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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.

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

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.

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.

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.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As unemployment in the United States edges above 10 percent, anxious investors will look to earnings reports from major retailers for signs of life in the beaten-up consumer.

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.

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.

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.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose 3 percent for the week after ending Friday's session slightly higher, shrugging off government data showing the unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent -- the highest in 26-1/2 years.

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.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - Britain urged world governments on Saturday to consider a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, departing from long-held opposition, though there was little sign of the consensus needed to make it fly.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank regulators closed Gateway Bank of St. Louis, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Prosperan Bank, of Oakdale, Minnesota, on Friday, the 118th and 119th U.S. bank to fail this year.

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.

U.S. Verizon stores opened their doors at 7 a.m. Friday for the launch of Motorola's Droid handset, which many observers see as a credible threat to the Apple iPhone.

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.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said high unemployment rates show that economic recovery is still perilous and governments need to maintain stimulus as long as necessary to ensure sustained growth.

NEW YORK - Its TV and print ads poke fun at the bait-and-switch tactics of other banks. Its interest rates on CDs have been the most generous in the industry.

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 - It hurts more to be unemployed now than the last time the jobless rate hit 10 percent.

NEW YORK - The safe-haven dollar got an immediate boost Friday after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate rose above 10 percent, but then gave back its gains in choppy trading as investors figured that a weak economy meant the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates at their current near-zero range for a long time.

For the past five sessions, gold-mining stocks have enjoyed a rush.

WASHINGTON - House Democratic leaders say President Barack Obama, who made a quick trip to Capitol Hill, inspired their party to pass health care legislation.