Koons 'Pink Panther' sculpture to sell in NYC

Jeff Koons' porcelain sculpture of a pink panther hugging a bare-breasted blonde is coming to a New York City auction. It's estimated to bring $20 million to $30 million.

Sotheby's is selling "Pink Panther" on May 10. There were three editions made of the work; the one up for auction is the artist's proof.

One was sold at Christie's in 1999 for $1.8 million, reportedly to the newsprint magnate Peter Brant. The others are in the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Sotheby's didn't identify the seller of the artist's proof. But The New York Times says it's the publisher Benedikt Taschen.

Koons' "Balloon Flower Magenta" sold for $25.7 million in 2008 at Christie's. It set a record for the artist.

Yen recovers from tumble in aftermath of quake

The Japanese yen climbed Friday in New York, recovering from a brief tumble just after a massive earthquake and tsunami shook the Asian country.

Japan's quake and the resulting tsunami reverberated throughout the world Friday. Hundreds of deaths were reported, the area around a Japanese nuclear power plant was evacuated, tsunami waves struck Hawaii and warnings remained around the Pacific.

The yen dove briefly after the quake, but then recovered as investors expect the Japanese to buy back their home currency.

In midday trading, the dollar fell to 81.91 Japanese yen from 83.02 yen. The dollar had spiked to a three-week high of 83.30 yen in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.

"The typical expectation, based on past experience, is for Japanese investors to repatriate funds" after a disaster, wrote Brown Brothers Harriman analysts in a research note. That means they would sell off any bets they had placed on other currencies, or bets on stocks and bonds overseas, and bring their funds back home in yen.

After another huge earthquake in Japan, in 1995, the yen gained about 20 percent against the dollar in three months.

Attorney: British lawyer pleads guilty to bribery

A British lawyer charged with helping a former Halliburton Co. subsidiary bribe Nigerian officials has pleaded guilty in the case.

Jeffrey Tesler's plea Friday before U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison was to two counts related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He faces up to five years in prison on each count.

The 62-year-old was arrested in London in February 2009 on charges he helped steer bribe money from Houston-based Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC to Nigerian officials to win more than $6 billion in construction contracts. A grand jury indicted him on 11 counts.

Attorneys for the dual British and Israeli citizen had unsuccessfully argued he shouldn't be extradited because the crimes had no substantial link to the U.S. and that the delay could prevent a fair trial.

Davis, Wust win gold medals at speedskating worlds

Shani Davis of the United States and Irene Wust of the Netherlands have won gold medals at the speedskating world championships.

Davis won at 1,000 meters Friday, bouncing back from his loss in the 1,500 a day earlier. He captured his sixth world title by beating two Dutchmen, Kjeld Nuis and Stefan Groothuis.

Wust grabbed her second title in two days, leading a Dutch medal sweep in the 1,500. Wust won the 3,000 on Thursday. Diane Valkenburg was second and Jorien Voorhuis third.

There was another victory for the Netherlands when Bob de Jong took the 5,000. The World Cup champion was more than two seconds ahead of Olympic champion Lee Seung-hoon of South Korea. Ivan Skobrev of Russia took the bronze.

Iraq, Afghanistan veterans struggle to find jobs

More than 1 in 5 young Iraq and Afghanistan veterans was unemployed last year, the Labor Department said Friday.

Concerns that Guard and Reserve troops will be gone for long stretches and that veterans might have mental health issues or lack civilian work skills appear to be factors keeping the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at 20.9 percent, a slight drop from the year before, but still well over the 17.3 percent rate for non-veterans of the same age group, 18-24.

"The employers out there, they are military-friendly and veteran-friendly, and they love us and thank us and everything, but when you go apply for a job, it's almost like they are scared to take a risk for you. I don't get it. It doesn't make sense," said Iraq veteran Christopher Kurz, 28, who just moved back in with his parents in Arizona after spending two years looking for law enforcement work in New York.

Kurz said his time as a military police officer in Iraq and aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier didn't seem to translate into a job.