THE CLOSING BELL — UP 17: Stocks closed mostly higher Friday after the government said the economy shrank at a slower pace than expected in the April-June quarter. NYSE, NASDAQ TODAY’S BUSINESS NEWS: FOLLOW THE MONEY: &#187 Web site promises to keep track of how stimulus is being spent &#187 Recession eases: GDP dip smaller than expected &#187 Employment costs rise 1.8% in past 12 months &#187 AutoNation 2Q profit falls 29% as revenue drops &#187 Congress OKs $2B more for ‘Cash for Clunkers’ &#187 Congress wants say on Wall Street pay &#187 4 strategies for reinvesting your sidelined cash &#187 Boeing’s Dreamliner problems get bigger &#187 SoCal gas prices on the increase &#187 Oil slides to $67 as EU stocks falter &#187 Oil companies review spending as demand wanes &#187 World markets supported by US GDP data &#187 BLOG: South Bay business news

The government plans to suspend its popular “cash for clunkers” program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases, congressional officials said Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft finally persuaded Yahoo to surrender control of the Internet’s second most popular search engine and join it in a daunting battle - taking on the overwhelming dominance of Google in the online advertising market.

THE CLOSING BELL — UP 84: Stocks surged but ended off their highs Thursday as investors jumped on surprisingly strong profit reports and an unexpected drop in unemployment. NYSE, NASDAQ TODAY’S BUSINESS NEWS: FOLLOW THE MONEY: &#187 Web site promises to keep track of how stimulus is being spent &#187 Exxon Mobil 2Q profit falls a surprising 66% &#187 Jobless claims show downward trend in hopeful sign &#187 World markets buoyed by solid earnings &#187 Sony quarterly loss at $391M, expects more red ink &#187 Mazda plunges into the red on battered demand &#187 Investors boost insurers despite economy &#187 Asian stock markets recover, EU mixed &#187 Euro economy confidence hits 8-month high &#187 Big bonuses detailed at bailed-out banks &#187 BLOG: South Bay business news

THE CLOSING BELL — DOWN 26: Stocks had their fourth straight day of incremental moves as commodity prices slid and orders for big-ticket manufactured goods fell, injecting more economic uncertainty into the market. NYSE, NASDAQ TODAY’S BUSINESS NEWS: FOLLOW THE MONEY: &#187 Web site promises to keep track of how stimulus is being spent &#187 EPA alters status of 164 ‘clunkers’ &#187 Microsoft, Yahoo to gang up on Google &#187 Durable goods orders drop 2.5 percent in June &#187 Royal Caribbean 2Q loss wider than expected &#187 Energy prices slide as unused crude piles up &#187 ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program booming &#187 Forecast: LA County jobless to hit 13% &#187 Need a job? USC has 600 of them &#187 Time Warner beats 2Q estimates; outlook steady &#187 Firms make case against new energy trading limits &#187 Wednesday’s global economic developments &#187 Earnings lift EU markets while US slides &#187 BLOG: South Bay business news

THE CLOSING BELL — DOWN 12: Stocks ended mixed but little changed Tuesday as unease over a weak consumer confidence report is being countered by an improvement in home prices. Corporate earnings reports are mixed and leaving investors cautious. NYSE, NASDAQ TODAY’S BUSINESS NEWS: FOLLOW THE MONEY: &#187 Web site promises to keep track of how stimulus is being spent &#187 Valero reports 2Q loss as energy demand crumbles &#187 US Steel reports 2Q loss as demand remains low &#187 BofA could eventually cut 10% of branches &#187 GM to end sponsorship of Buick Open &#187 Putnam cuts fund fees, restructures pricing &#187 Oil rally sputters; prices below $67 per barrel &#187 Frank wants tougher rules for Wall Street &#187 Saudi Aramco ups capacity to 12M barrels &#187 IBM scoops up software maker SPSS in $1.2B deal &#187 GE says GE Capital improving, bad loans to linger &#187 EU stocks turn lower as US market slides &#187 BLOG: South Bay business news

THE CLOSING BELL — UP 15: NEW YORK - Stocks are ending modestly higher as mixed reports on the economy and earnings keep the market’s rally in check. NYSE, NASDAQ TODAY’S BUSINESS NEWS: FOLLOW THE MONEY: &#187 Web site promises to keep track of how stimulus is being spent &#187 June new home sales surge 11% &#187 Americans rate Fed worst among 9 key agencies &#187 Asian stocks extend rally amid earnings optimism &#187 US, China tout mutual goals in recovery &#187 Germany’s consumer confidence rises &#187 Oil rises above $68 as rally enters 3rd week &#187 Warner movies gross more than $1B globally &#187 Bernanke had to ‘hold my nose’ during bailouts &#187 Verizon to cut 8,000 jobs as 2Q profit falls &#187 Task force head says Feds to sell auto stock &#187 SEC rule on `naked’ short-selling now permanent &#187 BLOG: South Bay business news

THE CLOSING BELL — UP 188: Investors celebrated news of another jump in home sales by propelling the Dow Jones industrials to their first close above 9,000 since January. NYSE, NASDAQ TODAY’S BUSINESS NEWS: FOLLOW THE MONEY: &#187 Web site promises to keep track of how stimulus is being spent &#187 Oil soars to $66 on Dow rally &#187 Ford posts surprise $2.3B profit for 2Q &#187 JetBlue sees profit streak continuing into 2010 &#187 Northrop Grumman 2Q profit drops 20% &#187 Boeing’s 2Q profits up 17% &#187 UPS 2Q profit plunges 49% &#187 New jobless claims rise 554K, total rolls fall &#187 SEC, FDIC want new council to be supercop &#187 Fed moves to improve mortgage disclosures &#187 World stocks buoyed by US earnings &#187 Thursday’s global economic developments &#187 BLOG: South Bay business news

THE CLOSING BELL — DOWN 35: Stocks ended a quiet day mixed Wednesday as traders remained hesitant to push further into the market following a weeklong surge on strong earnings reports. NYSE, NASDAQ TODAY’S BUSINESS NEWS: FOLLOW THE MONEY: &#187 Web site promises to keep track of how stimulus is being spent &#187 Goldman Sachs buys back TARP warrants for $1.1B &#187 Forecast paints a grim economic picture locally &#187 Wells Fargo’s 2Q profit surpasses Street &#187 GM drops US mine to go with foreign metals &#187 GM 2Q sales fall 15% amid weak economy &#187 US wins trade dispute with China over DVDs, CDs &#187 China calls on US to keep dollar stable &#187 Oil slips to $65 on rising crude supplies &#187 AirTrans swings to 2Q profit of $78M &#187 Delta reports $257M 2Q loss &#187 PepsiCo 2Q profit falls 2% on sales drop &#187 Drugmaker Pfizer’s 2Q profit falls 19% &#187 BLOG: South Bay business news

For Aaron Carter, a musician struggling to fit a drum set, a piano and three guitars into his 600-square-foot apartment in Phoenix, the math on owning a home finally began to work in his favor.