Reuters - U.S. consumer sentiment recovered from early 1980s lows in July as Americans received tax rebate checks from the government but remained pressured by high gasoline prices and falling home values.

AP - Upbeat economic data lifted stocks Friday, placating a market pummeled a day earlier by concerns about housing and the financial sector.

Reuters - Sales of newly constructed U.S. single-family homes were stronger than expected in June, and inventories shrank to three-and-a-half-year low, a government report showed on Friday, providing a glimmer of hope for the beaten-down housing market.

Reuters - Consumer sentiment rebounded in July from a 28-year low and business investment rose unexpectedly last month, according to data on Friday that showed rare signs of resilience for the U.S. economy.

AP - An awful lot of the oil produced in the United States comes from the nation's northernmost state. So why are gas prices at Alaska's filling stations among the highest in the country?

AFP - New US home sales fell 0.6 percent in June to a better than expected pace as declining prices appeared to lure wary buyers back into the devastated market, government data showed Friday.

Reuters - The Dow and S&P 500 moved into negative territory on Friday, erasing earlier gains after Standard & Poor's said it may cut the subordinated debt and preferred stock ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .

AP - Sales of new homes fell in June for the seventh time in the past eight months, but the decline was less than had been expected, raising faint hopes that the nation's severe housing recession could be approaching a bottom.

Reuters - Fortune Brands Inc reported a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street's lowered expectations on Friday, after the consumer products maker had warned that weak consumer sentiment, the U.S. housing slump and higher taxes would depress earnings more than expected.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co posted a record $8.7 billion quarterly loss on Thursday as it wrote down the value of slumping truck and SUV operations and revamped plans in a bid to break its reliance on the gas-guzzlers that have been its franchise vehicles for a decade.

Reuters - Jobless claims jumped and the pace of existing home sales tumbled to a 10-year low as slowing growth hit hiring and a glut of unsold houses weighed on real estate, data released on Thursday showed.