NEW JERSEY

Medco Health Solutions Inc. said Tuesday it extended its contract to provide pharmacy benefit services to health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc.

U.S. government bond prices extended their rally on Friday after a much weaker than expected Chicago purchasing management report.

Stocks fell on Friday after data pointed to more deterioration in the economy and the largest loss in insurer American International Group Inc's history signaled the worst was far from over for the beleaguered financial sector.Benchmark indexes sank to session lows after two widely watched surveys indicated U.S. consumer sentiment was at its lowest in 16 years and Midwestern business conditions were the weakest in more than six years.

Barack Obama has not asked black voters to back him solely because he could become the first black president in U.S. history, but for many African Americans the prospect remains tantalizing.

The distressed housing market should benefit from bargain prices but tighter lending will curtail the chance of a boom.

Voters in 24 states make their choices in an unpredictable U.S. presidential campaign on Tuesday, with Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a close fight and Republican John McCain aiming for a knockout blow against Mitt Romney.

Amazon.com said Thursday it will buy Audible, a digital audio books provider, for $11.50 a share as in move to expand the online retailer's audio downloads available to users.

Bands trying to break into the music business are taking advantage of digital technology, online social networking and the current uncertainty in the established music industry.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) on Wednesday revealed that it acquired a carriage for its MGM HD Channel on Verizon's FiOS TV service enabling it to transfer feature film hits from the MGM library to Verizon FiOS TV subscriber households in full high definition.

Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest bank by assets, reported the company's biggest quarterly loss and slashed dividends on Tuesday as loan defaults in recent quarters forced it to write down the value of subprime-mortgage investments by $18 billion.

Under growing pressure from law enforcers and parents, MySpace agreed Monday to implement several security measures to protect young users from sexual predators and bullies.

The number of people subscribing to newspapers may be shrinking as they flock to the Internet, but electronic book readers won't shred the market for ink, paper, glue and binding anytime soon.

The dollar climbed on Wednesday following comments from a Federal Reserve official who said it would be a mistake to say a U.S. recession is at hand.

A snowstorm that blanketed parts of the Midwestern United States barreled into New England on Sunday, bringing snow, freezing rain and high winds that grounded flights and made driving treacherous.

With financial markets finding it tough, even rich Manhattan could feel some pain.

Private employers added 189,000 jobs in November, a report by a private employment service said on Wednesday, much higher than market expectations and the biggest monthly increase in a year.

Wall Street's rebound from its first full-fledged correction in more than four years could continue this week if investors believe a plan to keep millions of Americans from losing their homes can work.

Stocks rose on Friday on a report the U.S. Treasury will soon unveil a plan to help stem the subprime mortgage crisis and on comments by Fed chief Ben Bernanke that added to expectations of an interest-rate cut.

Toronto-Dominion Bank, which plans to acquire New Jersey-based Commerce Bancorp early next year, posted a 44 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday thanks to strong results in its wealth management and retail banking businesses.

Ford Motor Co has agreed to settle class-action litigation covering plaintiffs in four states who claimed its Explorer sport utility vehicles were prone to rollovers, Ford said on Wednesday.

Stocks charged ahead on Wednesday as hopes for an interest cut by the Federal Reserve boosted financial services companies for a second day, while falling oil prices eased fears of higher energy costs. The surge put Wall Street on track for its biggest two-day advance in 4 1/2 years. Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said renewed financial market turmoil could slow the economy more abruptly than previously thought.