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WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton knows just how high the political stakes are in the fight to overhaul America's health care system.

Oil prices swung around $79 a barrel Tuesday, as a storm threatening oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico weakened and investors eyed a volatile dollar.

WASHINGTON - Fannie Mae said Monday it may have to ask the government for more financial assistance because the company cannot sell $5.2 billion in tax credits.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The European Commission has objected to Oracle Corp's acquisition of computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc , throwing the $7 billion deal into question.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Federal prosecutors accused a high-profile South Florida attorney of concocting a Ponzi scheme that lured millions of dollars from investors with promises of big payoffs from legal settlements that never existed, according to court documents filed Monday.

NEW YORK - Robotic toy hamsters, the latest Barbie dolls and stylish boots are disappearing from store shelves as holiday shoppers start to get serious. But don't confuse this with the days of Tickle Me Elmo.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pay and venue were the focus of a jury's early deliberations on Monday in the trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers accused of fraud over dealings in mortgage-backed securities early in the financial crisis.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc said on Monday that it was acquiring of AdMob, one of the largest mobile advertising networks, for $750 million, widening its bet that cell phone advertising could become the Internet's next-big money maker.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is ready to hand out more stimulus dollars for schools, but this time, strings are attached.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration's plan to combat the foreclosure crisis has reached about 20 percent of troubled homeowners in the states most affected by the housing meltdown, according to data being released Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court will not review an $18 million verdict won by a lawyer who served as a co-chairman of the trial judge's re-election committee.

WASHINGTON - Banks expect to tighten terms on credit cards in response to a new law that aims to protect consumers from sudden rate hikes, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top forecasters are growing more confident the U.S. economy has embarked on a sustainable recovery, a survey released on Tuesday showed.

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Reuters) - Mike Wilson, Steve Wilson and Mike Bennett are patient men.

NEW YORK - A former lawyer with the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring with a prominent Manhattan lawyer to dupe hedge funds out of tens of millions of dollars.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top two banks, HSBC and Barclays , signaled bad debts may be past their peak, with HSBC declaring on Tuesday the first improvement for three years in losses on U.S. consumer credit.

NEW YORK - The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange:

NEW YORK - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street Tuesday as the dollar, which powered Monday's huge rally, eased its slide.

When it comes to financial matters, Americans are functionally illiterate.

WILMINGTON, Ohio - Television cooking star Rachael Ray is boosting the local food supply for a struggling Ohio town.

BEIJING - Days after coming to power in September, Japan's new prime minister broached forming a new East Asian trading bloc with rival China — one that would exclude the United States.

Stock market volatility is back, a signal to some experts that the powerful rally that started in early March may be coming to an end.

WASHINGTON - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Wednesday said it barred a former registered representative based in California after he took part in insider trading earlier this year.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for a lower open on Tuesday after stocks hit a 13-month high in the previous session on expectations for prolonged low interest rates.

HELSINKI - Nokia Corp. announced Monday that some 14 million mobile phone chargers could be dangerous for users and said it will replace them free of charge.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co. and Comcast Corp have agreed on a valuation of around $30 billion for a joint venture between NBC Universal and Comcast, ironing out what has been a key obstacle in talks so far, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

NEW YORK - Based on the rhetoric, America's war on drugs seems poised to shift into a more enlightened phase where treatment of addicts gains favor over imprisonment of low-level offenders. Questions abound, however, about the nation's readiness to turn the talk into reality.

LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc chief Irene Rosenfeld refused to sweeten her $16.2 billion offer for candy maker Cadbury Plc and took the bid directly to shareholders on Monday, setting the stage for a takeover battle that could last up to three months.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. retailers are poised to defy gloom this week as earnings expectations have improved, but the big test will be what they say about holiday shopping.

MILWAUKEE - The creators of the "Got Milk?" campaign are getting ready to make a big push to keep chocolate milk on kids' minds and on school lunch menus, a plan that has some educators and obesity activists none too pleased.