FEDERAL RESERVE

A new study reveals income for U.S. workers fell even rapidly after the summer of 2009 than during the recession that preceded it.

When Paul Friedman met the rag-tag youth camped out near Wall Street to protest inequality in the American economy, he felt he was witnessing the start of a protest movement not seen in America since the 1960s.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on late Friday finally repudiated the remarks of an allied Dallas clergyman who disparaged the Mormon faith of Perry's presidential rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

President Barack Obama launched an onslaught against banks and Republicans this for working to block financial reform, using a populist tone amid public anger over Wall Street practices.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on late Friday finally repudiated the remarks of an allied Dallas clergyman who disparaged the Mormon faith of Perry's presidential rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Gold fell more than 1 percent on Friday as investors quickly sold to raise cash to cover margin calls in the lower equity markets after Fitch downgraded the credit ratings of Spain and Italy.

Gold prices busted a three-day winning streak Friday as fresh evidence of Eurozone instability piqued investors' desire for something safe and liquid.

Global investors have weighed in on which 2012 presidential candidate they think will do a better job handling the economy. Their choice? Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, according to a new Bloomberg Global Poll.

Employment likely grew only modestly in September, with hiring too weak to pull down a lofty jobless rate and dispel recession fears.

Equities were expected to steady on Friday after sharp gains in the previous session, with futures for the S&P 500 staying flat, for the Dow Jones gaining 0.08 percent and for the Nasdaq 100 falling 0.07 percent.

U.S. employment likely grew only modestly in September, with hiring too weak to pull down a lofty jobless rate and dispel recession fears.

The growing anti-Wall Street protests in New York and across the country are an understandable reaction to persistently high unemployment, a top U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

Twelve years after German Chancellor Helmut Kohl pushed through the monetary union over the objections of a majority of his country's citizens, the bloc is crumbling under the burden of huge debts. And the one institution that Germans were told would ensure stability, the ECB, is in deep crisis itself. In the absence of decisive action from Europe's leaders, the bank has come under enormous pressure to fill the gap.

A draft proposal of the Volcker rule that cracks down on banks' proprietary trading gives firms flexibility to hedge risk, and sets stringent limits on such trading beyond U.S. borders to address fears the rule will put U.S. firms at a disadvantage.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's designation this week of two Canadian banks as primary dealers comes at a crucial time in which rates markets need all the liquidity they can get, analysts said on Wednesday.

As European banks seek state help and U.S. lenders shore up shaky balance sheets, Canada's well-performing banks have stepped up their efforts to poach talent from rivals around the world.

Large banks need to tie more employees' compensation to the risks their decisions pose to their institutions, through such things as deferred pay, the Federal Reserve said in a report released on Wednesday.

Gold rose on Wednesday after dipping below $1,600 an ounce as stock markets appeared to have found their footing, but traders said the metal's correlation with volatile equities could trigger more selling.

Industrial commodity prices ended several days of losses on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would take measures to prevent the economy from sliding into recession, although copper and crude oil held near multi-month lows.

Gold prices hovered in a tight range Wednesday as strong physical buying offset renewed optimism among stock investors that Europe might yet avert a sovereign debt-induced recession.

No longer seen as young outcasts with no direction or anything better to do than Occupy Wall Street in protest, the movement that began in New York's financial district is gaining momentum with middle America.