruling in the so-called Hobby Lobby case could mean “employers can impose their religious beliefs on their employees” and “deny women the right to contraception.”



Apple has poached a senior executive from Swiss luxury watch brand Tag Heuer, which could be to help it with the launch of its iWatch expected this autumn. Tag Heuer, part of luxury goods group LVMH, said on Friday its vice president for sales, Patrick Pruniaux, who had been with the brand for seven years, was leaving on Monday to join Apple.

Dean of Lagos Business School says Nigeria poses particular challenges

Lex on India’s smart cities, as Lavasa seeks listing

Camp Alphaville: short seller Carson Block on China’s debt cliff

Patti Waldmeir on China's changing wine market

Gerard Lyons on the facts that will drive global economic growth

James Mackintosh thinks happy thoughts about the greenback

Debate over whether Isis’s influence can be curbed

The jobs market is improving, according to government data released Thursday, but millennials are still left out in the cold. They’re suffering more than any other age group, new research finds. Quentin Fottrell joins the News Hub with Susan Murray.

Barron's editor Jack Otter previews the new issue of Barron's magazine on the News Hub, which features what to know about mutual funds, and a fish tale too weird to be believed. Photo: Getty Images.

Michael Mackenzie on US equities, job market and the FED

July 3 (Bloomberg) -- In today's "Morning Must Read," Bloombergs Alix Steel recaps the op-ed pieces and analyst notes providing insight behind today's headlines on "Bloomberg Surveillance.

Nicolas Sarkozy hits back at formal corruption investigation