The number of Americans who filed applications for unemployment benefits last week rose to the highest in almost two months, highlighting the Federal Reserve’s view the economy isn’t expanding fast enough to drive bigger job gains.

The evolution of the U.S. foreclosure crisis is increasingly diverging along state lines.

The Federal Reserve unleashed a series of bold and open-ended steps Thursday designed to stimulate the economy by boosting the stock market and making it cheaper for people to borrow and spend.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Oil climbed to a four-month high on concern that protests in the Middle East and North Africa may curb supply and on speculation that the Federal Reserve will unveil more stimulus measures.

The stock market staged a huge rally after investors got the aggressive economic help they wanted from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones industrial average is finishing up more than 200 points.

More than 3,500 South Carolina families have received assistance through a federally funded program designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage held steady this week, staying slightly above the lowest level on record. Low mortgage rates have aided a modest housing recovery.

The price of oil rose after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced steps to boost a U.S. economy it says is too weak to reduce high unemployment.

It is not exactly news that we live in an era of polarized politics. But Republicans and Democrats have come to agree on one issue: the essential need for cost-benefit analysis in the regulatory process.

Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc. is heading to Canada, starting in the fall of 2014, its first move outside the U.S.

Stocks in Europe and Asia were mixed on Thursday as markets waited to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve would stimulate the U.S. economy.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traded near its highest level in almost three weeks amid concern that protests in Yemen and Libya may threaten Middle East supplies and hopes that the Federal Reserve will renew stimulus efforts.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will decline for the first time in three days, as investors awaited a Federal Reserve announcement that may initiate a new round of bond buying.

A sharp rise in gasoline costs drove up wholesale prices last month by the most in more than three years. But outside energy and food, price gains were mild.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped to the highest level in two months, although the figures were skewed in part by Hurricane Isaac.

Greece's largest labor unions have called a general strike for Sept. 26 in response to a new government austerity package that is expected to worsen hardship in the recession-hit country.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar dropped to the weakest in seven months versus the yen amid speculation the Federal Reserve will announce it will buy bonds under a program of quantitative easing that tends to debase the currency.

Three international banks that backed out of $10 billion debt restructuring talks with an investment company controlled by Dubai's ruler said Thursday they are now pursuing legal action against the firm, dashing hopes of a consensual deal.

German President Joachim Gauck's office says he has signed into law the eurozone's permanent (euro) 500 billion ($645.5 billion) rescue fund and Europe's budget-discipline pact.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Infor US Inc., a provider of enterprise business applications software, set the interest rate it will pay on a $750 million term loan it’s seeking to refinance debt, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Gold topped $1,770 an ounce for the first time since February after the Federal Reserve announced a third round of round of quantitative easing to boost the U.S. economy and reduce unemployment.

Billionaire Ronald Perelman and a top New York City art dealer have traded lawsuits over several artworks including a sculpture of Popeye by Jeff Koons.

Sep. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Concentrate on the road. Look for unexpected stop signs nestled among leafy trees. Ignore a few salient facts that are knock-knock-knocking at your consciousness.

That cheeseburger on the value menu may end up costing more than you think.

Stein Mart Inc. said Thursday that it has received a letter from the Nasdaq that indicates its stock listing is not in compliance because the company didn't file a quarterly earnings form on time.

The Federal Reserve has lowered its growth forecast for this year but is more optimistic about the next two years. The brighter outlook likely reflects a series of bold stimulus measures that the Fed launched Thursday aimed at boosting the sluggish economy.

The U.S. federal budget deficit increased by $191 billion in August and has topped $1 trillion for the fourth straight year.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Companies may have to tap into their bank balances in order for U.S. economic growth to accelerate, according to Pierre Lapointe, Brockhouse & Cooper Inc.’s global macro strategist.

The chief executive of United Technologies Corp. said Thursday that share buybacks of up to $1 billion will resume in 2013, more than a year after repurchases were suspended as the conglomerate bought Goodrich Corp. for $18.4 billion.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Donna Guerin, a former partner in the defunct law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist, pleaded guilty in what the trial judge has called the biggest U.S. tax-fraud prosecution in history.

As I played around with the iPhone 5, I wondered what the late Steve Jobs would have thought about the latest twist on Apple's best-selling device.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Best Buy Co., trying to reverse slumping store sales, is reassigning about 2,000 loss-prevention employees in its U.S. locations to focus on selling customers more merchandise.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc., the tax-preparation company that emerged from bankruptcy last year, set the price on a $150 million term loan it’s seeking to refinance debt, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.

Neiman Marcus Inc. narrowed its fiscal fourth-quarter loss as the high-end department store chain's sales improved and it wasn't weighed down by costs from paying down debt, as it was last year.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. unveiled a taller, lighter and speedier iPhone that’s poised to become the fastest selling technology gadget in history -- even as competition accelerates in the $219.1 billion smartphone market.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., the world’s largest semiconductor maker, is betting that the growth of Internet connections in everything from passenger jets to vending machines will help reduce its reliance on chips for personal computers and data centers.

A Nevada judge cited what she called “serious violations of duties of candor” by Las Vegas Sands Corp. lawyers, and said she'll rule next week on possible fines against attorneys and perhaps the casino company itself.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a new insider trading law that would require nearly 30,000 federal workers to disclose details about their financial transactions on the Internet.

Perrigo, a maker of store brand over-the-counter drugs and infant formulas, is buying animal healthcare company Sergeant's Pet Care Products Inc. for $285 million as it diversifies into the pet care industry.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Digital Domain Media Group Inc., the bankrupt special-effects company behind the movies “Transformers” and James Cameron’s “Titanic,” may need to delay an auction for its main assets, a judge said.

If he ever writes a book about his stunning 20-year fraud scheme, disgraced Iowa businessman Russ Wasendorf Sr. must give the profits to the government that he fooled for so long.

Ford's board of directors has ended a scheduled meeting with no announcement on the company's CEO succession plan.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- As Neiman Marcus Group Inc. prepares to start selling its wares in China, the U.S. luxury retailer isn’t opening stores. It’s setting up shop on the Web.

The dollar fell against other major currencies after the Federal Reserve said Thursday that it will launch another round of bond purchases to help boost the U.S. economy.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices are poised to reach new highs in the next year amid global economic uncertainty and a lack of new supply, the biggest producers said.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve said it will expand its holdings of long-term securities with open-ended purchases of $40 billion of mortgage debt a month in a third round of quantitative easing as it seeks to boost growth and reduce unemployment.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has a simple message for banks about poorer Americans: They could be good customers, and their numbers are growing.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Governments should promote transparency and competition in the financial industry instead of seeking state ownership of banks that sacrifice efficiency and create market distortions, according to a World Bank report.

A customer in Shenzhen, China, took a brand new laptop out of its box and booted it up for the first time. But as the screen lit up, the computer began taking on a life of its own. The machine, triggered by a virus hidden in its hard drive, began searching across the Internet for another computer.

Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on Monday condemned the attack on Libya that killed the American ambassador and vowed to protect foreign embassies in Cairo, where police were using tear gas to disperse protesters at the U.S. mission.

Ireland has sold (euro) 500 million ($645 million) in three-month treasury bills at an unexpectedly low yield of just 0.7 percent, increasing hopes of a wider-scale return to normal borrowing within months.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Greece and the European Investment Bank agreed on the immediate disbursement of 750 million euros ($968 million) in loans to small and medium-sized enterprises and for transport, energy and education projects.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The level of moderate or worse drought in the lower 48 states rose last week to 64.2 percent of the region, up from 63.4 percent in the previous period, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Johnson & Johnson is hiring a Bayer Group executive for a new position overseeing J&J's troubled consumer health and manufacturing operations, as new CEO Alex Gorsky tackles key problems at the health care giant.

As its last major act before leaving Washington for the fall campaign, the House is voting to put the government on autopilot for six months.

The latest update on the nation's worst drought in decades shows that farmers bringing in their weakened corn crops caught some relief with recent rains that soaked much of middle America.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Sanofi's multiple sclerosis drug Aubagio late Wednesday for adults experiencing flare-ups of the neurological disorder.

Nintendo's upcoming Wii U gaming console will start at $300 and go on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 18, in time for the holidays, the company said Thursday.

New York City's Board of Health opened up a new, experimental front in the war on obesity Thursday, passing a rule banning sales of big sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, concession stands, and other eateries.

Medical billing and records software maker athenahealth Inc. is buying Healthcare Data Services LLC, a health care data analysis company, to expand its services for health care providers.

Beef Products Inc. sued ABC News, Inc. for defamation Thursday over its coverage of a meat product that critics dub “pink slime,” claiming the network misled consumers into believing it is unhealthy and unsafe.

Security was increased at American embassies and consulates around the world on Thursday following an attack that killed the U.S. ambassador in Libya, while the U.S. urged its citizens abroad to be vigilant.

The U.S. consulate in Berlin was evacuated as a precaution Thursday after an employee reported a strange smell from an envelope, but police said no dangerous materials were found in a sweep of the building.

Yemen's president has apologized to President Barack Obama for the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, by a mob angry over an anti-Islam film.

With a beloved ambassador dead and anti-American turmoil in Arab nations spreading, the presidential candidates are challenging each other's foreign policy credentials and squaring off over how the United States handles its place in the world.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- He may be worth $1.1 billion, but it’s no fun being John Henry right now.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Eric Clapton is selling a painting by Gerhard Richter valued at $20 million -- almost 20 times what he paid for it in 2001.