The government sent out an additional 2.4 million stimulus payments, totaling $1.5 billion, since July 11, according to a statement from the Treasury department.

Stocks slumped Friday afternoon, capping off a good month on a bad note, as investors mulled Dell’s weaker-than-expected earnings and a big drop in personal income.

Overall, dealmaking may be in a slump, but Big Pharma has been buying up biotech firms at a record pace - it’s now the fastest-growing M&A sector, with deal value up 87% this year.

Despite Tropical Storm Gustav’s threat to infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, oil prices fell from an earlier rally Friday as the dollar gained traction against the euro.

After nearly a year of negotiations, recent rumblings from China signal that Apple is nearing an agreement with China Mobile to sell the iPhone.