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• McMoRan posts loss as failed well tests add to costs Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 8:10 AM ET

  Jan 18- McMoRan Exploration Co reported its fourth straight quarterly loss on higher costs resulting from repeated failures to launch a key gas well, a delay that has prompted bidder Freeport-McMoRan Copper& Gold Inc to lower its offer.

• UPDATE 1-Rockwell Collins posts higher quarterly profit Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 8:06 AM ET

  Jan 18- Rockwell Collins Inc, a supplier of avionics and other electronic systems for commercial and military airplanes, reported higher quarterly profit on Friday, aided by share buybacks and cost controls. Net income came to $132 million, or 94 cents a share, in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $130 million, or 86 cents a share, a year earlier.

• EURO GOVT-German 2-yr yields slip on ECB loan repayment jitters Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 8:02 AM ET

  *Two-year yields rise to near 10- month highs before retreat. LONDON, Jan 18- German two-year bond yields rose to their highest in nearly 10 months on Friday with further falls likely on growing nervousness in money markets over early bank repayments of three-year European Central Bank loans.

• UPDATE 1-Morgan Stanley posts profit on surging equity trading Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:49 AM ET

  Jan 18- Morgan Stanley reported a fourth-quarter profit on a surge in equity sales and trading and strong margins at its wealth management business, sending its shares up 7 percent before the bell.

• FOREX-Dollar retreats from recent high vs yen on profit taking Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:42 AM ET

  LONDON, Jan 18- The dollar retreated from a 31- month high against the yen on Friday as investors took profit on its steep rise before expected aggressive policy easing next week by the Bank of Japan. Strategists cited chart support at 87.80 yen, the low struck on Wednesday, while reported options barrier at 90.75 yen could act as a near-term resistance.

• Rockwell Collins posts higher quarterly profit Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:39 AM ET

  The supplier of avionics and other electronic systems for airplanes said net income came to $132 million, or 94 cents a share, in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $130 million, or 86 cents a share, a year earlier.

• UPDATE 2-GE Q4 profit, revs top estimates, order backlog jumps Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:37 AM ET

  *Q4 adjusted profit of 44 cents tops 43 cent Wall St view. Jan 18- General Electric Co reported a better-than-expected 7.5 percent rise in fourth quarter profit and a sharp increase in its backlog of equipment orders, sending shares up in premarket trading.

• Juncker backs Dutch finance minister to lead Eurogroup Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:34 AM ET

  LUXEMBOURG, Jan 18- Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the Eurogroup, backed Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem's candidacy to take over as his successor in chairing meetings of euro zone finance ministers.

• UPDATE 1-Johnson Controls profit falls 17 percent Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:31 AM ET

  Jan 18- Johnson Controls Inc's quarterly profit fell 17 percent and the largest U.S. auto parts supplier forecast further declines, citing weakness in Europe.

• US STOCKS-Futures dip as Intel offsets China data; earnings in focus Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:27 AM ET

  NEW YORK, Jan 18- U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower on Friday after a disappointing earnings outlook from Intel offset news of better-than-expected economic growth in China. *Shares of Intel Corp slumped 4.9 percent at $21.57 in premarket trading after the tech company forecast quarterly revenue that missed expectations.

• Morgan Stanley posts fourth-quarter profit Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:24 AM ET

  Jan 18- Morgan Stanley reported a fourth-quarter profit, driven by higher revenue at its institutional securities business. The investment bank reported income from continuing operations of $573 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with a loss of $222 million, or 13 cents per share, a year earlier.

• Johnson Controls posts lower profit Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:11 AM ET

  Jan 18- Johnson Controls Inc's quarterly profit fell 17 percent and the largest U.S. auto parts supplier forecast further declines, citing weakness in Europe. Net income fell to $354 million, or 52 cents per share, in the first quarter, from $424 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier.

• China finds 1.4 bln T of new oil reserves in 2012 - ministry Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 7:09 AM ET

  BEIJING, Jan 18- China discovered more than 1.4 billion tonnes of new proven oil reserves last year, its third highest annual haul ever, while its proven reserves of natural gas also increased by a record of nearly 900 billion cubic metres over the year, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Friday.

• UPDATE 1-U.S. vows to pursue militants behind Algeria attack Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 6:56 AM ET

  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday militants who attacked the United States and its citizens will hunted down, in the first comments by a senior U.S. official on a hostage attack by Islamist militants in Algeria. He said the U.S. government was working around the clock to ensure the safe return of its citizens caught up in the Algeria crisis.

• Britain's Cameron says Algeria hostage takers still pose threat Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 6:53 AM ET

  LONDON, Jan 18- British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday that hostage takers in Algeria still posed a threat in one part of the gas complex there and said he was disappointed he wasn't told in advance of an Algerian government rescue attempt.

• UPDATE 1-GE profit, revenue top expectations for quarter Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 6:52 AM ET

  Jan 18- General Electric Co reported a better-than-expected 7.5 percent rise in profit on Friday, reflecting a campaign by the largest U.S. conglomerate to boost margins as well as higher sales of equipment used in oil and gas production.

• UPDATE 3-Boeing Dreamliner probe focuses on burnt out battery, more checks due Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 6:48 AM ET

  *U.S. team includes FAA, NTSB and Boeing experts. TAKAMATSU, Japan, Jan 18- U.S. and Japanese aviation safety officials wrapped up their initial investigation of a badly damaged battery from a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet on Friday, saying further checks would be held in Tokyo and could take a week to complete.

• European shares near peaks, pressured by earnings Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 6:33 AM ET

  LONDON, Jan 18- Major European equity indexes consolidated near multi-month peaks on Friday, with miners supported by strong Chinese data but concerns ahead of the corporate earnings season prompting some investors to lock in profits. The index was broadly steady at 2,720.06 at 1114 GMT on Friday, in sight of last week's 18- month high of 2,735.36 points.

• UPDATE 2-Two French hostages leave Algerian gas site -govt Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 6:29 AM ET

  PARIS, Jan 18- French authorities are in contact with two French hostages who have left the desert gas facility in Algeria where they were being held by Islamist militants, France's Interior Minister Manuel Valls said on Friday.

• BoE's McCafferty says unclear if sterling competitive Friday, 18 Jan 2013 | 6:25 AM ET

  LONDON, Jan 18- New Bank of England policymaker Ian McCafferty raised doubts on Friday about whether sterling was at the right level to ensure economic rebalancing, and said the central bank should be open to new policies.