This came after Greece's finance minister said the government would not cooperate with the European Union and International Monetary Fund mission. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 251.9 points, or 1.45 percent, to 17,164.95, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 26.26 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,994.99 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 48.17 points, or 1.03 percent, to 4,635.24.

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter as weak business spending and a wider trade deficit offset the fastest pace of consumer spending since 2006. The slowdown followed two back-to-back quarters of bullish growth and is likely to be short-lived given the enormous tailwind from lower gasoline prices. Other data on Friday showed consumer sentiment jumped to an 11-year high in January. "We look for strong domestic consumption to continue supporting growth momentum in the coming quarters even as investment suffers due to falling oil prices," said Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities in New York.

Shake Shack's debut is the latest in a string of blockbuster IPOs from trendy restaurant chains that cater to younger and more affluent diners willing to pay a bit more for fresher and higher quality food. Growth-hungry investors are hoping to replicate the red-hot run of industry darling Chipotle Mexican Grill . Its IPO followed the successful listing two months ago of fellow premium burger seller Habit Restaurants . Based on 2013 earnings, the company that grew out of a hotdog cart in New York's Madison Square Park is trading at an eye-popping price-to-earnings ratio of about 325, with each restaurant valued at about $27 million.

By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices roared back from six-year lows on Friday, rocketing more than 8 percent as a record weekly decline in U.S. oil drilling fueled a frenzy of short-covering. In a rally that may spur speculation that a seven-month price collapse has ended, global benchmark Brent crude shot up to more than $53 per barrel, its highest in more than three weeks in its biggest one-day gain since 2009. The late-session surge was primed by Baker Hughes data showing the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States fell by 94 - or 7 percent - this week.

Honda Motor Co Ltd on Friday said it has confirmed that a Takata Corp air bag inflator ruptured in a Jan. 18 crash in Texas that killed the driver. Prior to the incident that took place near Houston, Takata air bags had been linked to at least five deaths. On Thursday, Honda issued a statement about the fatal crash involving a 2002 Honda Accord with a Takata air bag but had not yet confirmed that the inflator had ruptured. U.S. safety regulators have said defective Takata air bag inflators in certain vehicles can rupture and spray metal fragments inside the vehicle.

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - AT&T Inc spent close to half the total in the record-setting U.S. sale of airwaves for mobile data, with Dish Network Corp spending heavily to manage a surprise win at No.2 ahead of Verizon, results showed on Friday. AT&T bid a total of $18.2 billion to win licenses of so-called AWS-3 spectrum. Dish itself did not win any licenses, but had invested in bidding partners SNR Wireless LicenseCo LLC and Northstar Wireless LLC, which bid a total of $13.3 billion. The two companies, backed also by financial firms including BlackRock Inc but with little to no revenue, had applied to receive a discount as small-business entities, bringing their net bid amount to $10 billion.

Sharp gains in the U.S. dollar are good for the U.S. labor market, a top Federal Reserve official said on Friday, downplaying a crescendo of complaints from top executives over the dent to their profits. "CEOs that have international operations complain about it," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Reuters in an interview. Fisher, who plans to retire from his post in March, holds views that are often far from those at the Fed's core.

By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Food distributor Sysco Corp and its biggest rival, US Foods Inc , have offered to sell a smaller competitor 11 facilities in order to convince skeptical antitrust regulators to approve their $3.5 billion merger, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters. The deal, proposed in December 2013, is seen as problematic because Sysco and US Foods are the only companies with the geographic reach to offer nationwide contracts to deliver a wide range of goods to customers ranging from hotel chains to hospitals to fast food chains and fine restaurants. To overcome Federal Trade Commission concerns, the companies have offered to sell 11 distribution centers with $5 billion in sales in hopes of building Performance Food Group into a national competitor, essentially replacing US Foods, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Sysco executives and FTC officials are scheduled to meet over the next two weeks to discuss whether the offer would be enough to win regulatory approval.

By Ernest Scheyder WILLISTON, N.D. (Reuters) - Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil producer, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as sales of chemicals, lubricants and other refined products helped offset plunging crude prices . Royal Dutch Shell , a so-called international oil company like Chevron, said on Thursday it would cut its spending over the next three years by $15 billion. Taking similar steps, Chevron executives slashed the company's 2015 capital budget by 13 percent to $35 billion. "We enter 2015 with the financial strength to meet the challenges of a volatile crude price environment and with significant efforts under way to manage to a lower cost structure," Chief Executive Officer John Watson said in a statement.

Exxon Mobil Corp , the world's largest publicly traded oil company, has changed its U.S. employment policies to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as now required by federal law. Investors had pressed for the change for years, filing shareholder proposals for Exxon to guarantee protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation since 1999. Exxon has previously resisted making the change, saying it already prohibited all forms of discrimination at its offices anywhere in the world.

NEW YORK (AP) — A pair of better economic reports helped nudge the U.S. stock market up in early trading Thursday, even as global markets headed lower.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Services across Greece shut down Wednesday as unions staged a 24-hour general strike and held peaceful demonstrations to protest further austerity cuts in the cash-strapped country.

Stocks were on track to finish higher Thursday afternoon for the second day in a row as investors drew encouragement from reports on Chinese manufacturing, U.S. home sales and some positive earnings from Best Buy, Dollar Tree and other retailers.

Major stock indexes shifted higher in midday trading Thursday, getting a lift from an encouraging report on Chinese manufacturing and some positive earnings from Best Buy, Dollar Tree and other retailers. The market also got a boost from data showing modest improvement in sales of previously occupied homes.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are opening mixed as investors look over more earnings reports from big companies.

For some third party apps, a partnership with Google Now will be a mobile boon. Others won't be so lucky. Time will tell.

Alexa, Amazon's two-pound assistant in the room, now does more with music services, improves speed and accuracy.

HBO has released the first full-length trailer for the next season of "Game of Thrones," promising, as Peter Dinklage might say, more stabby stabby, sexy sexy.>

In the latest trial twist, millions of dollars in bitcoins were found flowing to the laptop of Ross Ulbricht.>

Information and actions from the top Android apps will now show up in Google's personal assistant dashboard.>

Bridget Carey and Ariel Nunez help Jeff and Iyaz understand the fine print of a Sling TV subscription, why Trivia Crack is worse than hardcore narcotics and figure out what the deal is with that mobile game Kate Upton is all about.>

The new app from Twitter's 6-second looping video service serves up only clips that have been screened for family-friendliness.>

I have long been a fan of movies and the numerous things they have been able to do for people over the past century. They entertain us, they bring us together and they inspire us. Movies also teach us. These lessons come from movies based on actual events, accounting for some creative liberties here and there. Also, these lessons come from...

As I mentioned in my last article, The "New" Rule of Networking, there are absolutely rules when it comes to networking. They're just not written, enforced by a governing body, or mentioned at the beginning of a networking event before you "touch gloves" and come out networking.Imagine if they were!Everyone is NOT a prospectIf everyone was a...

Like the NFC Championship team the Seattle Seahawks, content marketing can be underestimated in the business world. With over 40 percent of top brands utilizing blogs today, according to Forbes.com, larger organizations have the winning advantage. If you are a small business owner, don't throw in the towel just yet. Take notes on these top...

Sorry, "Game of Thrones" fans. "The Winds of Winter," the sixth book in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series won't be released in 2015.>

The social network's new feature sends location tips to your feed using GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth beacons. Meanwhile, your home Internet broadband may not be broadband anymore.>

An automation and assembly equipment manufacturer finds itself in a Super Bowl beer ad. And a very funny one too.>

Tesla's Model S electric car comes with "Insane Mode," which is everything you hoped it would be, especially when it gets tested out on unsuspecting strangers.>

In an interview at the Sundance Film Festival, the "Star Wars" creator wonders what the world is coming to. Especially the online world.>

The Main Drain isn't shy about its bathroom habits. The detachable and adjustable urinal aims to make toilet time more convenient for guys.>

Although there are more media outlets now than ever before ranging from print TV, radio, social media, blogs and podcasts - building awareness through these channels has become even more challenging. We no longer live in a world where we are solely competing locally; we are now up against those from New York to Hong Kong. The onslaught of...

Using IR blasts and a vacuum chamber, a new process developed by USDA researchers could save water and lead to better canned tomatoes.>

When you walk into a room at work are people naturally drawn to you? When you sit at a meeting table do others ask to hear your thoughts? When there's a decision to be made do people seek our your ideas?If you're wavering in your responses chances are you're missing what researchers have found is an essential component to getting ahead at...