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Democrats maneuvered a massive overhaul of the nation's health care system toward a make-or-break vote in the House on Saturday, getting a last-minute appeal from President Barack Obama to pass his top domestic priority.

In a private meeting on Capitol Hill and from the presidential podium in the Rose Garden, President Barack Obama on Saturday pressed for House passage of a health overhaul bill and told lawmakers "to rise to this moment" and "answer the call of history."

A national spokesman for the Philadelphia transit system's largest union says reports of a tentative agreement were "premature" and the negotiations aimed at ending a five-day strike continue.

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

China's premier stressed Saturday that his country's push to boost already burgeoning trade ties with Africa was "sincere and selfless," as the Asian powerhouse battled criticism its quest for natural resources was at the expense of the poverty-ravaged continent.

Finance officials from rich and developing countries pledged Saturday 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.

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.

House Democratic leaders say President Barack Obama, who made a quick trip to Capitol Hill, inspired their party to pass health care legislation.

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.

Tens of thousands of South Korean workers rallied Saturday to protest the government's plan to begin implementing contentious labor laws.

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.

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.

Britain urged world governments on Saturday to consider a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, departing from long-held opposition, though there was little sign of the consensus needed to make it fly.

Wall Street firms are in a quandary about getting involved with a planned public offering of Russian aluminum producer UC RUSAL because its founder has been barred from getting a U.S. visa on account of allegations that he is connected to organized crime, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturda.

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.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said quarterly earnings tripled, as rising stock markets boosted its investment holdings and a quiet hurricane season contributed to higher insurance profit.

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.

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.

Bank regulators closed Home Federal Savings Bank, of Detroit, on Friday, the 117th U.S. bank to fail this year as deteriorating loans continue to take their toll on financial institutions.

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.

Amid job uncertainty, more people are finding online employment sites and social media a way to take control of their own careers.

Airlines are continuing to take delivery of new planes and finding ways to finance them, making production cuts at Airbus unnecessary for now, Louis Gallois said.

The ailing insurer will sell the life insurance subsidiary, which is based in Taiwan, for $2.15 billion to raise cash.

The New York Times has decided not to sell The Boston Globe.

A developer announced the record sale just hours after Hong Kong’s chief executive warned that the city might be facing a real estate bubble.

Two victims of Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme sued the Securities and Exchange Commission saying that the agency’s failure to detect the fraud contributed to their losses.

National Amusements, the Redstone family movie theater company that also serves as a vehicle to control Viacom and CBS, said it would sell nearly $1 billion worth of shares in the two media companiesto pay down its large debt load.

The troubled 80-year-old title will continue to be a weekly print publication, rechristened Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

The pension fund said that the inquiry focuses on payments of more than $50 million that outside managers made over a five-year period.

The back-to-back typhoons that struck the Philippines have devastated small entrepreneurs.

And it wields a mean new lightsaber.

A private equity giant is selling investments, does that mean you should run for the hills?

CSX displays the real face of recovery.

PepsiCo's latest app is a sexist misstep.

It's crucial to take on some new tasks during the three to five years before you retire.

Outages happen. Why not make money from them?

Barrick's purchase of El Morro is just the tip of the iceberg.

Your grandparents' portfolio may have looked better than yours.

Can you spot it when you see it?

You decide.

Why free people and free markets are the best answer in today's economy.

Some companies crank out vaporware. Apple outsources that job to the press.

The club of ultra-exclusive sports cars is about to get a little more diverse.

Businesses are buying more sports tickets again.

BID Trading CEO Tim Mahoney argues the merits of dark pools.

In the search for blame, why not Moore's Law?

For a big economic rebound, pray housing holds up.

To start with, communicate, empathize, make some sacrifices and communicate more.

The 2009 Boost Your Business competition gets down to the wire.

With banks foundering, proprietary trading firms have prospered. Now some are drawing a closer look.

8 Recommendations

First it was books. Now it's DVDs.

5 Recommendations

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.

4 Recommendations

For months he had warned it was coming but that didn't ease the political shockwaves for President Barack Obama when unemployment topped 10 percent.

4 Recommendations

Democrats maneuvered a massive overhaul of the nation's health care system toward a make-or-break vote in the House on Saturday, getting a last-minute appeal from President Barack Obama to pass his top domestic priority.

4 Recommendations

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.