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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama signed a $24 billion economic stimulus bill into law Friday, giving tax incentives to prospective homebuyers and additional jobless benefits to those idled by the business slump.

WASHINGTON - Just when it was beginning to look a little better, the economy relapsed Friday with a return to double-digit unemployment for only the second time since World War II and warnings that next year will be even worse than previously thought.

In this economy, retailers are reluctant to invest in new locations. But with rents cheap, they're opening short-term stores for the holidays. Inside a retail phenomenon

WASHINGTON - Missed out on Cash for Clunkers? Congress has another deal for you: Buy a home before May 1 and collect up to $6,500 from the government. If you're a first-time homebuyer, get up to $8,000.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama made a last-minute personal appeal to Democrats to pass landmark health care legislation Saturday as the House voted to advance debate on a bill to expand coverage to millions of the uninsured.

NEW YORK - Oil prices tumbled Friday after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - Finance officials from rich and developing countries pledged Saturday to maintain emergency support for their economies until recovery is assured, but failed to reach a clear agreement to bear the cost of fighting climate change.

PARIS - Despite signs of an economic revival gathering pace around the globe, the millions of people laid off during the worst recession in 70 years are unlikely to see relief any time soon as joblessness is still climbing in many of the world's largest economies.

CHARLOTTE, N.C - Regulators on Friday shut banks in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and California, bringing the number of bank failures this year to 120 amid the struggling economy and a cascade of defaults on loans.

Our goal as college professors is to open students minds to new experiences so they can grow intellectually while they mature through the traditional four-year process. But we are also challenged to give students the immediate skills they will need once they graduate so that they can begin their professional careers and move away from the fry-o-later to the cubicle and beyond.

WASHINGTON - Can't pay the mortgage? You still might be able to stay in your home. Government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae is going to give borrowers on the verge of foreclosure the option of renting their homes for a year.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) on Friday said quarterly earnings tripled, as rising stock markets boosted its investment holdings and a quiet hurricane season contributed to higher insurance profit.

LOS ANGELES - A judge overturned a settlement allowing major outdoor advertising companies to convert more than 800 billboards in Los Angeles into digital displays, but declined to revoke permits already granted for about 100 conversions.

NEW YORK - AIG said Friday it was profitable for the second straight quarter as its core insurance operations continue to stabilize after the company's bailout by the government last year.

DES MOINES, Iowa - Over the last year it's become abundantly clear that the stock market can devastate even seemingly healthy retirement accounts. Even so, with the guaranteed income of traditional pensions disappearing, most investors have little choice.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent last month, a 26-1/2-year high, adding to pressure on the Obama administration to do more to tackle unemployment even as signs of recovery mount.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is expected to talk about the Fort Hood shootings and the double-digit unemployment figures at the White House later this morning.

NEW YORK - Investors undaunted by a surprisingly weak jobs report found enough positive news to nudge stocks higher Friday.

MILWAUKEE - A judge has tossed out a decision — for now at least — that could have cost PepsiCo Inc. $1.26 billion after the soft drink maker didn't respond to a lawsuit claiming it stole the idea for bottled water.

WASHINGTON - House Democratic leaders are offering a $1.2 trillion, 10-year health overhaul bill that expands coverage to millions of Americans. House Republicans have unveiled their alternative, after months of criticizing the Democrats' approach.

WASHINGTON - Emergency help for the jobless will be a huge windfall for Realtors, homebuilders, mortgage bankers and others, and that's no accident.

LONDON (AFP) - British Airways on Friday said the company's net loss more than quadrupled during its first half, forcing the carrier to slash an extra 1,200 jobs in an "essential" cost reduction programme.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fourteen people were charged with fraud and conspiracy in a dramatic widening of an insider trading scandal that has ensnared hedge fund managers, top Silicon Valley executives and a bevy of white-shoe advisers.

OMAHA, Neb. - Paper gains on derivative contracts helped Berkshire Hathaway Inc. triple its third-quarter profit as its insurance businesses did well, but Warren Buffett's company said Friday that many of its other operating businesses struggled.

BEIJING - China is offering to abolish import duties on some commodities from Africa and make sure Chinese exports to the continent are safe as part of a package to boost already thriving economic ties, China's commerce minister said in an article published Saturday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Freddie Mac , the second largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, on Friday posted a loss of $5 billion in the third quarter and predicted it would need more government support amid a "prolonged deterioration" in housing.

RICHMOND, Va. - The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has warned several companies to stop selling banned flavored cigarettes to U.S. consumers online.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - A Motorola Droid smart phone goes on sale Friday, joining the growing ranks of smart phones on the open-source operating system backed by Google.

WASHINGTON - Freddie Mac's losses narrowed to $6.3 billion in the third quarter, but the government-controlled mortgage finance company didn't need a federal cash infusion.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP posted a forecast-beating quarterly profit on Friday and said it is gearing up for more deals and IPOs as the lending and equity markets recover.