(Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will invest $5 billion in Bank of America, stepping in to shore up the company in the same way he helped prop up Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis. Bank of America shares rose 24 percent to $8.65 in early trading, erasing a large part of the stock's August losses.

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(Reuters) - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, lifted by striking Verizon Communications workers, a government report showed on Thursday. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 417,000, the Labor Department said, but still nowhere near levels that would signal a recession.

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(Reuters) - The Obama administration is working on proposals to prop up the weak housing market and may back a plan to refinance government-backed mortgages at today's lower interest rates, the New York Times said, citing two people briefed on the discussions. Administration officials said on Wednesday that they were weighing a range of proposals, including changes to its previous refinancing programs to increase the number of homeowners taking part, according to the New York Times. The exact layout of the refinancing plan is still under discussion, the paper said.

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(Reuters) - A German judge said on Thursday an injunction sought by Apple banning the sale of Samsung's new Galaxy Tab tablet computers in Germany appeared valid because there were overarching similarities to Apple's iPad. Speaking before Apple and Samsung made their arguments in court, the judge said her view was that the injunction should be upheld. A final decision is expected later on Thursday.

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(Reuters) - Gold tumbled nearly 3 percent on Thursday to more than $200 below Tuesday's record highs, as investors cashed in scorching gains in the precious metal after the CME Group hiked gold trading margins for a second time this month. Investment appetite for gold has cooled ahead of a widely awaited central bankers' meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as speculation grows over whether or not the Federal Reserve will signal a further round of U.S. monetary easing.

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(Reuters) - China hopes that Europe will take steps to protect China's investments there, Chinese President Hu Jintao told the French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday, nonetheless voicing confidence in the euro and vowing to keep investing in it. Sarkozy, making a brief visit to Beijing, in turn pressed Hu for China's support for his G20 agenda.

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(Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday after the Congressional Budget Office offered an upbeat forecast on the worrisome budget deficits and data showed a strong reading on durable goods orders. In a sign volatility was still a constant, equity indexes rebounded from steep premarket losses following the durables data. All S&P sectors were in positive territory. The government reported that new orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods surged in July.

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(Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods surged in July on strong demand for transportation equipment, government data showed on Wednesday, but a gauge of business spending fell. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders jumped 4 percent after a 1.3 percent drop in June. Economists had expected orders to rise 2 percent last month.

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(Reuters) - A sweeping budget deal and lower interest rates will slice projected U.S. budget deficits nearly in half over the next 10 years, but the economy will remain sluggish in the near term, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported on Wednesday. Unemployment will remain stubbornly high and economic growth will remain sluggish through 2012, CBO said. This could pose a challenge to President Barack Obama's re-election hopes.

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(Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service cut its rating on Japan's government debt by one notch to Aa3 on Wednesday, blaming a build-up of debt since the 2009 global recession and revolving-door political leadership that has hampered effective economic strategies. Japan is preparing to elect its sixth leader in five years to replace unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan, under fire for his handling of the response to a March tsunami and subsequent radiation crisis at a crippled nuclear power plant.

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