UNITED STATES

Oil prices retreated on Friday in choppy trading as uncertainties about Europe's plan to tackle its debt problems prompted some profit taking after the previous session's rally.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has been hit with a new $1.07 billion lawsuit for having allegedly sold risky debt that it expected would tumble in value to an Australian hedge fund, causing that fund to become insolvent.

The British singer is to have surgery for her recent throat problems.

Shares of MF Global Holdings Ltd hit another all-time low and bonds were in freefall on Friday as troubles intensified for the U.S. futures brokerage that is looking to sell off units in order to retain customers, and to survive.

Anti-Wall Street protesters' plans to camp in a New York park throughout the city's harsh winter were dealt a blow on Friday when the fire department confiscated six generators and about a dozen cans of fuel.

Sluggish income growth led U.S. households to cut back on saving in September to raise their spending, showing the economy's recovery remains fragile.

Stocks edged lower on Friday as investors paused after a rally that lifted the S&P 500 index almost 20 percent from near bear market levels where it had sunk earlier this month.

Africa's new scramble for oil is heading east, where the potential could be huge but the risks are far higher than in the well-established sector on the continent's west coast.

A controversial weapon could be deployed soon in the U.S. fight against the housing crisis as states and top banks near a deal in their dispute over mortgage abuses -- cutting the mortgage debt owed by homeowners.

Swiss Re has regained a prized credit rating lost during the financial crisis, a key step toward the reinsurer's goal of expanding its business.

Photos of Lady Liberty throughout her 125-year history.

A controversial weapon could be deployed soon in the U.S. fight against the housing crisis as states and top banks near a deal in their dispute over mortgage abuses -- cutting the mortgage debt owed by homeowners.

Canadian stocks edged higher in early action on Friday, led by a rise in shares of gold and base metal miners, even as fading optimism over a European debt deal weighed on the broader market.

Roland Li

Peru's government will broker talks on Friday between townspeople and U.S.-based miner Newmont in a bid to solve a conflict over the planned $4.8 billion Minas Conga gold mine, officials said.

The world's two leading home appliance makers are cutting costs -- from jobs to factories -- as they face weaker demand in major markets from Europe to the United States, with recession-wary shoppers putting off big-ticket buys such as washing machines and refrigerators.

Game seven of the World Series will be played at 8:05 p.m. Eastern Time Friday night. With the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers tied 3-3, game seven will determine the 2011 series winner. The game will be shown on Fox.

A look past the upbeat headlines from this week's third-quarter gross domestic product report points to a more tentative diagnosis of the U.S. economy than initial responses indicated.

By Monday, a mother will give birth to the seven billionth human living on Earth, experts predict.

An Israeli man who lives in Brooklyn pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of brokering a kidney transplant as of a black market organ business. This is the first human organ trafficking conviction in the United States.

U.S. consumer sentiment improved in October for the second month in a row as consumers felt more upbeat about the economy's prospects, a survey released on Friday showed.