North Carolina regulators have denied a request by environmental groups to revoke Duke Energy Corp.'s permit for coal-fired generators at its new power plant in the western part of the state.

Stocks tumbled Friday, giving back all of the gains from the prior session, as worries about the recovery escalated after a pair of reports on the consumer and as the dollar rallied. The Dow shed 250 points, or 2.5 percent, but finished flat for the month.

Stocks tumbled Friday, giving back all of the gains from the prior session, as worries about the recovery escalated after a pair of reports on the consumer.

Stocks opened lower Friday after reports showed consumer sentiment and spending have declined.

Duke Energy reported Friday that sales to industrial customers has begun to stabilize, another signal that better economic conditions have led to growing power consumption.

Duke Energy reported Friday that sales to industrial customers have begun to stabilize, another signal that better economic conditions have led to growing power consumption.

Futures indicated a lower open for Wall Street on Friday, the last trading day of October, after the Dow experienced its best day in 3 months Thursday after GDP data showed the world's biggest economy exited recession in the third quarter.

What follows is a roundup of corporate earnings reports for Friday, Oct. 30.

Power company Duke Energy Corp. is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Friday. The following is a summary of key developments and analysis related to the period.

Especially in volatile times, dividends can be a way for investors to more effectively safeguard returns.  Many publicly held corporations pay out a portion of their  earnings to shareholders, giving investors a payback whether the stock price goes up or down.  Cramer's Rule Number Four in his "15 Rules for Playing Defense" calls these "buffers." Calculated as a percentage of share price, dividends have the potential to be cut or changed and yields vary as share prices fluctuate. For the purposes of this report, dividend yield calculations are based on trailing dividends, so dividend cuts yet to occur have not been taken into account. In fact, the #1 company on this list announced a cut in its dividend earlier this year, from $1 to $0.75, but in all likelihood it would remain in the top spot, given its current share price. 

Exelon, one of the country’s largest utilities, said Monday that it would quit the United States Chamber of Commerce because of that group’s stance on climate change. It was the latest in a string of companies to do so, perhaps a harbinger of how intense the fight over global warming legislation could become.

Amid a growing split in the business community over climate policy, Pacific Gas and Electric, a major California utility, is withdrawing from the United States Chamber of Commerce, citing “fundamental differences” with the chamber’s approach to global warming.

Stocks ended flat Tuesday as investors took a breather after Monday's blockbuster rally.

Stocks struggled to stay in positive territory for any length of time Tuesday as profit-taking after Monday's blockbuster rally overshadowed a fifth-straight rise in pending-home sales.

Stocks bounced back from a lower open Tuesday after a surprisingly sharp jump in pending-home sales.