Reuters - An accounting change that could force banks to bring trillions of dollars of off-balance sheet transactions back on their books will be implemented in a way that will not create unnecessary shocks, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

AP - Wall Street abruptly ended an earnings-driven rally and closed sharply lower Thursday after a steeper-than-expected decline in existing home sales and worries about the financial sector chilled the market's recent optimism. The major indexes fell about 2 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost more than 280 points.

Reuters - (Reuters) Futures for the Nasdaq were up 0.4 percent at 4:17 a.m. EDT on Friday while the the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P were both up 0.1 percent.

AFP - A brief surge for Europe's main stock markets came to a halt on Thursday, with share prices falling again as heavyweight energy stocks tumbled in London amid cooler oil prices.

Reuters - The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday urged Congress to give his agency authority to oversee investment banks, even as a top Federal Reserve official said the central bank needed similar powers to do its job.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Thursday as a rise in oil's price and a report showing a drop in sales of existing U.S. homes to a 10-year low renewed worries about the economy and profit growth.

AP - Stocks skidded lower Thursday after a steeper-than-expected decline in existing home sales wiped away some of the market's optimism about upbeat earnings reports. The major indexes fell more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which fell more than 200 points.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Wednesday as financial shares climbed on optimism about a rescue plan for mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and as the price of oil fell.

AP - Stocks advanced for the second straight session Wednesday as another decline in oil prices and several upbeat profit reports eased some of Wall Street's concerns about the economy.

Reuters - (Reuters) Both Dow Jones futures and S&P 500 futures were up 0.55 percent at 0945 GMT (5:45 a.m. EDT), while Nasdaq futures were 71 percent higher.

AFP - Europe's main stock markets rallied on Wednesday, led by the banking and auto sectors, after an overnight rally on Wall Street helped by falling oil prices that also lifted Asian share prices.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Wednesday as financial shares climbed on hopes lawmakers will approve the rescue plan for mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the price of oil fell.