BUSINESS

Two-plus years after the so-called Flash Crash wreaked havoc in the U.S. equity market on May 6, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday it has OK'd two proposals designed to dampen extraordinary volatility in individual securities and the broader stock market.

U.S. car sales soared 47.6 percent for the American Honda unit of Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) in May, as the Japanese automaker consummated its recovery from last year's triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns), with strong sales of its flagship Civic and Accord cars.

The North Carolina Senate could begin debating that state's first piece of legislation to allow hydraulic fracturing in oil-and-gas drilling next week.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate will renew next week their push for equal-pay legislation with the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill with an embattled history that would help close the wage gap between men and women that experts say costs each woman about $434,000 over the course of her career.

With the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing report and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Situation Summary both weaker than analysts' consensus estimates on Friday, U.S. stocks closed a holiday-shortened trading week by dropping like so many hot pennies scattered in cold snow.

The troubled Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK), the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country, announced Friday it has made a significant discovery of crude oil and natural gas in the Anadarko Basin beneath the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma.

Mazda Motor Corporation (Tokyo: 7261) struggled in May posting U.S. sales growth of just 5.4 percent on a daily selling rate adjusted basis, however, the company's sales for the year to date remain strong compared to last year, up an adjusted 19.3 percent.

The Army has dropped a murder charge against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused of gunning down civilians in Afghanistan in March.

Zimmerman, who is facing second-degree murder charges in the death of Trayvon Martin, had his bail revoked after prosecutors accused him of conspiring with his wife to lie about $200,000 they collected from a website toward his legal defense.

Volkswagen AG (Frankfurt: VOW) U.S. sales grew 28.4 percent in May, the company's best May since its heyday as a 70s era-icon.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued subpoenas to JPMorgan Chase & Co. to determine whether fraud was committed in connection with the bank's multibillion-dollar proprietary-trading fiasco, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

India?s caste system is deeply entrenched in Bihar, which not surprisingly is one of the poorest states in the country.

A shockingly weak jobs report hammered U.S. equities Friday, as major stock indexes headed for their worst loss of the year and erased all of their 2012 gains.

May U.S. car sales increased 20.5 percent for Nissan Motor Company Ltd. (Tokyo: 7201) on strong demand for the Altima, as the company continues to push out remaining inventory in advance of the launch of the 2013 model in June, demand remained high for fuel-efficient models and moderating gas prices drew some consumers back to trucks.

Nebraska landowners challenging the constitutionality of state laws dealing with the Keystone XL Pipeline will have to pin their hopes on Nebraska's lower district court, as its Supreme Court decided it will not hear their case.

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) will provide certain salaried retirees with a lump-sum pension payment offer in lieu of normal monthly pension payments, a move which is expected to reduce the pension obligation of the nation's largest automaker by $26 billion, the company announced Friday.

The Venezuelan government passed a new gun law that prohibits the commercial sale of firearms and ammunition, moving the country closer to President Hugo Chavez and his administration's goal of disarming all civilians as crime rates continue to rise.

This backdrop of the weakening of the global economy could promote a broad round of coordinated central bank easing.

Got an extra long weekend to explore the British capital where Queen Elizabeth II will be celebrating her 60th year on the throne with a massive Diamond Jubilee party? Come explore London amid the royal hoopla.

Some 110,000 people were added to the unemployment rolls of the 17-nation euro zone in April, the statistical office of the European Union reported Friday, once again setting a record high, as every country in the common currency agreement save for Austria, Germany and Ireland reported a deteriorating labor condition. The unemployment rate held steady at 11 percent.

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ)?s plans to acquire Hughes Telematics (OTC: HUTC) for $612 million indicates the biggest U.S. phone company is seeking a new market: Mercedes-Benz drivers.

Shares of big gold mining companies rocketed higher Friday as the yellow metal regained its status as a safe-haven amid growing fear that the American economy may not be able to offset the combined drag of the euro zone crisis and sharply decelerating growth in China and India.

A higher-than-expected 60.3 percent voted yes in the euro zone's only national referendum on the fiscal pact, a binding agreement which will tie the 25 signatories to hard budget targets and set fines for missing them.

Enrique Peña Nieto has enjoyed a comfortable lead against his rivals for much of the Mexican presidential campaign season. But recent polling suggests his victory isn't as certain as it has appeared, leaving analysts pondering the future of Petroleos Mexicanos, the country's creaky state-owned oil company, should the candidate's main leftist rival win on July 1.

The president is reportedly telling donors that he may need to revisit the health-care law in a second term.

The value of the monetary unit of Canada slipped Thursday against the U.S. dollar as a consequence of underwhelming employment data issued by the U.S.

Traders woke up this morning to the quite shocking news of the US Non-Farm Payroll employment numbers.

Continued strong car sales were joined by a surge in truck and SUV demand to drive a 12.6 percent growth in May U.S. sales for Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), which cited demand for fuel efficient vehicles as a primary driver of growth.

U.S. stocks followed global equities down Friday as fears mount that the American economy may not be able to offset the combined drag of the euro zone crisis and sharply decelerating growth in China and India.