UNITED STATES

The number of U.S. home owners that have mortgage debts that are higher than the actual value of the property, has reached approximately 33 percent, according to online real estate service, Zillow.com

The White House has for the past eight years commemorated the National Day of Prayer with a service in the East Room, this year however will be different as President Obama decided against holding a public ceremony.

The pace of private-sector U.S. job losses slowed dramatically last month, while future planned layoffs also declined, and the hard-hit housing sector showed signs of improvement last week.

Picking over the carcasses of bankrupt companies is tempting for private equity firms, but the more traditional buyout shops are showing caution bidding on assets entangled in the courts, experts say.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a private sector reading on the labor market signaled unemployment may be receding and leaked bank stress test results suggested most banks are healthier than thought.

Ford Motor Co's restructuring is on track and the automaker has sufficient liquidity to fund the plan, which includes converting plants and investing in future products, company executives said on Wednesday.

Twelve million new zombie computers have been hijacked by cyber-criminals since January, according to a report by anti-virus software company McAfee.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Wednesday, led by bank shares, after media reports suggesting some major banks, including JP Morgan Chase & Co , won't have to raise capital under government stress tests.

Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, which produces about 25 percent of domestic oil production and 15 percent of natural gas output, could boom more than 1.8 million barrels per day by 2013, according to the government research, however its natural gas will likely to decrease.

Oil settled above $56 a barrel on Wednesday, as a surprise drop in U.S. gasoline and a slowdown in private sector job losses in April boosted hopes for a turnaround in the economy.

Ford Motor Company said today it will invest $550 million to transform a former light trucks plant in Michigan to a modern-green facility to produce fuel-efficient small cars such as the next generation Focus and its battery-electric version.

Wind and solar energy projects currently proposed for lands owned by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management will be ready for construction by the end of 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said.

U.S. mortgage applications rose last week even as interest rates jumped to their highest levels since mid-March, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Home values in the United States extended their fall in the first quarter, with more than one in five homeowners now owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved bidding procedures for the rapid sale of most of Chrysler's assets, over objections from a group of lenders who called the accelerated timetable an absurdity.

Luxury boat makers are trying to survive the global financial storm by slashing prices and creating bargains for millionaires looking to play off Asia's coastlines.

More than twenty of the largest subprime mortgage lenders relied on financing from U.S. banks that are now relying on billions of dollars in rescue funds, a report release on Wednesday concludes.

The Dow and S&P 500 gained on Wednesday on economic optimism spurred by a jump in bank shares as investors bet that capital shortfalls will be manageable, plus reassuring labor market data and Walt Disney's better-than-expected profit.

Amazon.com Inc introduced on Wednesday a larger, souped-up version of its Kindle electronic reader designed for students, academics and newspaper readers, but its $489 price tag could cap sales.

Oil rose above $56 a barrel on Wednesday, after news that private sector job losses slowed in April and government data showing an unexpected drawdown in gasoline stocks last week boosted hopes for a turnaround in the economy.

The Dow and S&P 500 gained on Wednesday on reassuring labor market data and Walt Disney's better-than-expected profit, while the Nasdaq dipped as investors took profits on Apple and other bellwether names.