AFP - South Korea's economy slowed substantially in the second quarter as a result of weakened domestic demand because of high prices of oil and raw materials, the central bank said Friday.

Reuters - Wachovia Corp , which posted a record $8.86 billion second-quarter loss Tuesday, said Chief Financial Officer Thomas Wurtz will resign from the fourth-largest U.S. bank after a successor is named.

Reuters - U.S. investment bank JP Morgan has held talks with potential partners about forming a consortium to break up British bank HBOS , the UK's Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

Reuters - Stocks tumbled more than 2 percent on Thursday after a report showing yet another drop in U.S. home sales prompted investors to take profits in financial shares, which had rallied over the past week.

Reuters - Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Thursday defended Microsoft Corp's need to make heavy investments in its Internet businesses but said the company was "done," for now, with pursuing Yahoo Inc.

AFP - Retail sales sank in June to record the largest monthly drop for 22 years, official data showed on Thursday, as consumers slashed spending amid an economic slowdown across the country.

AP - The number of newly laid off people filing claims for unemployment benefits bolted past 400,000 last week as companies trimmed their work forces to cope with a slowing economy and fallout from a collapsed housing market.

Reuters - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday charged global trading fund Optiver Holding BV with manipulating the NYMEX oil market in March 2007.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co posted a record $8.7 billion quarterly loss on Thursday as it wrote down the value of slumping truck and SUV operations and revamped plans in a bid to break its reliance on the gas-guzzlers that have been its franchise vehicles for a decade.

Reuters - Microsoft Corp will announce plans to expand its relationship with online social network Facebook to provide web search and search advertising, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Reuters - Jobless claims jumped last week and the pace of existing home sales tumbled to a 10-year low as slowing growth hit hiring and a glut of unsold homes weighed on the real estate market, data on Thursday showed.