Financial Markets

Stocks rose Thursday, extending their gains from the day before, after reports on housing, manufacturing and jobs all indicated that the economy continues to grow.

Stocks pushed higher Friday after a relatively upbeat U.S. jobs report for August eased concerns about the pace of the economic recovery in the world’s largest economy.

Vanguard plans to launch 19 new funds later this month that will be first-of-their kind in the industry.

A private financial rating agency this week flagged bonds for Iowa’s public works program after noting that state officials had failed to deposit enough money in a reserve account.

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Saturday Tokyo would take decisive steps to stem the yen’s rise when needed, while suggesting that coordinated currency market intervention was a difficult option.

As earnings season draws to a close, the focus of European investors will turn next week to the latest economic data from Germany for confirmation of its spectacular recovery as well as to traffic reports from several airlines for a sense of consumer confidence.

The stock market had its first winning week in a month thanks to better news on the economy.

U.S. stocks were soldily higher on Friday as August employment data was less negative than anticipated.

The Toronto stock market gave up early strong gains by late morning Friday as a weaker than expected reading on the U.S. non-manufacturing sector cancelled out much early enthusiasm over American jobs data, which blew past expectations.

Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, a glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend.

The U.S. economy shed 54,000 nonfarm jobs in August, the Labor Department reported Friday, a much slower decline than economists anticipated as the health-care and temporary-staffing industries led a 67,000 expansion in private-sector employment.

Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, lifting hopes for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend.

BERLIN a ‘ The European Central Bank raised its growth projections for the 16-nation eurozone on Thursday, but stressed that the outlook remains uncertain and said its effort to keep banks supplied with credit would stay in place for the rest of the year.

Don’t miss these top money and investing columns: This summer has burned investors, and no amount of SPF — stock protection factor — has been able to soothe their sores.

Most Asian stock markets climbed Friday as investors took heart from improving U.S. housing and jobs data amid lingering worries over the pace of the global economic recovery.

Treasury prices edged lower Thursday following the auction of $10 billion in ten-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, and a slight decline in weekly jobless-claims data.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 5 points in late afternoon trading. Broader indexes also rose.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into certain types of stock trade orders that could be distorting share prices and trading volume, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Stephen Goldfield, the former manager of the now-defunct hedge-fund firm Imperium Advisors, agreed Wednesday to pay $600,000 to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that alleges he made almost $14 million illegally trading on inside information.

U.S. stocks were sharply higher Wednesday joining a global market rally which kicked off September in style.