Stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its highest level in more than four years, amid bets on central bank stimulus as American payrolls increased less than projected.

Apple Inc. is considering introducing an online service to stream music based on users’ tastes, two people with knowledge of the plans said, potentially competing with Pandora Media Inc.

Kraft said Friday its new North American food company will be poised to deliver long-term profit and revenue growth, while also returning cash to its shareholders.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., the homebuilder that faced a 91 percent chance of default last October as seen in derivatives trades, is winning over bondholders by reducing debt as housing prices improve.

It was a big week for gadget announcements as Amazon, Nokia and Motorola all tried to generate interest in their products before Apple's expected announcement of a new iPhone next Wednesday.

The British government’s plan to raise a tax on luxury-home purchases sparked a last-minute dash by real-estate brokers to wrap up deals before the deadline hit in March.

Laura Romero’s four-year-old son attends pre-school and her husband works at a Mexico City soda maker, so location was a top priority as they shopped for a home in the Western Hemisphere’s most populous metropolitan area. That’s why they shunned new developments.

The stock market followed one of its most exciting days of the year with a rather dull one Friday. Indexes barely rose following a weak jobs report, which increased hopes that the Federal Reserve would act next week to support the economy.

The price of oil turned higher Friday afternoon as concerns about a disappointing U.S. employment report gave way to the likelihood of action by the Federal Reserve.

It now has six months under its belt. Back in March, star bond trader Bill Gross launched an exchange-traded fund version of the PIMCO Total Return bond mutual fund. It was the most eagerly awaited ETF launch ever, due to Gross' credentials and the strong record of the world's largest mutual fund.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Oil advanced for a third day as U.S. payrolls increased less than expected in August, raising speculation that the Federal Reserve will boost stimulus measures to spur economic growth.

Feeling trapped under a mountain of student loan debt?

Will the Federal Reserve go big next week?

His convention over, President Barack Obama ran smack into the harsh reality of a bleak new report on the nation's unemployment outlook Friday. Republican rival Mitt Romney pounced on the disappointing jobs figures as fresh evidence that it's time to put someone new in the Oval Office.

The Kroger Co. said Friday that its profit dipped slightly in the second quarter, as the nation's largest traditional grocer faced higher expenses and an increased tax rate.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures trimmed gains after the government reported that the nation added fewer jobs than forecast last month, fueling concern the labor market is stagnating.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Oil pared gains as hiring slowed in the U.S. in August, fanning concern that demand will be reduced in the world’s largest crude consumer.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Payrolls rose less than projected in August and the unemployment rate declined as more Americans left the labor force, indicating the U.S. labor market is stagnating.

Leslie has weakened to a tropical storm as it stalls over the open Atlantic but could become a hurricane again before heading for a swing past Bermuda.

U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs last month, a weak figure that could slow the momentum President Barack Obama hoped to gain from his speech Thursday night to the Democratic National Convention.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- When Thomas Behling returned to his home state of Saxony-Anhalt in 2006, he was drawn by a job in the solar industry and the chance to participate in Germany’s renewable energy boom. He was fired in July.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- News Corp. agreed to buy Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd. for A$1.94 billion ($2 billion) to boost its stake in Australian pay television as billionaire Kerry Stokes weighs making a counter-offer.

If your lunch still consists of a bowl of Campbell's tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, chances are you grew up using a typewriter.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. said Friday that its net income jumped by nearly 50 percent in the second quarter, boosted by higher sales of its upscale yoga wear and a favorable tax adjustment.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Regal Lifestyle Communities Inc. seeks to raise about C$135 million ($138 million) in an initial public offering in October to buy seniors housing in Canada, according to Chief Executive Officer Simon Nyilassy.

Mylan Inc. plans to start selling a generic version of Pfizer Inc.'s overactive bladder drug Detrol LA in early 2014, as the two drugmakers said Friday they have resolved lawsuits over the patents supporting the product.

United Technologies Corp. on Friday backed its previous 2012 net income and revenue predictions.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Trulia Inc., an operator of a residential real estate listings website, plans to raise as much as $96 million in an initial public offering, aiming to capitalize on an improving U.S. housing market.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Kraft Foods Inc. shares fell the most in more than two years after Chief Financial Officer David Brearton told investors at a conference in Boston yesterday that 2012 and 2013 profit may be lower than expected.

Johnson & Johnson has given the Food and Drug Administration additional data to on its new anticlotting drug, in a second attempt to get approval for more uses.

A Delaware bankruptcy judge has cleared the way for creditors to vote on Solyndra LLC's reorganization plan.

Coconut bras aren't Hawaiian. Neither are grass skirts. Tiki bars? They're from California. Yet they're all among the most recognizable symbols of a Hawaiian vacation.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar weakened to a three-month low against the euro as U.S. employers added fewer jobs in August than forecast, boosting speculation the Federal Reserve will increase its monetary stimulus.

Experts and leaders gathered in Italy may disagree on the cure, but the malady seems clear: the world economy faces a “perfect storm” of risks that include prolonged crisis in a structurally flawed Europe, political paralysis pushing America off a “fiscal cliff,” a slowdown in the emerging economies drying up the last of global growth, and the spectacularly destabilizing prospect of war over Iran's nuclear program.

Regulators on Friday closed a small bank in Minnesota, bringing to 41 the number of U.S. bank failures this year.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian employment rose faster than economists forecast in August, more than recovering the prior month’s decline, on an increase in part-time positions.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The euro strengthened above $1.27 for the first time since June amid optimism a bond-purchase program announced by the European Central Bank will help contain the region’s debt crisis.

Ulta Beauty's fiscal second-quarter net income climbed 46 percent, buoyed by new products and strong results from new stores. The performance beat Wall Street's view and the company gave a full-year earnings outlook above analysts' estimates.

Insurance giant American International Group Inc. has raised approximately $2 billion from the sale of part of its stake in Asian insurer AIA Group Ltd.

General Motors says it will hire up to 500 people to staff a new computer center in Austin, Texas.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market stocks rose, sending the benchmark index to its biggest gain in six weeks, as investors speculated Chinese government spending and European Central Bank bond purchases will bolster the global economy.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Orange juice for November delivery rose 1.25 cents, or 1 percent, to $1.263 a pound at 8:14 a.m on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The price headed for the eighth straight gain, the longest rally since September 2010.

Intel is cutting its third-quarter revenue forecast due to softer-than-expected demand amid difficult economic conditions.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar extended gains against its U.S. peer as domestic employers added more jobs than forecast, adding to speculation Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will raise its target interest rate.

The Navy has been cited for safety violations that exposed hundreds of employees at an aircraft hangar in Coronado to toxic materials such as lead, cadmium and beryllium, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Thursday.

The San Bernardino City Council has voted to eliminate more than 100 jobs in order to bridge a $45.8 million budget deficit after the municipality filed for bankruptcy last month.

Coca-Cola's newest drink won't come in a bottle or a can. And people will only need a squirt or two to quench their thirst.

Spain gave no hints Friday on when it might make a formal bailout request to trigger a new European Central Bank bond buying program that could ease the pressures on its economy.

A driving force behind handbag purveyor Vera Bradley is stepping down.

Sears Holdings Corp. says it's waiving the fees that shoppers pay to open its interest-free pay-over-time program.

Carlyle Group said Friday that it plans to buy coal and solar power projects from investment bank Goldman Sachs.

The Paris bourse will drop PSA Peugeot Citroen from its CAC-40 index of leading French companies after a dismal year for the carmaker, the exchange operator said.

The U.S. job market still has miles to go just to get back to where it was before the Great Recession.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traded near the highest close this week as speculation that jobs growth in the U.S. is slowing countered optimism that a European Central Bank plan will address the region’s debt crisis.

A series of earthquakes collapsed houses and triggered landslides in a remote mountainous part of southwestern China on Friday, killing at least 50 people with the toll expected to rise. Damage was preventing rescuers from reaching some outlying areas, and communications were disrupted.

A bond-buying plan from the European Central Bank continued to support stocks Friday but the dollar slid after worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data lifted expectations that the Federal Reserve will back another monetary stimulus.

Jonathan Vilma, Scott Fujita and Will Smith are back in the NFL. For now.