NEW YORK

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton questioned rival Barack Obama's experience in handling a national security crisis on Friday as polls showed her losing ground to Obama ahead of Tuesday's contests in Texas and Ohio.

Barack Obama holds a slight lead on Hillary Clinton in Texas and has almost pulled even in Ohio before contests that could decide their Democratic presidential battle, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle poll released on Friday.

Americans are sleeping less and instead watching more TV and surfing the Internet

American International Group lost $5.29 billion in its fourth-quarter late Thursday as the insurance company took a charge related to credit derivatives.

American International Group Inc on Thursday posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss, missing Wall Street expectations after being hurt by a write-down of derivatives exposed to bad mortgage investments. The world's largest insurer said its fourth-quarter loss was $5.29 billion, or $2.08 a share, compared with a profit of $3.44 billion, or $1.31 a share, in the year-ago quarter.

MBIA Inc, the world's largest bond insurer, said it will stop guaranteeing asset-backed securities for six months and plans to split that business from its municipal bond unit, moves aimed at restoring stability in troubled credit markets.

Inflation accelerated in January in a worrying sign for the Federal Reserve's campaign to bolster the flagging economy, while a separate report on Wednesday showed more troubling signs for beleaguered housing market.

Could a series of bleak economic reports signal recession?

Treasuries rose on Friday after a report on plummeting U.S. consumer sentiment and drops in New York manufacturing increased concerns about a U.S. recession.

Hedge fund managers are backing politicians

Voters in 24 states make their choices in an unpredictable U.S. presidential campaign on Tuesday, with Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a close fight and Republican John McCain aiming for a knockout blow against Mitt Romney.

A federal judge ruled to extend the U.S. government's antitrust oversight of Microsoft for two more years, shy of the five-year extension sought by states accusing the company of continuing monopolistic behavior.

A New York state employee who had access to government-owned archives has been arrested on suspicion of stealing hundreds of historic documents, many of which he sold on eBay, authorities said on Monday.

Heath Ledgers relatives are expected to arrive from Australia on Friday as they prepare for the funeral of the son they refer to as the most amazing 'old soul' in a young man's body.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) on Wednesday revealed that it acquired a carriage for its MGM HD Channel on Verizon's FiOS TV service enabling it to transfer feature film hits from the MGM library to Verizon FiOS TV subscriber households in full high definition.

Shares of bond insurance firms rose on Wednesday on the chance that New York regulators may bail out the struggling firms.

Under growing pressure from law enforcers and parents, MySpace agreed Monday to implement several security measures to protect young users from sexual predators and bullies.

New York's attorney-general launched an antitrust investigation into the world's largest chipmaker on Thursday, following similar action in Japan, South Korea, and Europe.

Led by Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain, candidates fanned out across the country on Wednesday in a U.S. presidential race dramatically reshaped by their comeback wins in New Hampshire.

The number of calls to non-profits and mortgage counselors by people eager to avoid foreclosure on their homes is rising but solutions are not always simple.

Democrat Barack Obama rocketed to a 10-point lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire one day before their showdown in the state's presidential primary, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Monday.