Unemployment rates fell last month in nearly all of the battleground states that will determine the presidential winner, giving President Barack Obama fresh fodder to argue that voters should stick with him in an election focused squarely on the economy.

Regulators on Friday closed two small banks in Florida and one in Missouri, bringing to 46 the number of U.S. bank failures this year.

Stocks fell, giving benchmark indexes their biggest declines since June, as Microsoft Corp. and General Electric Co. results missed estimates and euro-area leaders failed to discuss aid for Spain at a summit.

The new house is only 4 feet wide, but it comes with a bathroom, a kitchen and a bedroom, and its first tenant, an Israeli writer, will move in this weekend.

McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain by sales, said third-quarter profit fell 3.5 percent as sales growth slowed at U.S. stores.

The release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system is a week away, and consumers are in for a shock. Windows, used in one form or another for a generation, is getting a completely different look that will force users to learn new ways to get things done.

Poor corporate earnings reports pounded the stock market Friday in a sour end to an otherwise strong week of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points for its worst day in four months.

The Appleseed Fund is unusual, and not just because of its strict socially-responsible investing mandate.

A third person has pleaded guilty in South Florida federal court to taking part in a $39 million mortgage fraud scheme.

A longshore workers union has filed a promised lawsuit over a plan to build a new Seattle sports arena close to port and industrial operations.

A Las Vegas developer has been bounced between tribal and federal court in an effort to protect his financial interest in the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a popular glass bridge that extends from the canyon's edge on tribal land in western Arizona.

Legg Mason Inc.’s Bill Miller, who beat the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for a record 15 years before crashing on bank stocks, is seeking redemption as a housing bull.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes held near a two-year high in September, restrained by a lack of supply that is pushing prices higher.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Lowe’s Cos. is seeking an eventual successor to Chief Executive Officer Robert Niblock as it hires chiefs for merchandising and supply-chain operations.

A sketchy agreement on how to create a single European banking supervisor combined with a run of disappointing U.S. corporate earnings to hit markets Friday at the end of what's been a fairly upbeat week.

Nike forgave Tiger Woods after he apologized for cheating on his wife. It welcomed back Michael Vick once he served time for illegal dog-fighting. But the company dropped Lance Armstrong faster than the cyclist could do a lap around the block.

Unemployment rates fell or held steady last month in nine key swing states at the center of this year's presidential election.

Chipotle's stock is taking a big hit from investors worried that years of lightning-fast growth are over.

Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., whose 25,000 staff provide consulting services to the U.S. government, has dropped BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. as a smartphone supplier.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gold fell in New York and headed for a second weekly decline as improving economic data from the U.S. to China damped speculation of more government stimulus, reducing demand for the metal as an alternative investment.

Stock futures are ending the week on a down note after a pair of major tech companies rattled markets with subpar performances during the most recent quarter.

President Barack Obama's newest campaign ad shows challenger Mitt Romney saying he'd “be delighted” to sign a bill banning abortion.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market stocks fell, paring the biggest weekly rally in more than a month, as disappointing earnings at Microsoft Corp. dragged down computer companies and foreign investment in China fell more than economists forecast.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell for the first time in five days, U.S. index futures slipped and Treasuries climbed as General Electric Co. posted sales that missed estimates and euro-area leaders agreed on a timetable for banking regulation. Industrial metals declined.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Copper traders who a week ago were the most bearish in four months are now the most bullish in a year after economic reports signaled accelerating growth from China to the U.S.

Optimism about an economic recovery is showing up in the U.S. furniture industry, a sector that's lost business as pinched consumers postponed big-ticket purchases.

The fungus found in tainted steroid shots matches the one behind the national meningitis outbreak that has killed 20 people, federal health officials said Thursday.

Internet phone company MagicJack VocalTec Ltd. reported a third-quarter profit on Friday, reversing a small loss a year earlier, thanks to sharply higher revenue and lower expenses.

A new study says funding for startups declined 12 percent in the July-September period as venture capitalists spent less money on fewer deals.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Honeywell International Inc. reported a third-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates and cut its full-year sales forecast on weaker demand for aerospace parts and falling auto production in Europe.

It's been 43 months since the last deadly airline crash in the United States, the longest period without a fatal domestic accident since commercial aviation expanded after World War II. That sounds like unvarnished good news, but one consequence of having such a remarkable record is that it's difficult to justify imposing costly new safety rules on the economically fragile industry.

ManpowerGroup's third-quarter net income fell 21 percent as the staffing company's results continue to be pressured by softer foreign currencies. But the results beat Wall Street expectations and its fourth-quarter earnings forecast topped analysts' estimates.

Technology and engineering firm The Shaw Group Inc. said Friday that it turned a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter. A year ago it took a loss following a series of charges.

AT&T Inc., the largest phone company in the U.S., said on Friday that it is seeking government approval to contribute a stake in its wireless business worth $9.5 billion to the trust that pays pension benefits for its 360,000 retirees.

Total U.S. money market mutual fund assets rose $5.84 billion to $2.568 trillion for the week that ended Wednesday, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Shares of Biogen Idec Inc. continued to slump Friday after the company said the Food and Drug Administration has delayed a decision on its multiple sclerosis pill BG-12.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. dropped to their lowest point in more than three years on Friday.

Shares of HGTV and Food Network owner Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. rose nearly 6 percent before giving back most of the gains on Friday after the death of a grandson of founder Edward W. Scripps prompted speculation that the family might sell its controlling stake.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. is planning to end a deal to resell high-end storage computers from Violin Memory Inc., in a potential blow to the company as it prepares for an initial public offering.

Yahoo Inc. said it will close its South Korean web portal and an Internet advertising business, cutting its losses in a market where it has struggled for over a decade.

Poor corporate earnings reports pounded the stock market Friday in a sour end to an otherwise strong week of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points for its worst day in four months.

European leaders took a step toward creating a single supervisor for banks in countries that use the euro on Friday but refused to pin down a start date.

A satellite company says signal-jamming that has affected the BBC and other broadcasters is coming from Syria.

A gunman opened fire at a central Florida beauty salon Thursday, killing three women and wounding the manager, who had asked for a restraining order against him, police said. After the rampage, the gunman went to a friend's house and killed himself.

Millions of Americans preparing to survive an earthquake ducked under tables and covered their heads Thursday as part of the annual “Great ShakeOut” drill.

Nike forgave Tiger Woods after he apologized for cheating on his wife. It welcomed back Michael Vick once he served time for illegal dog-fighting. But the company dropped Lance Armstrong faster than the cyclist could do a lap around the block.

A European committee has endorsed the use of Eli Lilly and Co.'s imaging agent Amyvid for helping to diagnose Alzheimer's disease.

Spain's main trade unions on Friday called a general strike for Nov. 14, coinciding with similar work stoppages in Portugal and Greece, to protest government-imposed austerity measures and labor reforms.

An index of economic conditions in 10 Midwest and Western states jumped this month after three months of drought-induced doldrums.

U.S. sales of previously occupied homes fell in September after hitting a two-year high in August, in part because there were fewer homes available for sale.

E-Trade Financial's stock fell more than 8 percent on Friday after the company posted a surprising third-quarter loss.

Foreign investment in China fell again in September and a government spokesman said Friday it was too early to forecast a recovery in trade.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Oil fell for a second day as equities declined and the euro retreated against the dollar.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. reported quarterly results yesterday that fell short of analysts’ predictions, adding to evidence that personal-computer sales are being squeezed by anemic demand and competition from tablets.

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations peace envoy, arrived in Damascus a day after Syrian warplanes bombed a rebel-held northern town, killing at least 28 people.

President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney scored big laughs at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner, an annual fundraiser at New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel for Catholic charitable work that has drawn presidential candidates since World War II.

A judge ruled Friday that attorneys for a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer can inspect the school records and social media postings of the unarmed teenager he is accused of murdering.