(Reuters) - A senior U.S. Federal Reserve official warned on Monday that he would vote to scale back or stop the central bank's $600 billion bond-buying program if it proves to be "demonstrably counterproductive." Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher, who has repeatedly said he would not support any more bond buying after the program ends in June, said he was doubtful the purchases were doing much good.

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(Reuters) - Stocks extended losses on Friday with the S&P 500 and Dow industrials down more than 1 percent, weighed by rising oil prices and after a slight disappointment following the government's payrolls report. A drop in bank shares following Bank of America Merrill's downgrade of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup also dragged equities lower. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 140.24 points, or 1.14 percent, to 12,117.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 15.25 points, or 1.15 percent, to 1,315.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 23.73 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,775.01. (Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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(Reuters) - Hiring by employers hit a nine-month high in February and the jobless rate slipped to a nearly two-year low of 8.9 percent, showing the economy is kicking into a higher gear. Employment increased 192,000, the Labor Department said on Friday, in line with expectations, in what was partly a bounceback from a weather-depressed January. Data for December and January was revised to show 58,000 more jobs created than previously estimated.

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(Reuters) - A sweeping insider trading case that shook the hedge fund world is finally set for trial, with onetime billionaire Raj Rajaratnam fighting to stay out of prison in a courtroom drama over corporate secrets, tapped telephones and friends-turned-government witnesses. Jury selection in the case against the Galleon Group founder in New York starts on Tuesday. The trial, expected to last up to two months, comes as U.S. authorities push on with other probes into stock trading in the $1.9 trillion hedge fund industry based on leaked company earnings and deals.

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(Reuters) - U.S. crude prices jumped to their highest since September 2008 on Friday and Brent rose above $116 a barrel as Libyan security forces cracked down on protesters in Tripoli and clashed with rebels near the major oil terminal of Ras Lanuf. Investors watched for extended supply disruptions, weighing the threat that Libya's key oil sector could get embroiled in the revolt, as well as the possibility that spreading protests and unrest could affect other producers in the region, especially top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia.

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(Reuters) - Long outgunned by Wall Street's big brains and big budgets, U.S. financial regulators are hoping to close the gap -- if they get the money to do it. Bestowed with new powers from the Dodd-Frank reform law, the regulators are trying to attract people with Wall Street experience and retool antiquated surveillance systems.

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(Reuters) - Stocks rallied more than 1 percent in early trading on Thursday as crude oil prices fell and jobless claims dropped to a 2-1/2 year low. Initial jobless claims came in much stronger than expected at 368,000, one day after a similarly robust ADP report on private sector hiring. Taken together, the two could bode well for Friday's February payroll report. The Arab League said a peace plan for Libya was under consideration, and while have some have questioned the substance of the plan, put forth by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, a resolution could remove a major headwind to equities.

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(Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to their lowest level in more than 2-1/2 years, signaling an acceleration in job creation could be under way. The labor market outlook was also enhanced by another report on Thursday showing steady productivity growth in the fourth quarter, implying that employers might be forced to step-up hiring to meet growing demand.

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(Reuters) - The European Central Bank may hike interest rates next month, far earlier than markets expected, though any rise would not signal the start of a series of increases, President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Thursday. Trichet dismissed the idea that a rate rise in April could be bigger than 25 basis points, saying that such a scenario was "not the appropriate interpretation." "The position of the Governing Council is that an increase in interest rates at the next meeting is possible," he told a news conference after the central bank left rates at a record low 1.0 percent.

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(Reuters) - American International Group Inc sold $9.6 billion worth of MetLife Inc shares on Wednesday, producing gross proceeds of about $6.3 billion to accelerate its payback of U.S. Treasury bailout funds. AIG and the Treasury said a total of 146.8 million shares of MetLife common stock were sold at $43.25 per share in a deal that met strong demand. AIG and the Treasury expected it to take two days to market the MetLife shares but managed to close the book in just one day, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday night.

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