Wall Street Turns Higher

Investors pushed stocks higher on Friday as they shifted focused from the August jobs report . The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 96.13 points. The positive momentum spilled over into broader stocks indicators. The Nasdaq and the Standard and Poor's 500 index ended the day with gains. Trading volume was light ahead of the three-day Labor Day weekend. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers beat decliners nearly three to one on volume of 500 million shares. Stocks initially declined as bank and tech shares bounced between negative and positive territory. Shares on the rise included Apple (AAPL), U.S. Bancrop (USB), Microsoft (MSFT), and Caterpillar (CAT). Shares of Apple advanced ahead of next week's media event. The company is expected to add some new devices to its long list of popular products. The first three sessions of this week were very volatile as investors waited for readings on the health of the economy, but the end of the week shaped up much better. U.S. light crude oil for October delivery rose 23 cents to $68.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.42%.

Will Markets Fall After Labor Day?

Start Your Weekend with These Stories

The highly anticipated unemployment report was released by the Labor Department today. The country shed 216,000 jobs in August as the unemployment rate crept up to 9.7%. Another more comprehensive gauge of unemployment ticked up even more. The government's broader measure, known as the "U-6" hit 16.8% in August . Rising unemployment and a lack of jobs is forcing job seekers to accept lower pay just so they can get a job. The economy is slowly improving, but this probably will not prevent employers from eliminating jobs.

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Hidden Pockets of Elderly -- The poverty rate among older Americans could be nearly twice as high as the traditional 10 percent level.

The recession's "do-it-yourself" economy has encouraged consumers to find ways to be more self-sufficient. Apparently more consumers are doing their own taxes. H&R Block Inc. (HRB) reported that its first-quarter loss widened slightly.

Kai-Fu Lee is saying goodbye to Google after only four years. The president of Google (GOOG) Greater China has decided to leave the company to work on his own venture. His exit from the company has been much more peaceful than his entrance in 2005.

Today kicks off the Labor Day weekend for the majority of Americans. Some will be packing up their cars or boarding flights to get one last vacation in before the start of Fall. AAA is projecting that the number of people traveling during the holiday will be lower than it was last year.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) unloaded nearly 800,000 shares of Moody's (MCO) this week. This is the second time in two months that the company has cut its stake in the rating agency. Does the Oracle of Omaha know something that other investors don't?

Did the Oracle just blink?

CIT Group Inc. (CIT) has chosen to extend its current CEO Jeffrey Peek's contract by another year. Some people don't understand the decision given the company's close proximity to bankruptcy over the last couple months.

Following a lackluster back-to-school shopping season, Citigroup (C) slashed its rating for popular teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF).

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Resist the Urge to Strangle Bankers -- May be easier said than done.

Recruiters are in surprising agreement as to which companies they avoid when looking for executive talent.

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The National Football League was sacked by the recession over the past year. How much is your favorite team worth now?

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