AP - The outlook for the back-to-school shopping season seemed grim Thursday, as retailers' July sales reports showed an increasing shift toward buying necessities like food and household supplies at discounters and away from discretionary spending on clothing.

AP - Wall Street retreated Thursday after weekly unemployment claims jumped to a six-year high and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other retailers reported disappointing sales, touching off renewed fears that a pullback in consumer spending will damage the economy. The Dow Jones industrials fell about 120 points.

Reuters - American International Group Inc said on Thursday potential cash losses on its portfolio of credit default swaps tied to risky mortgage debt could be as high as $8.5 billion, much more than previously disclosed.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Thursday as insurer American International Group and Citigroup weighed on the financial sector, while lower-than-expected July sales by Wal-Mart Stores Inc raised concerns about consumer spending and profit outlook.

Reuters - Claims for jobless aid rose last week and big retailers had disappointing sales in July, reports showed on Thursday, but a gauge of future home sales rose in a hopeful sign for the battered housing sector.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc agreed to buy back more than $7 billion of illiquid auction-rate securities and pay a $100 million civil fine to settle charges it marketed the debt fraudulently.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Wednesday, building on the previous day's big gains, as a further drop in oil prices and a reassuring outlook from Cisco Systems overshadowed persistent credit concerns.

Reuters - HSBC Holdings (0005.HK) on Thursday denied a South Korean media report saying it had agreed with U.S. private equity firm Lone Star to set a new deadline for a $6.3 billion deal for control of Korea Exchange Bank.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp said on Thursday it was considering further price increases, but would do nothing that slowed customer traffic into its global network of stores.

Reuters - Freddie Mac , one of the major players in the U.S. mortgage market, on Wednesday posted its fourth straight quarterly loss as it braced for a prolonged housing market slump by setting aside twice as much money for bad loans and cutting its dividend by at least 80 percent.

Reuters - American International Group Inc posted its third consecutive quarterly net loss of more than $5 billion on Wednesday as it wrote down bad mortgage-related investments, sending its shares down almost 8 percent.

AP - Retailers preparing for a difficult back-to-school season are getting creative in their attempts to entice shoppers into the stores — aggressively introducing new products, slashing prices and amping up marketing in the battle for parents' bucks.