WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress called on Wednesday for the appointment of a mortgage czar to help stem a jump in foreclosures and $200 million of fresh funding to help troubled borrowers save their homes.

  WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of newly laid off workers filingclaims for unemployment benefits shot up last week by the biggestamount in four months.

  

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  (Oct. 3) - Stay-at-home moms and working mothers have hardly called a truce in the so-called Mommy Wars — the debate over which sort of parenting is better for a child: a mother at home or on the job.

  While the ailing housing market may have hurt some sectors of the economy, growth has not halted entirely. Indications are that coming months will show continued, if moderated, growth rather than a looming recession, according to one trade group.

  WASHINGTON (Oct. 3) - The airline industry's dismal on-timeperformance in 2007 continued in August with nearly 30 percent offlights delayed.

  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As the list of proposed remedies to the subprime crisis has grown longer, the chorus against helping troubled borrowers has gotten louder.

  Now might not be the best time to start a CD store or a video arcade. What were yesterday's hot startups are now questionable propositions. Times are changing, and within a decade, these 10 businesses may be little more than fond memories of days gone by.

  (Oct. 3) - The Wal-Mart Era, the retailer's time of overwhelming business and social influence in America, is drawing to a close.