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CONSUMER BORROWING DROPS $14.8B IN SEPTEMBER

Consumers borrowed less for a record eighth straight month in September amid rising unemployment and tight credit conditions. Economists worry the declines in borrowing will be a drag on the fledgling recovery. The Federal Reserve said Friday that borrowing fell at an annual rate of $14.8 billion in September. That's the biggest decline since July and was larger than the $10 billion drop economists expected. Americans are borrowing less as they try to repair cracked nest eggs and replenish rainy-day funds in a dismal jobs market. Many are finding it hard to get credit as banks, hit by the worst financial crisis in decades, have tightened lending standards.

AIG POSTS ANOTHER QUARTERLY PROFIT

AIG said Friday it was profitable for the second straight quarter as its core insurance operations continue to stabilize after the company's bailout by the government last year. American International Group Inc. said the amount of its government financial assistance dropped by 4 percent during the third quarter. Its results got a lift from the increasing value of investments it still holds that soured last year and helped drive it to the brink of collapse. Although new insurance business stabilized compared with the second quarter, it is still sharply below year-ago figures as the economy remains weak and AIG struggles with its image after being bailed out by the government. A recovery in its core insurance operations is considered vital to AIG repaying the government.

TWO MUSIC-SHARING SITES BLOCKED

A federal judge has temporarily blocked two music-sharing Web sites from selling songs by the Beatles and other artists for 25 cents apiece. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter on Thursday blocked the sites BlueBeat.com and Basebeat.com and owner Hank Risan from selling copyrighted songs by the Beatles and others. Music company EMI Group filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking an injunction against the sites, claiming they were engaging in music piracy.

FDA TELLS WEB COMPANIES NOT TO SELL FLAVORED CIGS

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has warned several companies to stop selling banned flavored cigarettes to U.S. consumers online. The agency sent letters this week to more than a dozen Web-based companies saying they are violating a new ban and asking the companies to describe in writing what action they have taken to comply. The FDA banned candy-, fruit- and clove-flavored cigarettes in September. Federal health authorities and regulators say those products appeal especially to young people and are thought to attract new smokers. Almost 90 percent of adult smokers picked up the habit as teenagers, the agency has said, and the ban will help prevent an average of more than 3,600 young people each day from starting smoking.

GOLD REACHES $1,100; OTHER COMMODITIES FALL

Gold prices outshone other commodities Friday, soaring to $1,100 an ounce, as prices for copper, oil and soybeans fell. After briefly touching $1,100, gold for December delivery added $6.40 to settle at $1,095.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have risen for five straight days, gaining 5.3 percent this week.