(Reuters) - Factory activity expanded at a faster pace than expected in September as production and hiring increased, suggesting that manufacturing should help keep the economy out of recession. The Institute for Supply Management said on Monday its index of national factory activity rose to 51.6 last month from 50.6 in August.

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(Reuters) - Greece's admission that it will miss its deficit target this year despite harsh new austerity measures sent stock markets reeling on Monday and raised new doubts over a planned second international bailout. The gloomy news from Athens brought the specter of a debt default closer and will weigh on talks among euro zone finance ministers in Luxembourg later on Monday on the next steps to try to resolve the currency area's sovereign debt crisis.

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(Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC's U.S. sales rose 27 percent in September as the No. 3 U.S. automaker had its best performance for that month since 2007. Chrysler was the first automaker to report U.S. September sales, which are expected to be the strongest since April, industry analysts last week said.

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(Reuters) - Factory activity in Europe and Asia slumped in September to levels not seen since the depths of the financial crisis as export demand dropped, surveys showed on Monday, reinforcing fears of a return to recession. Corresponding figures for the United States due later on Monday are expected to underscore the gloomy outlook for the global economy.

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(Reuters) - Stocks fell on Friday, putting equities on track for their worst quarter since 2008, as economic data from China and Europe fueled fears of a global economic slowdown. The S&P 500 index has lost nearly than 13 percent this quarter and 5.6 percent in September, leaving the benchmark index on pace for its fifth monthly decline. Stocks have been weighed down by signs of an global economic

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(Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff found "apparent failures" at each of the 10 credit rating agencies it examined, including Standard & Poor's and Moody's, the agency said on Friday in its first annual report of credit raters. The SEC staff said concerns include failures to follow ratings methodologies, failures in making timely and accurate disclosures and failures to manage conflicts of interest.

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(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp were hit with new lawsuits by investors seeking to recover losses on $4.5 billion of soured mortgage debt, expanding the litigation targeting the two largest U.S. banks. Sealink Funding Ltd said between 2005 and 2007 it bought nearly $2.4 billion of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) from JPMorgan and $1.6 billion from Bank of America in reliance on offering materials that were misleading about the quality of the underwriting and underlying loans.

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(Reuters) - Consumers struggled to make ends meet in August as incomes fell for the first time in nearly two years, while a surge in Midwest manufacturing this month provided one bright spot in an otherwise weak economy. Income slipped 0.1 percent, the Commerce Department said on Friday, the first decline since October 2009 and contrasted with economists' expectations for a 0.1 percent advance.

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(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will act if the economy weakens further and has the tools to do so, a top Fed official said on Friday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said he expects the economy to grow modestly over the next year -- though the sluggish pace leaves it vulnerable to shocks.

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(Reuters) - Stocks erased early gains and the Nasdaq turned negative on Thursday as weakness in semiconductor shares weighed on the overall market and optimism over a German vote to beef up the euro zone's bailout fund faded. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 122.72 points, or 1.11 percent, to 11,133.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 6.10 points, or 0.53 percent, to 1,157.16. But the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 9.48 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,482.10.

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