(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's jobs package could lift economic growth by one to three percentage points in 2012, add well over one million jobs and lower the unemployment rate by at least half a percentage point, judging by early estimates. It might not exactly deliver the "jolt" Obama claimed in his speech to Congress Thursday night, but it would be enough to make a difference.

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(Reuters) - The struggling U.S. housing market is expected to fall a little further as it searches for a bottom, but home prices are seen ticking up modestly in 2012, according to a Reuters poll released on Friday. Economists were divided on whether the worst would be over for the housing market by the end of the year or if it will take more time to reach a floor.

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(Reuters) - The global car industry descends on Frankfurt next week to show off the latest models it hopes will fend off an economic slowdown in some of its biggest markets, as government spending cuts chip away at consumer confidence in Europe. Car makers are also facing slowing growth in China, now the world's number one auto market, and a major driver of surging demand for luxury cars over the last two years.

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(Reuters) - Apple Inc scored a symbolic legal victory in efforts to keep its lead spot in the tablet computer market when a German court upheld a ban barring Samsung's local unit from selling its Galaxy 10.1 tablets in Europe's biggest economy. Samsung, which said it will appeal the decision, and Apple have been locked in a global battle over smartphone and tablet patents since April.

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(Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose more than 2 percent on Wednesday as stocks extended gains on hopes the European debt crisis might ease. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 179.67 points, or 1.61 percent, at 11,318.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 22.89 points, or 1.96 percent, at 1,188.13, after rising more than 2 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 46.74 points, or 1.89 percent, at 2,520.57.

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(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc Chairman Roy Bostock fired CEO Carol Bartz over the phone on Tuesday, ending a tumultuous tenure marked by stagnation and a rift with Chinese partner Alibaba. Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse will step in as interim CEO, and the company will search for a permanent leader to spearhead a battle in online advertising and content with rivals Google Inc and Facebook.

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(Reuters) - Facebook's revenue rose to $1.6 billion in 2011's first half, a source with knowledge of its financials told Reuters. Net income in the first half of 2011 came to almost $500 million, according to the source, who wished to remain anonymous because privately-held Facebook does not disclose its results.

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(Reuters) - President Barack Obama, facing waning confidence among Americans in his economic stewardship, plans some $300 billion in tax cuts and government spending as part of a job-creating package, U.S. media reported on Tuesday. The price tag of the proposed package, to be announced by Obama in a nationally televised speech to Congress on Thursday, would be offset by other cuts that the president would outline, CNN reported, citing Democratic sources.

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(Reuters) - Germany's top court handed the country's parliament a greater say over euro zone bailouts on Wednesday, in a closely-watched ruling that could hamper Berlin's ability to act swiftly to counter a debt crisis that has plagued the currency bloc for two years. The Constitutional Court in the southern city of Karlsruhe rejected, as expected, a series of lawsuits aimed at blocking German participation in emergency loan packages. Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed that decision as validation of her much-criticized euro zone policy.

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(Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) said it would "vigorously contest" a lawsuit by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which said the conglomerate's former WMC unit made inaccurate statements about the sale of two residential mortgage-backed securities. GE was one of 17 large banks and financial institutions sued on Friday by the FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB), over losses on $200 billion of subprime bonds.

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