Top Business News

Reuters - The International Monetary Fund will give Pakistan $450 million in emergency flood aid, providing some relief for a government overwhelmed by the disaster and facing renewed militant violence.

Reuters - U.S. retailers posted sales that beat modest expectations in August as consumers sought out bargains during the key back-to-school selling season.

AP - FASTER REFUNDS: The Treasury Department is exploring ways to help people without bank accounts collect their tax refunds more quickly. A pilot program launching next year will let some consumers get the money on cards, rather than waiting for paper checks. It could expand from there.

Reuters - Companies are cutting healthcare costs further amid a continuing sour economy, scaling back benefits and shifting a greater share of the expense to employees.

AFP - The IMF and the World Bank have stepped up aid to flood-hit Pakistan to help the country cope with its worst-ever humanitarian disaster, officials said Thursday.

Reuters - The following are highlights from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on Thursday to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on the problem of financial institutions that are "too big too fail."

Reuters - U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows as yields on government debt dropped, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

AP - The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes increased in July but remained well below last year's levels, a sign that demand for housing remains weak.

Reuters - Two top U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Thursday called for a more community-focused approach to the country's ongoing foreclosure crisis, which is weighing on its economic recovery.

AP - Del Monte Foods Co. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit edged up 1.4 percent, but revenue softened on weakness in the consumer business and the company trimmed its expectations for revenue growth this year.

Reuters - Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose unexpectedly in July, an industry group said on Thursday, suggesting a tax credit-related housing market decline was close to bottoming.

AP - Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the tenth time in 11 weeks, as investors worried about the economy.

Reuters - Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose unexpectedly in July, an industry group said on Thursday, suggesting a tax credit-related housing market decline was close to bottoming.

AP - July factory orders edge up as strong demand for aircraft offsets weakness in other sectors.

AFP - The most important lesson to come from the financial crisis is that banks must not be allowed to become "too-big-to-fail," Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

AP - Teen retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said Thursday that its August revenue in stores open at least a year rose 1 percent, about even with analyst estimates.

AP - Toronto-Dominion Bank, North America's sixth largest bank by branches, increased profit by 29 percent in the third quarter on a record quarter by its Canadian retail banking operations.

AFP - Scottish oil exploration group Cairn Energy said Thursday it had resumed operations on a rig off the coast of Greenland after Greenpeace ended a protest.