Reuters - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he was late to see the storm gathering around U.S. mortgage lending practices and commended his successor Ben Bernanke's handling of the crisis, saying he would likely be responding in a similar fashion.

AP - Oil prices briefly hit a record high and gasoline futures rose Thursday as refiners reported production problems after Hurricane Humberto hit Texas.

Reuters - Shareholders in ABN AMRO will weigh three key events in the coming week to decide which of two rival bidders will clinch control of the Dutch bank after a six-month takeover battle.

AFP - The ECB says it is ready to raise interest rates, but the euro's strength along with record oil prices and uncertainty from the US home loan crisis has delayed a hike that now looks even less likely.