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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.



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.

Officials said on Wednesday, the U.S. is asking for "enhanced security measures" at airports overseas due to terrorism concerns. Without naming any specific threat, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement that he has "directed TSA to implement enhanced security measures in the coming days at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the United States." Government sources told NBC News this has nothing to do with the July 4th holiday, but rather intelligence that extremists fighting in Syria and Iraq are teaming with a notorious al Qaeda bombmaker working on explosives that would evade detection. That extra security — mostly in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, not in America — means passengers are likely to see more random pat-downs, more screening of carry-on bags, more swabbing for explosive residue and extra scrutiny of electronics.



BNP Paribas’ guilty plea and agreement to pay nearly $9 billion for violating U.S. sanctions is part of a larger U.S. Justice Department shift in strategy that is expected to snare more major banks and other firms across the financial food chain.

Second Market, one of the more prominent bidders in the U.S. Marshals bitcoin auction, on Monday said it was outbid in its attempts to buy some of the nearly 30,000 coins sold late last week. On Friday, the U.S. Marshals Service auctioned off about 30,000 bitcoins seized during a raid on Silk Road, an Internet black-market bazaar where authorities say illegal drugs and other goods could be bought. A spokeswoman for the U.S.

The Supreme Court has declined to hear Google's appeal of a ruling that it pried into people's online lives through their Wi-Fi systems as part of its drive to collect information for its Street View mapping project. The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place a ruling that Google employees violated the federal wiretap law when they rolled through residential streets with car cameras to shoot photos for Street View.

During his two weeks aboard a ship to the United States, Ahmed Abu Khatallah was questioned by FBI interrogators over his alleged role in the 2012 Benghazi attacks that left four Americans dead. As it turns out, he was interrogated both before and after authorities told him of his Miranda rights -- which give him the right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination. But Abu Khatallah continued providing information to officials after being advised of those rights.



Government and industry sources said on Friday, any U.S. oil that is lightly processed by a distillation tower is not bound by the 40-year crude oil ban. The Department of Commerce determined this week that two companies that produce condensate, a light oil, can export the petroleum if it is processed by a distillation tower. The sources said any crude, not just condensate, that goes through the process can also be exported, potentially widening the amount of petroleum U.S. producers can send to markets abroad.



The U.S. Justice Department is expected to announce on Monday a settlement with BNP Paribas involving a record fine of nearly $9 billion over alleged U.S. sanctions violations by France’s biggest bank, sources familiar with the matter said. The penalties, which the sources said may also include a temporary ban on some dollar-clearing business, could hit BNP's dividend payout, regulatory capital ratios and its investment banking targets, analysts say.



A one-goal lead is never safe, and U.S. fans who counted their chickens too early in the World Cup match got a bitter dose of dissatisfaction as Portugal scored in the final seconds, resulting in a 2-2 draw. "Football's cruel sometimes," said Tim Howard, a former teammate of Christiano Ronaldo, who set up the final goal that got past him when Varela headed the ball in.



Online-streaming service Aereo Inc. is temporarily closing down its operation, three days after it was dealt an unfavorable ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. Aereo's Chief Executive Officer Chet Kanojia wrote in a letter to customers posted on its website Saturday,"We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps.

General Motors announced on Friday that it would recall 428,211 more vehicles in the United States, including new four-wheel drive pickups and SUVs with a software problem that could cause the vehicles to automatically switch to neutral and roll away while parked. GM said it was not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the software issue. "In these vehicles, the transfer case may electronically switch to neutral without input from the driver," GM said.

In less than an hour the streaming TV service Aereo will “pause” its operations. In an email sent at 9 AM Eastern Saturday, Chet Kanojia informed customers that because of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this week , the company would temporarily halt its operations at 11:30 Eastern as it consults with the court to plan its next steps. The New York based company is encouraging its customers to sign up for updates at ProtectMyAntenna.org, and is ensuring they will be refunded for their last month paid.



For nearly two hours on Thursday, Twitter's list of worldwide trending topics was dominated by hashtags like #GermanyvsUSA and #PORGHA for the two World Cup matches taking place. When Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal for Portugal, the phrase finally Ronaldo started trending. When it was determined that the U.S. would advance to the next round to play Belgium, USA vs Belgium entered the list.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that the United States is working with its European partners to prepare a new round of sanctions against Russia in case they are necessary. Kerry said "We are not announcing a new round of sanctions today but we are going to continue to take steps to prepare in the event that the circumstances on the ground warrant those sanctions. So, we are coordinating with our European partners in order to prepare for that."



U.S. weapons makers must focus on affordability and be more upfront about the cost of new, cutting-edge technologies given a large "bow wave" of increased spending facing the Pentagon in the 2020s. Comptroller Robert Hale, who will leave office soon after five years as the Pentagon's top financial officer, said he worried that constant increases in military requirements would undermine a range of efforts under way to drive down the cost of weapons systems.



Cosmetics maker Avon Products said it would cut about 600 jobs, including in its North America unit, as the company tries to return to profit. Avon said it would take a pretax charge of $45 million-$50 million, of which $40 million was expected to be recorded in the second quarter. The job cuts and other restructuring efforts are expected to result in annual savings of about $50 million to $55 million.



Grant Wahl reports on Team USA's optimistic outlook.

Last week's box office champion, "22 Jump Street", starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, took the No. 2 spot with $29 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters for the three days ending on Sunday. Jump Street was outdistanced out by "Think Like A Man Too", a sequel to the 2012 comedy based on Steve Harvey's book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man", which collected $30 million in ticket sales to lead the weekend box office.