(Reuters) - A group including Apple and Research In Motion has paid $4.5 billion to snatch Nortel Networks' patents from under the noses of Google and Intel, stealing a march on their rivals in a litigious market. Bankrupt Nortel had put up for sale 6,000 patents and patent applications in the largest public sale of its kind, a potential treasure trove for latecomers to the market such as Apple, Google and Intel.

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(Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said creditors holding more than $100 billion of claims now support its reorganization plan, moving the company closer to emerging from the largest-ever U.S. bankruptcy. Thirty banks, hedge funds and other creditors agreed in writing to support the Chapter 11 plan filed earlier this week by what remains of the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, Lehman said on Friday.

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(Reuters) - Consumer sentiment worsened in June on jitters about the economic outlook and spending is likely to remain lackluster in the long-term, a survey released on Friday showed. Falling gasoline prices stabilized consumers' view of their current economic conditions, but expectations remained gloomy, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey showed.

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(Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc's officers, directors, underwriters and auditor have agreed to a $208.5 million settlement to end class-action securities fraud lawsuits, according to court documents. The settlement is among the largest stemming from the financial crisis, trailing a $624 million settlement by Countrywide Financial Corp and $475 million by Merrill Lynch & Co Inc.

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(Reuters) - Stocks added to gains on Thursday, with all three major indexes rising more than 1 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI jumped 141.72 points, or 1.16 percent, at 12,403.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 12.47 points, or 0.95 percent, at 1,319.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC put on 32.43 points, or 1.18 percent, at 2,772.92.

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(Reuters) - The Greek parliament passed a second austerity bill Thursday, opening the way for the EU and IMF to release a 12 billion euro ($17 billion) loan installment which Athens urgently needs to stave off bankruptcy. The vote on detailed measures to implement 28 billion euros in spending cuts, tax increases and privatisations passed without any of the wild street battles which marred Wednesday's vote on an initial austerity bill. The Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers is now likely to approve payment of the latest loan installment this weekend.

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(Reuters) - The rules of Treasury auctions may not sound like the stuff of high-stakes diplomacy. But a little-noticed 2009 change in how Washington sells its debt sheds new light on America's delicate balancing act with its biggest creditor, China. When the Treasury Department revamped its rules for participating in government bond auctions two years ago, officials said they were simply modernizing outdated procedures.

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LONDON (Reuters)- Investors have become a little more upbeat heading into the second half of the year, lifting stock allocations from 2011 lows but remaining cautious with plenty of safe-haven cash and bonds. They also lifted their exposure to euro zone stocks and bonds in the month, despite the ongoing debt crisis. Reuters asset allocation polls released on Thursday showed leading investors across the world recovering from May's retrenchment, brought on by fears over a stagnant U.S. economy, potential over-heating in China, and the euro zone debt crisis.

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(Reuters) - The revised Federal Reserve rules governing how much banks charge retailers to process debit card purchases was given a big thumbs-up by some analysts, who expect the rules to be a huge boost to card networks Visa (V.N) and MasterCard (MA.N). "We believe the most significant threat to Visa and MasterCard profitability has been dramatically reduced," Chris Brendler of Stifel Nicolaus said. Banks pay card networks like Visa and MasterCard for processing debit transactions, and the softened rule is a victory for big banks like Bank of America (BAC.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), and card networks like Visa and MasterCard.

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(Reuters) - St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Thursday that while the central bank's massive bond buying program impacted financial markets immediately, its effect on the broad economy will lag by as much as a year. "The effects of QE2 (the second round of quantitative easing) would be expected to lag by six to 12 months," Bullard said at a conference. Bullard said the effectiveness of the program demonstrates the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee has ways to influence the economy even when it can lower short-term interest rates no further.

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