VENTURE CAPITAL POST

China's corporations and billionaires have lagged behind in contributions to fighting the Ebola epidemic in West Africa despite vast economic ties to the region, the World Food Programme said on Monday.

Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Monday it was expanding the production of its Avigan anti-influenza drug to reach an additional number of Ebola patients.

It may be the only time you will find these words in the same sentence: "Ebola" and "Add to Wishlist." Giantmicrobes Inc., which makes a line of plush toys based on viruses and other microscopic organisms, has sold out its entire Ebola stock, including the small Ebola doll for $9.95, a Gigantic Ebola doll for $29.95 and an Ebola Petri Dish toy for $14.95, according to the company's website.

World equity markets rallied, with European stocks surging the most in more than two years, and bond prices slid on Friday as investors poured back into beaten-down markets on solid U.S. corporate earnings and rising consumer sentiment.

U.S. stocks extended their rebound from this month's bruising selloff on Friday, giving the S&P 500 its best day in over a week, as worries about the U.S. earnings outlook eased, but the S&P 500 still posted its fourth straight week of declines.

While the appearance of the deadly Ebola virus in Texas is worrying the nation, it has yet to lead Americans to take a more cautious view over how to spend their money, data suggested on Friday.

World stocks hit a nine-month low on Friday but oil and southern European bonds were off their week's worst levels, as investors began to dust themselves off after one of the most volatile spells in world markets in years.

Brent crude prices marked their biggest decline in more than three years on Tuesday and U.S. and German debt attracted buyers on lingering anxiety over world economic growth.

A Chinese drugmaker with close military ties is seeking fast-track approval for a drug that it says can cure Ebola, as China joins the race to help treat a deadly outbreak of a disease that has spread from Africa to the United States and Europe.

The U.S. government now has more than $1 billion available to fight the spread of Ebola from West Africa and is proceeding with plans to deploy up to 4,000 military personnel to the region by late October.

As Iraqi militants advanced on Baghdad with M-16s and stolen tanks in June, most investors and traders in the jittery oil markets believed oil prices would spike even higher.

California-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc is making progress in efforts to boost production of the experimental Ebola treatment ZMapp, as the deadly virus continues to spread through West Africa and beyond, the company said Friday.

A resurgence in spending helped by an improving U.S. economy bolstered back to school season sales for retailers in September, but stagnant wages may force more discounting in the coming months, keeping pressure on margins.

Brazil, Argentina and the United States have tightened port entry procedures for ships that have sailed from West Africa in a bid to control the potential spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

The S&P 500 posted its best day since August on Friday following a stronger-than-expected September U.S. jobs report that bolstered the outlook for the U.S. economy.