IBT Staff Reporter

The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.

Chinese stocks have hit bear market territory, falling more than 20 percent from their most recent peak, and sent shivers across many global financial markets -- but remember, it's August.

Carmaker General Motors should be able to agree on a buyer for its German unit Opel despite failing to make a decision on Friday, Germany's Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Hanson plans to play a bunch of new music for its fans this fall, even though the sibling trio's new album probably won't come out until the spring of 2010.

ARTIST: MILEY CYRUSSINGLE: PARTY IN THE U.S.A.

Robin Williams stars in a movie called

Michael Jackson's family on Friday delayed his burial by five days as a judge ruled that a touring show of his memorabilia could go on and police raided another pharmacy in their ongoing probe of his sudden death.

Mayor Michael Nutter detailed on Thursday what he said will be the deepest cuts in public services for more than half a century, needed to balance the fiscal 2010 budget and the city's financial plan for the next five years.

What some expected to be a spring fling for the U.S. housing market turned into a white-hot summer.

Financial markets have not fully understood that the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to keep interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period means they will stay low beyond when officials normally would raise them, a top Fed official said on Friday.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other central bankers said on Friday the worst global recession in 70 years was nearing a close but warned it would be a long, slow climb back to normal growth.

Unions seeking to represent more than 30,000 workers at Delta Air Lines Inc and its Northwest subsidiary could face an uphill battle in elections that could open the door for more collective bargaining and potentially higher labor costs.

Software giant Oracle Corp said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it would cut the salary of its chief executive to $1 in fiscal 2010 from $1 million in the previous year.

U.S. auto dealers are asking the government to extend the deadline for submissions for its Cash for Clunkers program to August 31, citing computer problems that are delaying the entry of applications into the system.

Dow Jones & Co Inc has been talking to potential buyers about the sale of its stock market index business, including the Dow Jones industrial average , the company's Wall Street Journal reported on its website.

U.S. regulators on Friday closed Texas lender Guaranty Bank and sold its assets to Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria , allowing Spain's second-largest bank to expand its reach in the U.S. market.

Is it game over for the recession? Or will consumers stay in hibernation?

Media company Tribune Co has reached a deal to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team and other assets to the Ricketts family for $845 million, Tribune said on Friday.

Is it game over for the recession? Or will consumers stay in hibernation?

A girl has been sent to jail for cyberbullying in an effort to warn others there will be a price to pay if this behavior online persists.

Is it game over for the recession? Or will consumers stay in hibernation?

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, his co-star of

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped 7.2 percent in July to mark the fastest pace in nearly two years, a survey showed on Friday, in a strong sign that housing is pulling out of a three-year slump.

General Motors Co said on Friday its board had not picked a winning bidder for Opel after convening to discuss the automaker's options, leaving the fate of its German unit still uncertain after months of high-stakes negotiations.

AT&T Inc, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, said on Friday it played no role in a decision by Apple Inc to reject Google Inc's voice application on the handset.

U.S. securities regulators have dropped a stock options backdating investigation against former Pixar Animation Studios Chief Financial Officer Ann Mather, according to a letter obtained by Reuters on Friday.

AT&T Inc, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, on Friday said it played no role in a decision by Apple Inc to reject Google Inc's voice application on the popular handset.

A majority of college-bound students getting reading for the coming school semester are a preferring to steer away from Mac laptops, a new study reveals. Instead, students are leaning toward affordable netbooks from a variety of manufacturers, according to Retrevo, a consumer electronics website, that conducted the study.

Stocks ended the week at 2009 highs on Friday after a surprising rise in home sales and optimistic comments from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke reassured investors about the prospects for an economic recovery.