NEW JERSEY

U.S. stocks closed higher for a fourth straight day on Wednesday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its best finish so far this year as industrial and technology companies gained from a weak dollar.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, led by gains in industrial and technology companies as a weak dollar encouraged investors to bet on equities.

The New Jersey Nets have signed a deal to make a manufacturer of computing and digital imaging products the sponsor for its practice jerseys, a first for a team in the National Basketball Association.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as natural resource shares gained from higher commodities while Kraft Foods Inc's offer for confectioner Cadbury raised hopes about more mergers and acquisitions.

Wall Street was set to open nearly 1 percent higher on Tuesday as rising commodity prices and an uptick in merger and acquisition activity fueled hopes the economy is strengthening.

Avaya Inc is not the sole bidder for the Nortel Networks Corp business that builds networks for large corporate clients, the bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker said on Friday.

CIT Group Inc said it has extended the contract of Chief Executive Jeffrey Peek for one year, even though his decisions to expand into risky businesses helped to push the lender to the brink of bankruptcy.

Gold prices rallied on Thursday to their highest level since February on strong investment demand amid caution ahead of key U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday, ready to snap a four-day losing streak as retailers posted better-than-expected August sales and as investors wait for weekly jobless claims data.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as jitters about the economy prompted investors to unload some shares for a fourth-straight day even after a sharp drop in the previous session.

Stocks managed to hold on to tiny gains on Wednesday afternoon as jitters about the economy kept investors from returning to the market in full force after three straight days of declines.

The United States lost fewer private sector jobs in August than in the prior month while companies also planned fewer layoffs, suggesting modest improvement in the beleaguered U.S. labor market.

The United States lost fewer private sector jobs in August than in the prior month while companies also planned fewer layoffs, suggesting modest improvement in the beleaguered U.S. labor market.

Five states have asked U.S. Senate leaders to let them impose stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions than what would be permitted under the climate legislation working its way though Congress, saying both levels of regulation are necessary to fight global warming.

U.S. mortgage applications slid last week even as mortgage rates edged lower, with requests for loans to buy homes declining for the first time since early July, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The U.S. manufacturing sector grew for the first time in 19 months in August and home sales contracts hit a two-year high in July, more evidence the economy was pulling out of the worst recession in 70 years, reports on Tuesday showed.

Philadelphia will take out a $275 million short-term loan from JPMorgan Chase to pay vendors that have gone without compensation since July because of one of the the worst budget crises in nearly 50 years, Democratic Mayor Michael Nutter said on Tuesday.

Gain Capital Holdings Inc, an online provider of retail foreign exchange trading services, is planning to raise up to $125 million in the public markets, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of an economic recovery looked set to eclipse a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of an economic recovery looked set to eclipse a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

(Corrects first paragraph to show U.S. manufacturing is expected to have expanded for the first time since just after the recession began, not since the recession began.)