Regulators have shut down LibertyPointe Bank in New York City, boosting to 27 the number of bank failures in the U.S. so far this year following the 140 brought down in 2009 by mounting loan defaults and the recession.

Citigroup Inc. says it's heading back toward sustained profitability after two years that saw the bank lose billions of dollars and be bailed out by the government.

Americans are recovering their shrunken wealth -- gradually. Household net worth rose last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was slight.

The government's top securities regulator called Thursday for Congress to impose new oversight on financial derivatives, warning that allowing risky instruments like credit default swaps to continue unfettered could bring further economic damage.

Federal regulators are pledging rigorous reviews of Comcast Corp.'s proposed purchase of NBC Universal to ensure that it would not stifle competition or harm consumers.

U.S. exports dipped in January, the government said Thursday, but economists weren't fazed. They predict export growth will be a bright spot for American manufacturers through the rest of 2010.

A rally in financial stocks Thursday helped the market extend its grind higher to a third day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index cleared an important hurdle watched by traders when it closed just above its January peak to set a new 17-month high.

Government vehicle safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks and are weighing a range of new safety requirements in response to Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles over brake and acceleration problems.

Clashes between riot police and rock-throwing, masked youths broke out during a demonstration Thursday in central Athens by tens of thousands of striking workers protesting austerity measures that the Greek government has said it has no choice but to implement.

BP is expanding its dominant oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico and dropping anchor off Brazil with a $7 billion deal to buy exploration rights from Devon Energy.

Officials broke ground Thursday on a much-delayed 22-acre development project that will bring the NBA's New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn.

Mortgage rates held below the 5 percent threshold for the second straight week, a report said Thursday, weeks before a government program that has been keeping rates low is scheduled to expire.

The number of newly laid-off workers requesting unemployment benefits slipped last week, but remains above the level many economists say would signal new hiring.

Smithfield Foods Inc., the nation's largest hog producer and pork processor, reported a profit on Thursday for its third quarter after more than a year of losses.

Americans regained more of their shrunken wealth last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was less than in the previous two quarters.

The stock market traded in a tight range for a fourth day Thursday after China reported a jump in inflation. Mixed U.S. economic news also held stocks back.

The foreclosure crisis in the U.S. isn't over, but the pace of growth may finally be slowing down. RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday that the number of households facing foreclosure in February grew 6 percent from a year ago, the smallest annual increase in four years.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Thursday for a clampdown on the type of speculative trading that exacerbated Greece's debt crisis and undermined the euro in recent weeks.

The Treasury Department has received $11.15 million from the sale of warrants it received from New York's Signature Bank as part of the support it provided during the financial crisis.

Information on 24,000 HSBC customers with Swiss accounts has been stolen, the British bank said Thursday, potentially exposing large numbers of international clients to prosecution by tax authorities in their home countries.