Reuters - Oil and natural gas companies shut down production across the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday to prepare for the worst hurricane to hit the U.S. oilpatch since 2005, as coastal refineries braced for possible floods.

Reuters - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is seen as a strong advocate for opening new areas to oil drilling, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but has taken a hard line in negotiations with oil companies and raised taxes on the state's energy producers.

Reuters - U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday, led lower by tech shares after computer maker Dell warned that companies worldwide are cutting back on technology spending.

Reuters - Personal income tumbled unexpectedly in July and inflation-adjusted spending shrank as government economic stimulus waned, but consumer spirits rose this month, a hint the economy may muddle through its woes.

AFP - Shareholders in French investment bank Natixis on Friday approved a planned 3.7 billion euros (5.44 billion dollars) capital increase to repair the damage caused by the US subprime home loan crisis.

Reuters - Nintendo Co boosted its annual profit outlook by 23 percent on white-hot demand for its Wii video game console and DS portable player, beating market expectations and sending its shares more than 8 percent higher.

Reuters - Google Inc. , facing a U.S. Justice Department probe of its search-advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc. , will proceed with the agreement by early October, Bloomberg said.

Reuters - General Motors Corp is recalling 857,735 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield wiper fluid system for a potential short-circuit problem, according to federal safety regulators.

Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Friday after a warning by computer maker Dell that companies worldwide are cutting back on technology spending spooked the tech sector.

Reuters - Personal income tumbled unexpectedly in July and inflation-adjusted spending shrank at sharpest rate in four years as the lift from government stimulus checks waned, a government report on Friday showed.

Reuters - Carrefour, the world's second-largest retailer, posted a 5.5 percent rise in first-half operating profit on Friday, lifted by strong performance in Latin America growth markets, and reiterated its 2008 targets.