New jobless claims drop 38,000 to 550,000
The first-time filings for state unemployment benefits declined by 38,000for the week ending August 1 to a seasonally adjusted 550,000, while the number of people who continued to collect regular benefits rose by 69,000 to a seasonally adjusted 6.31 million the prior week according to a Labor Department report released Thursday morning.

AIG CEO Greenberg settles $15 million charges with SEC
American International Group's former Chief Executive Hank Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle civil allegations of accounting fraud, a Securities and Exchange Commission official said on Thursday.

Lawmaker seeks BofA documents
A lawmaker on Thursday sent a request to Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis seeking documents about the Merrill Lynch & Co purchase as he seeks more details about the purchase and why the mounting losses were not disclosed ahead of the shareholder vote.

Bank of america Merrill Lynch