Reuters - A gauge of future U.S. economic growth was slightly lower in the latest week due to higher interest rates and slower housing, while its annualized growth rate reached a four-month high, a research group said on Friday.

AP - Wall Street ended a week of big losses with more selling Friday as rising oil prices again raised worries that strained consumers will cut back spending and hurt the overall economy. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 150 points in the final session before the three-day holiday weekend.

AFP - The troubled US housing sector saw little relief in April as sales declined and prices fell further, creating a record glut of homes for sale, an industry group said Friday.

AP - Existing home sales fell for the eighth time in the past nine months, a string of weakness expected to continue as the housing industry, mired in its worst slump in decades, battles falling home prices, tight lending conditions and a weak economy.

Reuters - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes slipped last month and the backlog of unsold properties hit a record high, according to data on Friday that suggested the market's downturn still has a long way to run.

AP - Wall Street steadied itself Thursday after two sessions of steep declines, rebounding moderately as oil prices stepped back from their frenetic upward run.

Reuters - Stocks rose modestly on Thursday after two days of steep declines as energy prices pulled back from record highs and a proposed acquisition in the utilities sector buoyed optimism.

AP - Fast-rising gas prices claimed their latest victim Thursday: Ford Motor Co., which dropped its goal of becoming profitable by 2009 and said it will cut production of trucks and sport utility vehicles through the rest of this year. It was a warning shot to the rest of the beleaguered U.S. auto industry, which is facing its worst sales in more than a decade.

Reuters - U.S. home prices fell a record 1.7 percent in the first quarter and the number of workers on jobless benefit rolls held at a four-year high, underscoring the economy's woes, data on Thursday showed.

AP - Wall Street rebounded moderately Thursday after two sessions of steep declines brought by the surging price of oil.

Reuters - Stocks were mostly flat on Thursday as the price of oil weighed on sentiment as it hit another record high before retreating, offsetting gains by financial company shares.