Health care legislation taking shape in the House carries a price tag of at least $1 trillion over a decade, significantly higher than the target President Barack Obama has set, congressional officials said Friday as they struggled to finish work on the measure for a vote early next month.

The World Trade Organization has opened an investigation into whether European Union charges on imports of Chinese steel fasteners comply with international commerce rules.

The tally of bank failures easily broke past the No. 100 milestone on Friday night, with regulators announcing the year’s 106th closure.

ECRI’s leading U.S. index dips

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—-Add to headline of release: The Westward Fund Says:

Climate Change: With less than two months to go before the big Copenhagen Conference on global warming, two major nations have said “no…

Appliance maker Electrolux announced Friday that it would close two Iowa plants by spring 2011, putting 850 people out of work as operations are moved to Mexico.

Investors dumped stocks and locked in profits Friday after the glow of a week full of strong earnings reports faded. The retreat came as cautious forecasts from railroads caused unease about the economy and a rising dollar pushed prices of commodities lower, which hurt materials and energy stocks.

Shares of Capital One Financial Corp. surged after analysts raised profit expectations following the credit card issuer’s third-quarter earnings, which easily beat Wall Street forecasts.

Bank closings for the year hit 100 on Friday when regulators shut down Partners Bank in Florida. Financial institutions nationwide have collapsed under the weight of soured real estate loans and the Great Recession.