AP - Consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, fell in June as shoppers were hit with the second biggest increase in prices in nearly three decades.

AFP - Some Americans are finding that while high oil prices leave them with a slimmer wallet, it could also leave them with slimmer waists as they forsake their cars and take to their bikes, public transportation or feet to get around.

AP - High gas prices almost killed the lifeline to the city for a group of mountain commuters.

Reuters - The U.S. unemployment rate hit its highest in four years during July as employers cut jobs for a seventh straight month, though less severely than predicted, a Labor Department report showed on Friday.

AP - Stores, factories and other businesses large and small showed workers the door last month, sending unemployment to its highest rate in four years and adding to the evidence an economic recovery remains far off.

Reuters - U.S. auto sales plunged to a 16-year-low in July, led by a 27 percent drop at General Motors Corp , as high gas prices and tight credit sent the industry into a tailspin.

Reuters - California's battered homes market may be hitting bottom, suggesting a national housing recovery may follow, veteran banking analyst Charles Peabody said on Friday, citing a rebound in home sales as renters become owners.

Reuters - British Airways's profit collapsed in the first quarter as high oil prices, an economic slowdown and weak consumer confidence combined in what the airline called the worst trading conditions it had ever experienced.