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(Reuters) - Dell Inc is trying to sell computer factories around the world in efforts to cut cost and improve profitability, the Wall Street Journal said.

LONDON - World stock markets fell sharply Friday in the wake of a sell-off on Wall Street amid mounting concerns about a slumping U.S. economy and its impact on global growth.

WASHINGTON - The nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.

WASHINGTON - Troubled by the Bear Stearns debacle, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is advocating a new way of dealing with government bailouts of companies whose sudden collapse could wreak havoc on the country's economic and financial stability.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The big switch to digital TV has prison officials scrambling to keep one of the most important peacekeeping tools in prisons across the nation — broadcast television.

NEW YORK - Wall Street looked to extend its sharp decline Friday after the government disappointed investors with news that the economy shed jobs for the eighth straight month in August and at a faster-than-expected pace.

Oil prices dropped below $107 a barrel Friday as the dollar continued to gain on the euro and investors waited to see if OPEC moves to restrict output next week amid a two-month plunge in prices.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks headed for a lower open on Friday after a government report showed the U.S. labor market deteriorated further in August, pushing the unemployment rate to its highest in more than 4-1/2 years.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co, the world's biggest manager of bond funds, named Mohamed El-Erian as its sole chief executive after co-CEO Bill Thompson retires at the end of the year.

(Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co , battered by more than $40 billion of write-downs tied largely to mortgages, will likely incur fresh write-downs, in addition to those assumed after its recent sale of repackaged debt to Lone Star Funds, said an analyst at Goldman Sachs, who cut the stock to a "sell."

NEW YORK - Conventional wisdom had long held that some industries would collapse if oil topped $100 a barrel. As oil neared $150, sending costs higher for everything from jet fuel to plastic jars, the question was how many companies would succumb.

SEATTLE - Representatives from Boeing Co. and the machinists union met with a federal mediator Thursday as the clock ticked on an unusual two-day contract extension after union production workers soundly rejected a contract offer and voted to strike.

KOLKATA, India (AFP) - Indian tycoon Krishna Kumar Birla, whose family empire spanned industries from sugar to newspapers, died Saturday at the age of 90, an aide said.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE) warned on Friday that the soft global economy, tough competition from rivals and a weak handset portfolio would hit its market share in the third quarter.

Dell has taken the wraps off a new mini-notebook PC squarely aimed at U.S. consumers. Called the Inspiron Mini 9, the PC maker's first offering in the so-called netbook category sports an 8.9-inch LED screen with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Reuters) - Senior Federal Reserve officials on Thursday said the U.S. economy seems on the verge of another slowdown while the most severe inflation threats may have passed, hinting that the central bank could keep interest rates at current levels for some time.

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices fell below 105 dollars Friday on concerns over slowing energy demand and a strong US currency, while the market awaited next week's OPEC meeting on crude output levels, traders said.

LONDON - Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, signaled its intention to push its business in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America and oil rich countries in the Gulf, warning on Friday that a shift in world power can not be ignored.