Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Friday said third quarter net income tripled, as rising stock markets boosted its investment holdings and a quiet hurricane season contributed to higher insurance profit.

By Jonathan Stempel and Lilla Zuill

Eight major US banks that received government bailouts have already set aside $117.6 billion this year to pay employees, almost as much as they paid in all of 2008, a Reuters analysis finds .

A US bankruptcy judge set a December 8 hearing to consider approval of CIT Group's reorganization plan, aiding the large commercial lender's effort to emerge from bankruptcy by year's end.

By Jonathan Stempel

The nation's biggest banks face a February deadline for submitting employee compensation plans to the Federal Reserve, according to people with knowledge of the process.

The government's "pay czar" expects compensation plans for additional employees at the seven companies getting the biggest bailouts to be in place by year's end, while the Federal Reserve will soon start its own work on banks' pay practices.

Signed contracts to buy previously occupied U.S. homes rose for the eighth straight month in September as buyers scrambled to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time buyers.

CIT Group Inc's bankruptcy filing, while long expected, could still trigger a financing crunch for many of the hundreds of thousands of small businesses it finances.

Senior congressional Democrats say legislation is still needed to limit how lenders charge customers who overspend on their accounts, even though some big banks have already curbed high-fee overdraft programs.

Not only have credit card companies continued to use practices that will be outlawed under a strict law due to take effect in February.

Not only have credit card companies continued to use practices that will be outlawed under a strict law due to take effect in February, in many cases their policies have gotten harsher since the law passed.

Home resales in September clocked the largest monthly increase in 26 years as buyers scrambled to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires.

The nation's biggest banks face a February deadline for submitting employee compensation plans to the Federal Reserve, according to people with knowledge of the process.

Stocks finished lower after well-known banking analyst Dick Bove downgraded his rating on Wells Fargo.