The Times (of London) newspaper reported BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, has revived plans for a US$40 billion takeover of the New York-based aluminum producer.

In other M&A news, General Electric and Financial Times publisher Pearson are in talks about making a joint bid for Dow Jones that would allow the family to keep a minority interest, as Dow Jones’s controlling Bancroft family continues to fret about selling to Rupert Murdoch.

Auckland International Airport Ltd. is in talks with several parties, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, about a possible takeover of the facility.

In today’s economic news, Canadians acquired a near-record $13.2 billion worth of foreign securities in April, equally split between bonds and stocks, Statistics Canada reported.

Meanwhile, non-residents invested $1.5 billion in Canadian securities. April’s investment was all in Canadian shares as non-residents reduced their holdings of Canadians debt instruments.

The Canadian dollar opened at US93.26¢, down 0.35 of a cent.

Crude-oil futures fell 46¢ to US$67.54 a barrel.

The Nikkei 225 rose 1% in Tokyo and the FTSE 100 lost 0.2% in London.

North American stocks rallied Friday, closing out a strong week, as lower U.S. long bond yields saw investors piling back into the market after last week’s losses.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index gained 135.42, or 0.97%, to 14,137.41.

For the week, the benchmark index was up 2.46%.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index shot ahead 39.92, or 1.26%, to 3,202.87.

In New York, U.S. stocks rose for a third straight day after tame consumer price data put aside inflation fears.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 85.76 points, or 0.63%, to 13,639.48, the Nasdaq composite index surged 27.30, or 1.05%, to 2,626.71 and the S&P500 moved up 9.94, or 0.65%, to 1,532.91.

For the week, the Dow was up 1.6%, while the S&P 500 was up 1.7% and the Nasdaq was up 2.1%.