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Administration unveils financial system overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the financial system designed to impose greater regulation on major players like hedge funds.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers that the changes are needed to fix the flaws exposed by the current financial crisis, the worst to hit the country in seven decades.

Jobless rolls swell again as recession persists

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the 10th week in a row, the number of people receiving jobless benefits grew. It now stands at nearly 5.6 million, the government said -- an indication that the labor market is still grim.

New claims for unemployment benefits rose again as well, to a seasonally adjusted 652,000, up from 644,000 the week before. The government also said the economy shrank at a 6.3 percent annual clip in the fourth quarter, slightly faster than its previous estimate.

Stocks rise on relief over earnings, debt auction

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street's March rally gained momentum on Thursday -- this time, thanks to surprisingly good earnings from some major consumer brands.

Strong demand for government debt at the Treasury Department's latest auction also lifted the stocks. The Dow jumped 174.75, or 2.3 percent, to 7,924.56, its highest close since Feb. 12.

Best Buy Co., ConAgra Foods Inc., and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. all turned in quarterly profits that beat analysts' modest expectations.

Best Buy 4Q profit dips, adj. results top Street

CHICAGO (AP) -- Consumers snapped up surprising numbers of flat-screen televisions, laptops, digital cameras and cell phones during the fourth quarter, helping Best Buy Co. Inc. boost sales by 10 percent, the company reported Thursday.

The quarter's sales were strongest in February, and the world's largest consumer electronics retailer said same-store sales might have been even better if a plan to scale back inventory hadn't left some stores short of TVs and digital cameras shoppers were seeking.

GM says 7,500 hourly workers decide to leave

DETROIT (AP) -- About 7,500 General Motors Corp. workers -- roughly 12 percent of the automaker's U.S. hourly work force -- have signed up to take buyout and early retirement incentives to leave the company, GM said Thursday.

Also, Chrysler LLC said Thursday it would extend its deadline to entice blue-collar workers to leave. The old deadline was Friday.

GM offered $20,000 cash and a $25,000 voucher to buy a car to all of its 62,400 hourly U.S. employees in an effort to further trim its blue-collar work force to match reduced sales.

Mortgage rates drop to record low

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week to the lowest level on record after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to assist the staggering U.S. housing market.

Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 4.85 percent this week, from 4.98 percent last week. It was the lowest in the history of Freddie Mac's survey, which dates back to 1971 and was down a full percentage point from a year ago.

AIG aircraft unit says Fed approves financing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The New York Federal Reserve has signed off on American International Group Inc.'s latest cash infusion for its aircraft leasing unit, a lifeline aimed at keeping it in business until it can be sold.

International Lease Finance Corp., one of the world's largest buyers of airliners, had warned that a failure to come up with new loans from AIG or someone else could threaten its survival.

AIG had already loaned $800 million to the unit to cover its March spending. And on Thursday, ILFC Chief Financial Officer Alan Lund told The Associated Press that another $900 million AIG loan for April was approved late Wednesday by the New York Federal Reserve.

IRS squeezes Swiss bank clients for evidence

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The IRS is ratcheting up the pressure on Americans who kept secret Swiss bank accounts, giving them six months to come clean and cough up any evidence against their advisers or bankers.

Tax lawyers told The Associated Press Thursday that demands for information and evidence have increased sharply since the government sued UBS AG to try to get the names of tens of thousands of U.S. citizens who may have dodged taxes through Swiss accounts.

Crude closes above $54 for first time this year

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices hit a new high for the year Thursday and retail gasoline rose above $2 per gallon for the first time since November as investors wagered that there would be a new run on crude stocks.

Analysts have struggled to explain the recent surge in energy prices, especially as reports continue to pour out from the federal government showing that the U.S. economy is shrinking and its oil inventories are bloated with surplus crude.

New York Times plans temporary pay cut, layoffs

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Times Co. is cutting pay for most employees by 5 percent for a nine-month period and laying off 100 people.

The company's flagship newspaper reported on its Web site Thursday that the cuts will hit most nonunion workers and run from April through December. Employees will receive 10 days off in return.

The Times reported that union employees have been asked to take the cut voluntarily to avoid potential layoffs at the company, which has been struggling with an industrywide advertising downturn.

By The Associated Press

The Dow jumped 174.75, or 2.3 percent, at 7,924.56.

Broader stock indicators also gained. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 18.98, or 2.3 percent, to 832.86, and the Nasdaq rose 58.05, or 3.8 percent, to 1,587.00.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.78, or 4.4 percent, to 445.30.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.57 to settle at $54.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent prices rose $1.71 to settle at $53.46 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for April delivery gained 3.61 cents to settle at $1.5311 a gallon, while heating oil rose 1.66 cents to settle at $1.4813 a gallon. Natural gas for April delivery tumbled 38 cents on the U.S. inventory report to settle at $3.947 per 1,000 cubic feet.