MARKETS / FINANCE

Government programs to fight the U.S. home foreclosure crisis look increasingly inadequate and should be reworked, expanded and supplemented with new ideas, a congressional watchdog said in a report on Friday.

Stock index futures extended losses on Friday as the U.S. dollar's rebound pressured global commodity prices and weighed on natural resources shares.

A British UFO eccentric, wanted in the United States for breaking into NASA and Pentagon computers in the biggest military hack of all time, lost his latest battle to avoid extradition on Friday.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as a pullback in commodity prices weighed on natural resource shares as the U.S. dollar rebounded.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as a pullback in commodity prices weighed on natural resource shares as the U.S. dollar rebounded.

China's key stock indexclosed up 4.76 percent on Friday, its third-biggest daily gainthis year, as the market played catch-up with a strong globalrally during the country's eight-day National Day holiday.

Canadian employers hired six times more workers than expected in September, knocking down the unemployment rate for the first time since July 2008 in another sign the economy is rebounding from a deep recession.

Lenders trying to seize control of the parent company of two bankrupt Philadelphia newspapers won a judge's approval to use money owed to them as part of their bid, a move that could deliver the papers to their hands.

Europe's largest telecoms company, Telefonica (TEF.MC), announced a bigger than expected dividend on Friday despite a major planned acquisition, with an upbeat business outlook justifying its open-handedness in the downturn.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as a retreat in commodity prices weighed on natural resource shares after the U.S. dollar rebounded.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as a retreat in commodity prices weighed on natural resource shares after the U.S. dollar rebounded.

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher speaks before the CATO Institute 27th Annual Monetary Policy Conference: Restoring Global Financial Stability, 1645 EST/2145 GMT. Speech topic, audience/media Q&As TBA.

Stock futures point to a mixed start on Friday for U.S. shares, following gains on Thursday.

European equities edged lower on Friday, with the key index hovering around 1,000 points, as weaker miners offset telecom shares that rose after Telefonica (TEF.MC) offered bigger-than-expected dividends.

Britain's top shares were down 0.1 percent around midday on Friday, with falls in mining stocks just outweighing modest gains in oil majors and drugmakers during a largely directionless session.

Stock index futures point to a mixed start on Friday for U.S. shares, following gains on Thursday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is contemplating accessing money market funds through clearing banks or the creation of a facility to drain cash added to the financial system, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the plans.

Government programs to fight the U.S. home foreclosure crisis look increasingly inadequate and should be reworked, expanded and supplemented with new ideas, a congressional watchdog said in a report on Friday.

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is questioning the positive conclusions given to Citigroup Inc's management team in a government-mandated review in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.

One of two former Bear Stearns managers indicted for fraud over the collapse of hedge funds in 2007 feared a blow up risk to investors as early as November 2006, according to an email released on Thursday.

James Simons, a mathematics professor who became one of the best paid hedge fund managers in the world, is retiring as chief executive of his Renaissance Technologies firm on Jan 1, a person briefed in the matter said.

Prosecutors will not be allowed to suggest to a jury in the trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers that they believe one defendant tried to hide certain email evidence, a U.S. judge ruled on Thursday.

A top U.S. labor group on Thursday asked the Obama administration's pay czar to stop any retirement payments to Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday that while the U.S. central bank's vast support for the economy will likely be needed for a while, the Fed must remove that help as the economy heals to ward off inflation.

Security software maker Sophos Inc is introducing free programs that prevent sensitive data from getting outside corporate firewalls, taking on products sold by Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc.

The United States slipped from first to third place after the U.K. and Australia in a ranking of financial development released by the World Economic Forum on Thursday, as the global financial crisis badly hurt bank stability in developed countries.

A lower reading in the Unemployment Rate for September yesterday saw the Australian Dollar rally hard in local trade.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as a surprising quarterly profit from Alcoa Inc got third-quarter earnings off to a strong start.

The number of U.S. workers filing new jobless claims hit a 9-month low last week, and retailers posted their first monthly sales gain in over a year, easing fears recovery from recession would be unsustainable.