 AFP - Oil prices fell further on Friday, but losses were less severe than a day earlier when traders had sold heavily on fresh worries about the weakness of the US economy.
 AFP - Dampening hopes of an early recovery from recession, official figures Thursday showed US job losses surged to 467,000 in June, pushing the unemployment rate to a new 26-year high of 9.5 percent.
 Reuters - U.S. employers cut far more jobs than expected last month and the unemployment rate hit 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years, underscoring the likelihood of a long, slow recovery from recession.
AP - That old saying "cash is king" certainly rings true these days. Investors can't seem to get enough of it, which ultimately could be bad news for the stock market and the economy.
 Reuters - With Wall Street stuck in a range since May, the start of second-quarter earnings season next week could prove to be a decisive factor for determining how much faith investors should have in an economic recovery.
 Reuters - Top California lawmakers raised hope on Thursday that an elusive budget deal could be at hand, as officials began issuing billions of dollars in "IOUs" to avoid a cash crisis on the second day of a new fiscal year without an agreement to balance the state's books.
 AP - President Barack Obama said Thursday that he remains confident the economy will turn around in the short term and the nation will prosper in the long term despite another dose of bad unemployment news.
AP - How bad is the current recession? Here's one measure: the United States now has fewer jobs than it did nine years ago, even though the work force — the number of people either working or looking for work — has grown by 12.5 million people since then.
AP - Americans lucky enough to still have a job are noticing something unpleasant in their paychecks: They're making less money.
 AFP - President Barack Obama said he was confident the US economy would recover, despite new data showing unemployment at a 26-year-high of 9.5 percent, which dampened hopes of a quick rebound.
 AP - Her fellow job seekers offer knowing groans as Diane Castro recalls the day she was laid off: The fear of being summoned to the front office. The phones in nearby cubicles going off like grenades. Finally, a ring at her desk.
 AP - Like many unemployed older workers, 64-year old Allan Kellum fears his age has made it harder to find a new job. At a recent job fair, Kellum expressed interest in a supervisory role coordinating an international health assistance program. A recruiter set him straight: "The people applying for that are young."
AP - The Obama administration on Thursday authorized the seizure of assets belonging to an extremist organization in Iraq and an Iranian backer of insurgents, saying both are responsible for deadly attacks in Iraq.
 AP - Several states are facing the prospect of government shutdowns and program cuts as they enter the first weekend of the fiscal year and July Fourth holiday without a budget in place.
| 
