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WASHINGTON - The Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed far-reaching health care legislation, handing President Barack Obama a hard-won victory on his chief domestic priority though the road ahead in the Senate promises to be rocky.

WASHINGTON - It hurts more to be unemployed now than the last time the jobless rate hit 10 percent.

If holiday travelers on the same plane compare what they paid to fly, they're likely to find quite a spread, depending on when they bought their tickets.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - Finance officials from rich and developing countries have pledged to maintain emergency support for their economies until recovery is assured, but failed to reach a clear agreement to bear the cost of fighting climate change.

CHARLOTTE, N.C - Regulators on Friday shut banks in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and California, bringing the number of bank failures this year to 120 amid the struggling economy and a cascade of defaults on loans.

WASHINGTON - Just when it was beginning to look a little better, the economy relapsed Friday with a return to double-digit unemployment for only the second time since World War II and warnings that next year will be even worse than previously thought.

Our goal as college professors is to open students minds to new experiences so they can grow intellectually while they mature through the traditional four-year process. But we are also challenged to give students the immediate skills they will need once they graduate so that they can begin their professional careers and move away from the fry-o-later to the cubicle and beyond.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama signed a $24 billion economic stimulus bill into law Friday, giving tax incentives to prospective homebuyers and additional jobless benefits to those idled by the business slump.

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan House coalition voted Saturday to prohibit coverage of abortions in a new government-run health care plan that Democrats would establish to compete with private insurers.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) on Friday said quarterly earnings tripled, as rising stock markets boosted its investment holdings and a quiet hurricane season contributed to higher insurance profit.

OMAHA, Neb. - Paper gains on derivative contracts helped Berkshire Hathaway Inc. triple its third-quarter profit as its insurance businesses did well, but Warren Buffett's company said Friday that many of its other operating businesses struggled.

BEIJING - China is offering to abolish import duties on some commodities from Africa and make sure Chinese exports to the continent are safe as part of a package to boost already thriving economic ties, China's commerce minister said in an article published Saturday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Freddie Mac , the second largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, on Friday posted a loss of $5 billion in the third quarter and predicted it would need more government support amid a "prolonged deterioration" in housing.

RICHMOND, Va. - The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has warned several companies to stop selling banned flavored cigarettes to U.S. consumers online.

WASHINGTON - Freddie Mac's losses narrowed to $6.3 billion in the third quarter, but the government-controlled mortgage finance company didn't need a federal cash infusion.

IBM is betting big on analytics, and Fred Balboni is leading the charge.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Saturday stressed the necessity of keeping global economic stimulus in place until recovery is assured and opposed the utility of a tax on financial transactions as a way to dampen risky bank behavior.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank regulators closed Gateway Bank of St. Louis, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Prosperan Bank, of Oakdale, Minnesota, on Friday, the 118th and 119th U.S. bank to fail this year.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As unemployment in the United States edges above 10 percent, anxious investors will look to earnings reports from major retailers for signs of life in the beaten-up consumer.

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - China's premier on Sunday pledged $10 billion in new low interest loans to African nations over three years, offering the beleaguered continent sorely needed cash while dismissing criticism that Beijing's motives in Africa are far from altruistic.

WASHINGTON - The last time unemployment climbed past 10 percent, "The A-Team" was one of the top 10 TV shows and Michael Jackson was about to release "Thriller."

MILWAUKEE - A judge has tossed out a decision — for now at least — that could have cost PepsiCo Inc. $1.26 billion after the soft drink maker didn't respond to a lawsuit claiming it stole the idea for bottled water.

For three months early this year, 63-year-old Ronald Lang was one of the most plugged-in patients in America. Lang, who suffers from congestive heart failure and multiple sclerosis, was pilot-testing the Intel (NasdaqGS:INTC - News) Health Guide, a device that lets doctors monitor his health remotely. Each day after he woke up, he'd step on a scale and strap on a blood pressure cuff that was attached to the Health Guide. The device collected his vital signs and zapped them to his doctor's office. ...

DOHA (Reuters) - Corruption costs developing nations $20 to $40 billion each year, while emerging markets and financial centers are increasingly havens for stolen assets, a top World Bank official said Saturday.

ZURICH (Reuters) - Authorities in Britain and Australia have requested information from UBS after the Swiss bank agreed in August to disclose some 4,450 client names to settle a U.S. tax case, the bank confirmed on Sunday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent last month, a 26-1/2-year high, adding to pressure on the Obama administration to do more to tackle unemployment even as signs of recovery mount.

NEW YORK - Oil prices tumbled Friday after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

BISMARCK, N.D. - An auction of oil drilling rights on North Dakota state land has fetched $71.6 million, a record haul that will go mostly to benefit public schools.

WASHINGTON - The House approved legislation Friday aimed at making chemical and water treatment facilities less vulnerable to terrorist attack.

NEW YORK - Gold prices outshone other commodities Friday, soaring to a new high of $1,100 an ounce, as prices for copper, oil and soybeans fell.