Rays of hope from reports on mortgage rates and jobless claims helped shake Wall Street out of its funk.

Nearly 900 workers at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire are sacked, following unofficial strike action at the plant.

Setanta must make payments to the Premier League by Friday or risk losing its Premier League coverage.

The Treasury secretary said the Federal Reserve?s powers would not expand greatly under a planned reform of financial regulation.

Nearly 900 workers at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire are sacked, following unofficial strike action at the plant.

House builder Taylor Wimpey is 'encouraged' by stability in the UK housing market, saying a 'severe' downturn should now be avoided.

Porsche sees its nine-month unit sales slump by more than a quarter after demand is hit by the worldwide recession.

Thailand's exports slumped by a quarter as demand for Thai goods overseas continued to drop during the downturn.

One of the UK's largest milk producers may close its final-salary pension scheme to its existing members.

Reuters - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday, as stocks were poised to add to the previous session's gains.

A crackdown on credit limits by card companies is squeezing the nation?s small businesses, exacerbating the problems caused by a stagnant economy.

The current dispute between the two carmakers is but the latest in a history of squabbles between the Porsche and Piëch clans.

A string of upbeat economic reports reinforced hopes of a recovery in the U.S. economy by year?s end and helped arrest Asia?s four-day slide.

U.S. computer makers say Beijing has not backed down from requiring Internet filtering software on all machines sold in China after July 1.

The sacking of nearly 900 construction workers at Lindsey Oil Refinery prompts a series of walkouts at other sites.

Reuters - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday as the U.S. dollar edged lower and commodities prices rose.

BusinessWeek Online - The housing crisis is creating ghost towns of once-bustling communities like Merced. In largely abandoned neighborhoods, paved sidewalks and driveways lead to empty lots strewn with utility coils. Unfinished frames with rotting rafters and rusted hinges sit alongside occupied homes. Roughly 40% of the homes in Merced are considered distressed, meaning owners are behind on their mortgage payments or can't make them at all. The toll is expected to rise, even though California extended its moratorium on foreclosures for another 90 days.

AP - Auto retailer CarMax says its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 2.7 percent on a double-digit sales drop. Its results still beat Wall Street expectations.

The current dispute between the two carmakers is but the latest in a history of squabbles between the Porsche and Piëch clans.

The Chinese government said that the Chinese-language Web site of Google was linking too often to pornographic and vulgar content.

Shares jumped after the open on Friday with heavy volume and volatile trading expected throughout the day, hich marks the simultaneous expiration of options contracts.

Engines are a safer bet that aircraft during a recession

Reuters - Stocks rose on Friday as a recent spate of improving economic data beckoned investors back into equity markets for a second day, but analysts warned sentiment remained fragile.

Reuters - A 'distressingly slow' U.S. housing recovery, with inflation-adjusted home values expected to decline over the next five years, makes it unlikely that housing wealth will drive consumer spending in the next decade, a Reuters/University of Michigan survey found.

AP - Auto retailer CarMax Inc. said Friday its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 2.7 percent on a double-digit sales drop, a loss in its auto financing arm and charges related to loans, but still beat Wall Street expectations.

R. Allen Stanford and four others have been indicted in a fraud case, a federal prosecutor said on Friday.

Hollywood has its red-carpet premieres. The NFL has the opening kickoff celebration. For technology fans, Apple's rollout of its latest devices are as good as it gets.

The uncertainties of a chronic illness can include job insecurity. It pays to know the rules.

Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford is charged over a $7bn scheme to defraud investors, the US justice department says.

Money is at the heart of a possible F1 split

The past week has seen a big jump in the cost of fixed-rate mortgages to new borrowers, says Moneyfacts.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Friday as Microsoft lifted technology shares following positive comments from Goldman Sachs, and bets on a recovering global economy.

Reuters - Switzerland and the United States have reached agreement on a double taxation treaty, the Swiss finance ministry said on Friday, a key step toward removal from a list of tax havens.

Reuters - Berkshire Hathaway Inc's (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) General Re Corp and other companies have won dismissal of lawsuit accusing them of helping American International Group Inc defraud investors.

R. Allen Stanford and four others, including an Antiguan regulator, were indicted on charges related to a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, the Justice Department said.

While gains in technology and health care shares are helping to support a cautious market, stocks were mixed Friday afternoon, unable to hold on to gains.

Switzerland agrees a new bilateral framework on divulging personal tax details with the US, as it eases banking secrecy.

NYSE Euronext is to acquire a 20% stake in Qatar Exchange for $200m, in a bid to boost business in the region.

Dublin-based firm O'Briens Sandwich Bars goes into administration, but hopes most stores can remain open.

Reuters - The Nasdaq rose on Friday, boosted by positive broker comments on Microsoft Corp, while the S&P 500 and Dow were pressured by energy shares as the price of oil eased.

While gains in technology and health care shares are helping to support a cautious market, stocks were mixed Friday afternoon, unable to hold on to gains.

The two countries have agreed to increase the amount of tax information they share to help crack down on offshore tax evasion.

The unemployment rate jumped over 10 percent last month, the first time that regional threshold has been broken in about 25 years.

Business Minister Lord Mandelson says the US government has given a 'positive response' to his case for continued GM production in the UK.

Reuters - The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rose on Friday as positive broker comments on Microsoft boosted technology shares, but the major averages lost ground weekly for the first time in five weeks.

Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co said it expects to record a $1.1 billion charge in its second-quarter results after returning $25 billion in taxpayer funds to the U.S. government.

Reuters - A congressional committee said on Friday it has served the Federal Reserve with a second subpoena for documents related to Bank of America Corp's purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed Herb Allison, the former chief executive of mortgage finance company Fannie Mae, as assistant Treasury secretary to oversee the government's $700 billion bank bailout fund.

AP - State personal income tax collections dropped 26 percent nationwide through first four months of this year compared with a year ago, putting many states' already-shaky budgets into deeper trouble, a research institute reported.

As demand for luxury sweaters erodes, the ripples hit Inner Mongolia, where goat farms and factories are pinched by lower prices and fewer sales.

A crackdown on credit limits by card companies is squeezing the nation?s small businesses, exacerbating the problems caused by a stagnant economy.

JPMorgan Chase disclosed that it expected to record a $1.1 billion charge in its second-quarter results after returning $25 billion in taxpayer funds to the federal government.

Some consumers find that their contact list gets mined and used after they provide certain e-mail information to some Web sites.

Reuters - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on Friday as positive broker comments on Microsoft boosted technology shares, but the major averages lost ground for the week for the first time in five weeks.

Reuters - The operators of anonymous stock trading venues called 'dark pools' defended their existence on Friday, but conceded they could be more transparent after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warned they posed 'emerging risks.'

As demand in the West for luxury sweaters erodes, the impact is felt on goat farms in Inner Mongolia.

Years of family intrigue factored into the drama when Porsche shifted from Volkwagen?s predator to its prey.

For technology fans, Apple?s release of its latest devices are as good as it gets.

Some consumers find that their contact list gets mined and used after they provide certain e-mail information to some Web sites.

The unemployment rate jumped over 10 percent last month, the first time that regional threshold has been broken in about 25 years.

Reuters - U.S. regulators closed three small banks on Friday, bringing the number of bank failures to 40 so far this year as the recession and delinquent loans erode the health of financial institutions.

AP - Herbert Allison, the former head of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae, has been confirmed to oversee the government's $700 billion bank bailout program.

Retailers? reinvention includes more regionalization of merchandise and more midpriced items at high-end stores.

Years of family intrigue factored into the drama when Porsche shifted from Volkwagen?s predator to its prey.

A group of General Motors bondholders and some of the automaker?s labor unions objected to G.M.?s plan to sell its assets to a new company that could emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Ajay Banga, the head of Citigroup?s Asia Pacific region, is leaving the troubled bank for a top management post at MasterCard.

A court seized the Norwegian telecommunications company?s stake in VimpelCom after it refused to pay a $1.7 billion fine in a legal dispute with a Russian cellphone company.

The move to regulation of tobacco by the Food and Drug Administration has happened in part because of the effort of a former cigarette executive.

Reuters - Without further signs of life in the lackluster economy or hints from the Federal Reserve the outlook is improving, stocks' three-month rally may run into more obstacles next week.

Reuters - Bank of America Corp said on Friday retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks and retired Navy Adm. Joseph Prueher have resigned from its board, meaning more than a third of its board has stepped aside since late April.

The fall in the stock market and the relatively short time window for some investors has analysts giving conflicting advice.

The fragrance industry is hoping that detailed retail information will help it turn around a sales slowdown.

One executive, John Lesher, left his post as president of the motion picture group and the other, Brad Weston, left as president of production.

The largest of the banks closed on Friday was the Cooperative Bank of Wilmington, N.C., with $970 million in assets and $774 million in deposits.

Mr. Houghtaling?s device, developed in 1958, was a ubiquitous presence in the roadside America of the 1960s and ?70s.

Nokia Siemens Networks agreed to pay $650 million for the wireless unit of the bankrupt phone-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corporation.

Yahoo said on Friday that laying off nearly 700 workers would cost $30 million to $34 million in severance pay and other related expenses.

The Bank of America Corporation said Friday that Gen. Tommy R. Franks, retired, of the Army and Adm. Joseph W. Prueher, retired, of the Navy have resigned from its board.

An optimistic sales outlook from the Sealy Corporation, the mattress maker, set off a 22 percent increase in its share price on Friday.

CarMax, the car retailer, said on Friday that its quarterly profit fell 2.7 percent on lower sales and increased costs at its financing arm.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune?s main lenders will become its new owners and choose new management.

JPMorgan Chase said that it expected to record a $1.1 billion charge against its second-quarter earnings after paying the Treasury Department back $25 billion in taxpayer money.