BANGKOK – Oil prices lingered near $75 a barrel Friday in Asia, largely holding onto a big gain the day before as investors put a positive spin on U.S. economic reports and Asian stock markets rose.

Benchmark oil for October delivery was down 30 cents at $74.72 a barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.11 to settle at $75.02 on Thursday.

The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, but are still above levels in a healthy economy.

The National Association of Realtors said the number of Americans who signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose 5.2 percent in July. That was 19 percent below the same month last year and home sales remain at the lowest level in more than a decade.

Oil prices ended higher Thursday after an initial retreat as investors put a positive spin on reports about jobs, manufacturing and home sales.

Benchmark oil for October delivery rose $1.11 to settle at $75.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped as low as $73.11 earlier in the session.

Meanwhile, the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $2.676 on Wednesday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's about 5 cents less than a month ago and 7.4 cents higher than a year ago.

The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, but are still above levels in a healthy economy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employment likely fell for a third straight month in August as more temporary census jobs ended and cautious businesses scaled back hiring, an outcome that could pressure the Federal Reserve to prop up growth.

Nonfarm payrolls fell 100,000 after declining 131,000 in July, according to a Reuters survey. Private payrolls, a better barometer of the labor market's underlying health, are seen rising only 41,000, well below the 71,000 jobs added in July.

The Labor Department will release the closely watched employment report for August at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).

Against the backdrop of weak data such as housing, larger-than-expected job losses last month could heighten fears the economy is sliding back into recession and push the Fed -- the U.S. central bank -- closer to launching a fresh round of bond buying.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that a defendant's successor companies are liable for an $8 million default judgment.

Wednesday's panel ruling in Funai Electric Co. Ltd. v. Daewoo Electronics Corp. reversed a February 2009 ruling of the Northern District of California that two Daewoo entities were not liable for an $8,066,112 default judgment in a patent infringement case against its two predecessor companies.

The majority opinion, authored by Judge Pauline Newman and joined by Judge Alan Lourie, rejected the district court's decision to apply South Korean law concerning successor liability. The majority ruled that New Jersey successor liability law should apply because Daewoo Electronics America Inc., Daewoo's U.S. subsidiary and one of the two successors, is a Florida corporation with headquarters in New Jersey. The court cited a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case, Hertz Corp. v. Friend, which deemed that the laws of a company's "principal place of business" should apply to transactions.

SEOUL (AFP) – South Korea's second largest carmaker Kia Motors said Friday it is recalling about 35,000 vehicles sold in the United States due to faulty wiring in interior lights that could cause fires.

On Tuesday the company said it would recall about 18,000 vehicles sold domestically because of the same problem.

Most vehicles subject to the US recall were made in South Korea except for the Sorento R, which was produced at Kia's factory in the US state of Georgia, a company spokesman said.

The US recall affects about 24,000 Soul hatchbacks produced between September 2009 and June this year and some 11,000 Sorento sport utility vehicles made in the same period.

WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions if they threaten to bring down the financial system.

'If the crisis has a single lesson, it is that the too-big-to-fail problem must be solved,' Bernanke said Thursday while testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

Bernanke also said it was impossible for the Fed to rescue Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy in 2008 because the Wall Street firm lacked sufficient collateral to secure a loan. Lehman's former chief executive told the panel a day earlier that the firm could have been saved, but regulators refused to provide help.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Burger King Holdings Inc agreed to sell itself to investment firm 3G Capital for $3.26 billion, giving the No. 2 U.S. fast-food chain breathing room to fix its business and close the gap with leader McDonald's Corp.

At $24 per share, the offer represents a 46 percent premium to Burger King's price before news of the negotiations emerged on Wednesday.

"It was a call out of the blue," Burger King Chairman and Chief Executive John Chidsey told Reuters in an interview when asked about how the talks started. He declined to give additional details.

Chidsey will keep his roles during a transition period and then become co-chairman with 3G Managing Director Alex Behring.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rebounded unexpectedly in July and new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, helping quell fears the economy could face a double-dip recession.

The data released on Thursday, including sturdy sales from U.S. retailers last month, followed a report on Wednesday showing a surprising gain in manufacturing and suggested the economy retained some underlying strength.

"This is an economy that has hit a soft patch. It's not an economy that appears to be heading toward a double-dip recession," said Brian Levitt, an economist at OppenheimerFunds in New York.

A court battle over modern-day rights to the names of two 1950s doo-wop groups -- The Platters and The Coasters -- has now sparked an appeal that could have far-reaching effects in civil rights litigation.

In Singer Management Consultants Inc. v. Milgram, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has granted en banc rehearing before a 16-judge court to decide on the proper test for determining when a plaintiff is entitled to attorney fees as the "prevailing party."

The vote to rehear the case en banc was a swift one, and it vacates an Aug. 5 decision that said plaintiffs may be entitled to fees even when a case is declared moot if the presiding judge played a role in persuading government officials to change their legal positions.

It seems our economy is unable to promote a significant level of consumer spending without some sort of Federal Assistance. 

Given that this is an election year where the outcome has the potential to be especially significant, it is reasonable to anticipate that lawmakers returning to Washington after their Labor Day recess will be motivated to enact legislation to stimulate economic activity.

One idea being circulated is to re-authorize the recently expired Homebuyer Tax Credits.  While that may seem like a step in the right direction, it is not. In fact, just talking about another homebuyer tax credit could slow sales in the here and now as consumers put off purchase plans in hopes they too will be able to benefit from such incentives.