MARKETS / FINANCE

Stocks fell on Friday after a court ruling in a key foreclosure case prompted investors to pull out of bank stocks, adding to weakness after a lackluster jobs report.

The sluggish U.S. economy shows signs of gaining strength but still needs a lot of help from the Federal Reserve to get back on track, a top Fed policy maker said on Friday.

The U.S. economy may finally be hitting its stride even if growth remains too weak to put a real dent in the nation's jobless rate, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday.

In a ruling that may affect foreclosures nationwide, Massachusetts' highest court voided the seizure of two homes by Wells Fargo & Co and US Bancorp after the banks failed to show they held the mortgages at the time they foreclosed.

Microsoft Corp has put its estimated $1 billion media buying account into review, raising the possibility the business could move to an agency other than current partner Universal McCann, according to a source familiar with the account.

Defense stocks dodged a bullet this week when the Pentagon said it plans for its budget to grow modestly through 2014 before leveling off in 2015, but political and fiscal concerns in Congress could slow the sector further during that period and beyond.

Local-search provider Local.com Corp said its revenue model was under pressure following partner Yahoo Inc's move to Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine, sending Local's shares tumbling 21 percent.

Employers hired fewer workers than expected in December and a surprisingly large number of people gave up searching for work, tempering the positive news of a big drop in the unemployment rate.

Stocks fell on Friday after a court ruling in a key foreclosure case prompted investors to pull out of bank stocks, adding to weakness after a lackluster jobs report.

Investors have entered 2011 eager to embrace riskier, higher-yielding assets, but happy to dump them at the first whiff of anything negative.

In a ruling that may affect foreclosures nationwide, Massachusetts' highest court voided the seizure of two homes by Wells Fargo & Co and US Bancorp after the banks failed to show they held the mortgages at the time they foreclosed.

U.S. stocks stumbled on Friday as financials were hit by a court ruling that voided two home foreclosures and as data showed disappointing jobs growth last month.

The economy may finally be hitting its stride even if growth remains too weak to put a real dent in the nation's jobless rate, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday.

The Gold Price in Dollars slid to a near 6-week low in early London trading on Friday, dropping below $1360 an ounce, but then bounced back to $1369 as New York trading began and Non-Farm Payrolls showed a rise of 103,000 - below analyst forecasts - and the labor-force participation rate slipped further below two-in-three.

The following are highlights from a U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing on Friday with testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Local-search provider Local.com Corp lowered its fourth-quarter outlook hurt by a fall in revenue from a key customer Yahoo Inc following the Yahoo-Bing integration, sending its shares down 14 percent in pre-market trade.

Stocks lost ground on Friday as financials were hit by a court ruling that voided two home foreclosures and as data showed disappointing jobs growth last month.

Employers hired fewer workers than expected in December and a surprisingly large number of people gave up searching for work, tempering the positive news of a big drop in the unemployment rate.

Stocks fell further on Friday as bank shares were pressured by a court ruling on foreclosures and a drop in Qualcomm Inc dragged the Nasdaq composite index 1 percent lower.

Stocks fell on Friday as bank shares lost ground after a Massachusetts court ruling against Wells Fargo and US Bancorp in which two home foreclosures were voided.

The recapitalization of bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc is likely to close next week, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, as AIG shares touched fresh highs on news it was getting closer to the deal.

Stocks were little changed on Friday as investors treaded lightly after a mixed U.S. employment report that fell short of increased expectations of recovery in the labor market.

The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs that expected in December, suggesting the Federal Reserve will complete its asset buying program, but the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest in more than 1-1/2 years.

The U.S. economy may be finally hitting its stride, even if growth remains too weak to put a real dent in the nation's jobless rate, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday.

The recapitalization of bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc is likely to close next week, a personal familiar with the matter said on Friday, as AIG shares touched fresh highs on news it was getting closer to the deal.

(Corrects first comment to say net revision was 70,000 jobs)

The following are highlights from a U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing on Friday with testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Employers hired fewer workers than expected in December and a surprise fall in the unemployment rate to its lowest level in more than 1-1/2 years was in part due to people giving up the search for work.

Shares in bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc hit their highest level since early October 2008 on Friday after the company took a major step toward closing its recapitalization.