Stocks fall for 3rd day as dollar strengthens
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market ended a down week with light selling as investors grew uneasy about a rising dollar and spiking demand for the safest government debt....

D.R. Horton sees 26 perecent spike in 4Q orders
Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc., saw new home orders spike 26 percent from a year ago in the latest quarter as buyers raced to close deals and take advantage of a federal tax credit. But a wider-than-anticipated loss fueled by write-downs sent shares tumbling more than 15 percent Friday....

More states add jobs, but many for temporary staff
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a sharp improvement, more than half of U.S. states added jobs in October, though economists said many of the gains likely occurred in temporary employment....

J.M. Smucker 2nd-quarter profit soars on coffee
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- J.M. Smucker Co. nearly tripled its profit in the second quarter as the addition of Folgers coffee gave a jolt to its lineup and lower commodity prices fattened its profit margins....

Chase drops arbitration from card contracts
BOSTON (AP) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Friday it is dropping a clause from its credit card contracts that required disputes with customers to be handled through binding arbitration, a move that could lead to consumers filing class-action and other lawsuits....

Regulators shut small Florida bank
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Florida banking regulators have shut down Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida, marking the 124th U.S. bank to succumb this year to the struggling economy and rising loan defaults....

Natural gas plunges 12 percent this month
NEW YORK (AP) -- Natural gas prices have dropped by more than 12 percent in the past month as the country continues to sip at its energy reserves and a balmy November allowed homeowners to leave the heat off....

EU extends Oracle/Sun review deadline until Jan 27
BRUSSELS (AP) -- European Union regulators said Friday that they have extended until Jan. 27 a deadline to wrap up their antitrust review of Oracle Corp.'s planned $7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc....

ALL BUSINESS: Economics 101, by way of toy hamster
NEW YORK (AP) -- In a world full of economic indicators, the best one during the holiday season may prove to be a furry toy hamster....

GE, Vivendi talks over NBC Universal stretch on
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A deal for Comcast Corp. to buy a controlling stake in NBC Universal and create one of the most powerful media companies in the world is taking longer than expected as the current owners tussle over price....