(Reuters) - Employers hired more workers than expected in September and job gains for the prior two months were revised higher, easing recession fears. But the unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.1 percent, keeping pressure on President Barack Obama and the U.S. Federal Reserve to do more to spur a stronger recovery.

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(Reuters) - Debt rating agencies had the knives out for some of Europe's weakened banks on Friday, highlighting the pressure for decisive government action in support for the industry. Moody's Investors Service downgraded its ratings on nine Portuguese banks, citing the increased asset risk linked to their holdings of Portuguese government debt and the sovereign downgrade of Portugal in July.

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(Reuters) - The most urgent issue facing the U.S. economy is job creation and returning the country to prosperity, a top U.S. Federal Reserve official who opposed the latest Fed's move to ease monetary policy said on Friday. While headline inflation has risen in recent months, the data suggests it will gravitate toward the Fed's target of about 2 percent, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told the Texas A&M Retailing Summit.

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(Reuters) - Sony Corp is in talks to buy out Ericsson's stake in their mobile phone joint venture, a source said, in a bid to catch up with rivals. The move could help Sony recoup ground in the battle against Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics, where it has been hampered by its disparate offerings of mobile gadgets and online content.

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(Reuters) - Stocks floated higher in volatile trading on Thursday as plans to shore up stressed European banks moved into higher gear and the head of European Central Bank warned about increased risk in the region. Wall Street rallied for a third straight session, but the earlier gains came after markets soared late in the day. The S&P 500 index gained 4.1 percent over that period.

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(Reuters) - Outpourings of public grief and appreciation swept the globe on Thursday after the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Jobs, who touched the daily lives of countless millions of people through the Macintosh computer, iPod, iPhone and iPad, died on Wednesday at age 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He stepped down as Apple chief executive in August.

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(Reuters) - European Union moves to shore up ailing banks moved into higher gear on Thursday and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned that the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis posed "significant risk" to global economic recovery. The EU's executive arm said it would present a plan for member states to coordinate a recapitalization of their banks, as regulators met in London to reassess the capital buffers of stressed lenders that received a clean bill of health in July.

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(Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits rose less than expected last week, according to a government report on Thursday that hinted at an improvement in labor market conditions. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 401,000, the Labor Department said, from a revised 395,000 the prior week.

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(Reuters) - After keeping his cool for almost eight years, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet exploded last month. The Frenchman, renowned for his nuanced and composed answers to journalists' questions, launched into a passionate defense of the ECB's record when asked about calls from some in Germany for a return to the Deutschmark.

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(Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as European finance ministers appeared ready to prop up struggling banks while reports on the U.S. labor market and services sector came in stronger than expected. Early trading was choppy as the market struggled for firm direction after a dramatic turnaround late on Tuesday in which shares ended sharply higher on reports European officials would act to safeguard banks.

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