Reuters - The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday urged Congress to give his agency authority to oversee investment banks, even as a top Federal Reserve official said the central bank needed similar powers to do its job.

AP - Sales of new homes fell in June for the seventh time in the past eight months, but the decline was less than had been expected, raising faint hopes that the nation's severe housing recession could be approaching a bottom.

Reuters - Wachovia Corp shares fell as much as 10 percent on Friday after a downgrade by a Morgan Keegan & Co analyst, who said the stock's 73 percent rise in seven trading days wasn't justified in light of its credit problems.

Reuters - The Dow and S&P 500 moved into negative territory on Friday, erasing earlier gains after Standard & Poor's said it may cut the subordinated debt and preferred stock ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .

Reuters - Chrysler LLC's financial arm is planning to stop offering vehicle lease options to consumers and would focus on financing retail vehicle purchases, spokesman Bill Porter said on Friday.

Reuters - Consumer sentiment rebounded in July from a 28-year low and business investment rose unexpectedly last month, according to data on Friday that showed rare signs of resilience for the U.S. economy.

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.