The U.S. trade deficit widenes sharply in September as global activity returns to levels not seen since the financial crisis hit hard in the fall of 2008.

  Property shares are upside standouts in a subdued London, helping offset a bit of earnings-related weakness as the trading week draws toward a close.

  U.S. stock futures edged higher on Friday, helped by stronger-than-forecast Walt Disney results with consumer confidence data still on tap.

  Just because the latest European economic news could have been worse, doesn’t mean it won’t be, writes Tom Bemis.

  Led by higher prices for energy goods, the prices of goods imported into the United States rise by 0.7% in October, the third increase in a row, the Labor Department estimates.

  Iberia could still pull the plug on its deal with British Airways should the latter fail to sort out its pension deficit but the Spanish airline’s weak third-quarter results and dim outlook clearly lay out why it came back to the negotiation table.

  J.C. Penney Co.'s third-quarter profit tumbled 78%, hurt by higher pension expense and consumers cutting back on non-essential items such as fine jewelry.

  Dell will soon have the Mini 3, a so-called smartphone designed around Google’s Android platform, on the market in China and Brazil.

  My daughter's homeowner association in Raleigh, N.C., is trying to assess a $20,000 fee on 16 owners for the repair and maintenance of a sewage pump station on her street.

  Medical liability reform is like the Groundhog Day of health-care legislation: It keeps popping up in various incarnations at predictable times.