Reuters - Analysts at Standard & Poor's Rating Services warned against mortgage-related debt products in internal e-mails that, in one case, called the complex financial deals "ridiculous," the Wall Street Journal reported in its weekend edition.

Reuters - Olympic sponsors are launching possibly the largest advertising and marketing campaign ever, aiming to etch their brands in the minds of a new generation of Chinese consumers for far beyond the upcoming Games.

Reuters - Verizon Communications Inc and two big unions kept talking after a labor contract covering 65,000 workers expired on Saturday and the unions said they made progress toward a deal, averting a strike threat.

Reuters - U.S. insurer Allstate Corp is expected to submit a bid for Royal Bank of Scotland's insurance arm, but the offer could be below what the bank expects, the Financial Times website reported on Friday.

Reuters - Wall Street could be in for more volatility next week as investors brace for a new batch of key earnings reports and the U.S. Federal Reserve's assessment of the economy.

Reuters - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo plans to imminently charge Citigroup Inc , accusing it of fraudulently marketing and selling auction-rate securities, and destroying documents that had been subpoenaed.

Reuters - Yahoo Inc's board of directors won strong backing from shareholders at its annual meeting on Friday, with Jerry Yang, the company's embattled CEO, receiving 85 percent of the vote in his favor.

AP - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, denied a report Friday that it had pressured employees to vote against Democrats in November because of worries that a bill the party supports would make it easier for workers to unionize.

AP - The nation's unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 5.7 percent in July as employers cut 51,000 jobs, dashing the hopes of an influx of young people looking for summer work.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc said on Friday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a formal probe into possible violations of federal securities laws in connection with the sale of auction-rate securities.

Reuters - The U.S. unemployment rate hit its highest level in four years during July as employers cut jobs for a seventh straight month, though less severely than predicted, a Labor Department report showed on Friday.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Friday as a rise in oil prices and a hefty quarterly loss from General Motors stoked fear that the economy is slouching toward recession and soured the outlook for corporate earnings.

Reuters - General Motors Corp reported a $15.5 billion quarterly loss on Friday as North American sales dropped by 20 percent and resale prices for SUVs coming off lease plunged.