Commercial banks and investment firms scaled back borrowing over the past week from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program, a hopeful sign that some credit stresses are easing.
New jobless claims fell more than expected last week but are stuck at elevated levels, while the number of people continuing to receive unemployment insurance approached 6 million, setting a record for the 10th straight week.
Wells Fargo & Co. surprised the markets Thursday morning in a good way, predicting record profits for the first quarter and reaffirming strong support for its Dec. 31 purchase of Wachovia Corp.
Apartheid victims who accused automakers and IBM of helping the government of South Africa engage in violent repression to enforce racial segregation in the 1970s and '80s can go to trial with their claims, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Federal agents searched three money-transfer businesses in Minneapolis on Wednesday, carrying away boxes of documents and copying computer hard drives for details of transactions between the U.S. and several African nations.
The economy's steep plunge appears to be ending, a top presidential adviser said Thursday, but he refused to predict how high the unemployment rate will rise before a sustainable recovery begins.
