Reuters - Oil dropped to a three-month low on Friday as the dollar surged and concerns about global economic growth weighed on demand expectations.

Reuters - U.S. consumer credit expanded at the fastest rate in seven months in June as Americans turned to credit cards and consumer loans to maintain spending in the face of rising food and energy costs, a government report on Thursday showed.

Reuters - Citigroup and Merrill Lynch said they would buy back billions of dollars of illiquid auction-rate securities from retail clients, and Citigroup agreed to pay a $100 million fine to settle charges it fraudulently misled investors about the debt's risk.

Reuters - UBS AG , Switzerland's biggest bank, may pay more than Citigroup Inc or Merrill Lynch & Co to settle state and federal claims that it fraudulently sold auction-rate securities, Bloomberg reported, citing a person who briefed on the negotiations.

Reuters - General Motors Corp said on Thursday it expects to spend $900 million over the next few years to adjust its manufacturing capacity, including closing plants and reducing output.

Reuters - Google Inc's 5 percent stake in Time Warner Inc's AOL unit may be worth less than the $1 billion the Web company paid for it in 2006, Google warned in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Reuters - Royal Bank of Scotland fell to a first-half loss of 691 million pounds ($1.35 billion), one of the biggest losses in UK corporate history but not as bad as expected, after taking a 5.9 billion writedown on the value of risky assets.

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.