Stocks pulled it together and rallied on Friday as investors cheered a better-than-expected jobs report . The gains followed two days of declines as investors grew increasingly nervous ahead data. The report seemed to confirm other recent indications that the economy is stabilizing. Earlier in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average cracked the 9,400 mark for the first time since November 4. Strength in the financial sector also contributed to today's rally. Shares of AIG (AIG) surged after the company reported its first quarterly profit in two years. U.S. light crude oil for September delivery fell 51 cents to $71.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.85%.

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The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which was the last bank to publish figures this week, reported net losses of $1.7 billion. RBS was recently bailed out by the British government, so taxpayers are definitely not thrilled about this news. The bank is being forced to pump more money into Citizens Financial Group because of surging delinquencies. Hopefully Stephan Hester's change of plans will take the bank in the right direction.

The United States and UBS (UBS) are in the final stages of an agreement to settle a legal case that sought to force the Swiss banking giant to disclose the names of wealthy American clients suspected of tax-evasion. As the rules change in Switzerland's private banking sector, where will all the"crooks, despots and war criminals go now?" Despite recent developments, Swiss private banks will survive and thrive .

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American International Group (AIG ) reported its first quarterly profit since late 2007. It was refreshing to finally hear some positive news from the company. Let's not forget that the troubled insurer has been surrounded by controversy ever since the financial crisis began. Taxpayers are still mad about those bonuses and conferences held at luxury resorts .

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CIT Group Inc. (CIT), which is trying to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, said that it will suspend dividend payments on its four series of preferred stock in order to preserve cash while it restructures its balance sheet. The commercial lender has received the final $1 billion of $3 billion in financing arranged by bondholders .

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The highly-anticipated jobs report was released by the Labor Department. The American economy shed 247,000 jobs last month, the smallest monthly toll since last August. The data reiterated what most analysts have speculated; the economy is starting to emerge from this awful recession. We're definitely not out of the woods yet. The White House is expecting unemployment to hit 10% before this is over.

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Target (TGT) told Amazon, Inc. (AMZN) to get lost. The chain retail store announced plans to build its own online store platform. The current contract between the two companies is set to end in 2011.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) is planning to give some more of its employees a pink slip. The world's largest carrier will cut management and administrative jobs to save money.

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President Barack Obama signed into law the extension of the "cash for clunkers" program. You still have time to trade-in that clunker sitting in your driveway.

Facebook is shaping up to be a playground for both young and old people. The latest demographic figures show that t he number of members who are 55 and older grew 25% in the last month alone .

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California state and local officials, already reeling from budget cuts and public-safety layoffs, are struggling with a federal order to release about 40,000 inmates.