Financial market turmoil underscores the need for "generous" capital cushions, and banks need to actively raise money as needed, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

The Senate is nearing a deal on a multibillion dollar housing rescue package, legislators involved in the deal said .

The economy showed more signs of weakness in both manufacturing and employment, according to the latest data.

Retailer J.C. Penney reported a 50 percent drop in quarterly profit Thursday as weak demand forced it to cut prices to clear unsold merchandise, but the results were better than Wall Street expected.

Business magnate Donald Trump recently sold a house in Palm Beach for $100 million, although the U.S. housing sector is still weak, he told "Squawk Box."

In the real world, gasoline prices surged 5.6% in April, but the government smooths out seasonal oddities so prices appeared lower in Wednesday's inflation report.

Bond fund leader Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian on Wednesday said the Federal Reserve does not have the tools to deal with the U.S. housing crisis and rapidly rising consumer prices, leaving it to lawmakers to avert a severe recession.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker Wednesday said the central bank's role in overseeing financial markets needs to be more clearly defined and the that of rating agencies, sovereign wealth funds and hedge funds in the financial crisis should be weighed.

Compass Group, the world's biggest caterer, beat forecasts with a 29 percent rise in first-half profit on Wednesday and unveiled plans to buy back 400 million pounds ($779 million) of its shares over 18 months.

Consumer prices rose a smaller-than-expected 0.2 percent in April as energy prices held steady, a Labor Department report on Wednesday showed.

U.S. mortgage applications rose for a second consecutive week, fueled by a jump in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates dropped, an industry group said Wednesday.

US home foreclosure filings in  April rose 4% from March and were up a whopping 65% from a year earlier, as credit troubles and tumbling home values weigh on the housing market.

Acquisition charges pushed video game publisher Electronic Arts to a loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, but the company's strong software sales helped the company's revenue blow past analyst expectations.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen said Tuesday the current level of U.S. interest rates should boost the economy in the second half of 2008.

The U.S. economy will barely expand in the second quarter and the chances of it shrinking have risen, following sluggish growth early in the year, said a Philadelphia Federal Reserve survey released Tuesday.