Reuters - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc struck a deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to buy back billions of dollars of auction-rate securities, in a settlement little different from one the bank reached a day earlier with several states.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rallied on Friday to score their best daily gain in two weeks as hopes that Lehman Brothers may attract a major investor lifted financial stocks while a plunge in oil prices soothed worries about inflation and consumer spending.

Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday said the stronger dollar and lower oil prices, along with the weak economy, should curb inflation, in a hint that interest rates would stay on hold, though he warned the inflation outlook is "highly uncertain."

Reuters - A major credit rating agency cut the preferred share rating on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac amid mounting concern about the ability of the two largest U.S. home funding providers to access capital, in the latest blow before a widely expected government bailout.

Reuters - Moody's Investors Service on Friday cut its ratings on the preferred stock of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on concern that market turmoil has hurt their access to capital.

Reuters - Stocks advanced on Friday on hopes that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc , the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, might attract a major investor, fueling gains in the battered financial sector.

Reuters - Warren Buffett said the economy is still in a recession and unlikely to improve before 2009 but that stocks appear better valued than a year ago.

Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday said the stronger dollar and lower oil prices, along with the weak economy, should curb inflation, in a hint that interest rates would stay on hold, though he warned the inflation outlook is "highly uncertain."

Reuters - Any effort by the Treasury Department to backstop Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would seek to maintain the companies as shareholder-owned enterprises, a source familiar with Treasury thinking said on Friday.

Reuters - Gap Inc reported a 50 percent jump in quarterly net income on Thursday, beating Wall Street estimates, as cost-cutting, lower inventories and other moves that boosted profit offset declining sales at its family of clothing stores.

Reuters - Highland Capital Management LP is trying to prevent Delphi Corp from borrowing an additional $300 million from former parent General Motors Corp , court documents showed.

Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tackles financial stability in a key speech on Friday but economists doubt he will provide solid clues about future policy action to calm the credit crunch.

Reuters - State-run Korea Development Bank said on Friday Lehman Brothers was one of its options for acquisitions, reviving expectations that the U.S. investment bank might still bring in a large investor.