Jobless rate steady at 6.1 percent WASHINGTON (October 3, 9:27 a.m. ADT) - The nation's unemployment rate held steady at 6.1 percent in September as businesses added to payrolls for the first time in eight months, suggesting a turnaround in the weak job market.

Mutual funds continue to rebound
NEW YORK (October 3, 12:32 p.m. ADT) - Stock mutual funds may have scored their second straight quarterly advance during the three months of summer, but they still have a long way to go before investors recover the losses suffered in the three-year bear market.

Blacks pay more for GMAC auto loans, study says
(October 3, 11:30 a.m. ADT) - Black auto buyers are more likely to be charged loan markups and to pay more for them than whites getting auto loans financed by General Motors Acceptance Corp., according to a report prepared for minorities suing GMAC.

Ex-NYSE chief pressed firm to buy stock, newspaper reports
NEW YORK (October 3, 8:49 a.m. ADT) - Ousted New York Stock Exchange Chairman Dick Grasso pressured a floor-trading firm to buy more shares in American International Group Inc. after the insurer's chairman complained to him, according to a newspaper report.

Bank One files suit against Smith Barney, former employees
CHICAGO (October 3, 12:31 p.m. ADT) - A unit of Bank One Corp. has filed a lawsuit alleging that five former employees took confidential information on wealthy clients when they left for new jobs with Smith Barney.

Dream on: Many catchy slogans don't stick
NEW YORK (October 3, 2:34 a.m. ADT) - Quick: which company has the slogan "The power of dreams?"

Banker arrested, charged with inflating stock value
NEW YORK (October 3, 11:05 a.m. ADT) - A 31-year-old investment banker who once ran for mayor in Lake Helen, Fla. has been arrested on charges that he and three other men falsely inflated the value of stock in two companies.

HUD settles claim against Allied Home Mortgage
HOUSTON (October 3, 11:05 a.m. ADT) - Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. has agreed to pay $370,000 to settle allegations that the company overcharged customers for credit reports.

EU OKs Philip Morris' acquisition of Greek company
BRUSSELS, Belgium (October 3, 12:43 p.m. ADT) - The European Union Commission cleared Philip Morris International's proposed purchase of a 75 percent stake in Greece's Papastratos Cigarette Co.

Service sector activity slows slightly
NEW YORK (October 3, 8:04 a.m. ADT) - After hitting a six-year high in the previous two months, activity in the service sector of the U.S. economy slowed only moderately in September, continuing to grow solidly, according to data Friday from a private research group.

Quattrone trial turns on document destruction order
NEW YORK (October 3, 5:05 a.m. ADT) - Soon after influential banker Frank Quattrone urged his employees to destroy some documents, lawyers at his firm became so concerned they sent a mass e-mail correcting him.

NYSE board discusses governance reforms
NEW YORK (October 2, 3:12 p.m. ADT) - Directors of the New York Stock Exchange discussed proposals Thursday to reform the organization's governance in their first board meeting since John S. Reed became interim leader.

Four plead guilty in software piracy case
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (October 3, 3:46 a.m. ADT) - Four men have pleaded guilty for their roles in an online piracy ring that illegally distributed tens of thousands of copyrighted materials through the Internet, authorities said.

Nikkei up 116 at close
TOKYO (October 3, 3:46 a.m. ADT) - Tokyo's benchmark stock index rose Friday for a third straight session, as banks surged on improving profit outlooks while select blue chips bounced back after recent declines. The U.S. dollar was lower against the yen.

Jackpot justice? FBI probes big jury awards in Mississippi
FAYETTE, Miss. (October 3, 7:16 a.m. ADT) - For years, juries in this rural corner of southwestern Mississippi have been willing to return multimillion-dollar verdicts, attracting lawyers who were eager to capitalize.

Bauer Nike Hockey closing factories, cutting more than 300 jobs
TORONTO (October 2, 6:02 p.m. ADT) - Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. is cutting more than 300 jobs as it closes a hockey stick factory and a goalie equipment facility in Ontario and reduces staffing in Quebec.

ArvinMeritor extends hostile takeover bid for Dana
TROY, Mich. (October 2, 5:30 p.m. ADT) - For a second time, auto parts supplier ArvinMeritor Inc. has extended its hostile takeover offer for rival Dana Corp., until Oct. 30.

European power companies probing Italy blackout
BRUSSELS, Belgium (October 2, 3:45 p.m. ADT) - A group of electrical transmission companies said Thursday it will investigate the blackout that left large parts of Italy without power last weekend in hopes of avoiding such accidents in the future.

Eyeing Congress moves, cigarette makers withhold settlement payments
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 2, 3:15 p.m. ADT) - In a move that highlights the battle over tobacco buyout legislation, three major cigarette makers have withheld quarterly payments to 14 state funds that distribute tobacco settlement money to farmers and quota holders.

Schick parent Eveready sues Gillette, claiming false advertising
ST. LOUIS (October 2, 3:15 p.m. ADT) - The makers of Schick-Wilkinson Sword shaving products have sued rival Gillette Co., accusing the razor industry leader of falsely claiming a technological edge in the latest clash in what has been described as the "Battle of the Blades."

Former hedge fund broker pleads guilty in probe of illegal late trading
NEW YORK (October 2, 2:21 p.m. ADT) - A former broker with Millennium Partners hedge fund pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge for illegal late trading of mutual fund shares, part of a quickly broadening investigation that has touched many of the best-known names in the business.

Delphi plans 500 job cuts
CHICAGO (October 2, 2:23 p.m. ADT) - Auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. said Thursday it will cut 500 white-collar jobs, or about 3 percent of its work force, by the end of the year.

Philip Morris settles with girl burned in car fire blamed on cigarette
FORT WORTH, Texas (October 2, 2:22 p.m. ADT) - Philip Morris USA has agreed to pay more than $2 million in the case of a toddler severely burned in a fire blamed on a cigarette left in a car - the first time the nation's No. 1 tobacco company has ever settled a personal injury suit.

Jeweler Friedman's discloses Justice Department investigation
WASHINGTON (October 2, 2:22 p.m. ADT) - Jewelry-store chain Friedman's Inc. said Thursday the U.S. Justice Department is investigating a dispute over accounts receivable.

Survey finds firms' cost-cutting efforts tapering off
NEW YORK (October 2, 1:35 p.m. ADT) - Employers are winding down three years of aggressive cost-cutting campaigns that have hit their workers squarely in the wallet, a new survey says.

House Democrats score victory in dispute over overtime pay
WASHINGTON (October 2, 1:32 p.m. ADT) - Democrats hailed a House vote Thursday opposing administration plans to rewrite decades-old rules on overtime pay, saying it was a clear signal to the Labor Department that new rules denying benefits to millions of workers were unacceptable.

FCC proposes its second-largest fine over cathedral sex stunt
WASHINGTON (October 2, 1:35 p.m. ADT) - The government on Thursday proposed the second-biggest fine ever for indecency: $357,000 against Infinity Broadcasting for a radio segment in which a couple was said to be having sex in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.