The House of Representatives passed hotly-debated legislation Friday to bail out the troubled financial industry by a 263-171 vote, agreeing to the Senate bill that passed on Tuesday and sending it to the White House for President Bush's signature.

Stocks dropped early in trading Thursday after the government reported that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose to a seven-year high and that orders for manufactured goods dropped by 4 percent in August.

Jan 22

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After many world financial markets suffered their biggest losses Monday since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Federal Reserve slashed a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday -- its biggest cut in more than 23…