President Bush and Congress are clashing over how to address the housing crisis, clouding the prospects of an election-year rescue package.

Bush said Wednesday he would veto Democrats' broad housing aid plan, saying it wouldn't help struggling homeowners.

"We are committed to a good housing bill that will help folks stay in their house, as opposed to a housing bill that will reward speculators and lenders," Bush said at the White House after meeting with House Republican leaders.

The centerpiece of the housing package, aimed at preventing foreclosures, would have the government step in to insure up to $300 billion in new mortgages for distressed homeowners.

Wall Street tumbled Wednesday as the price of a barrel of oil soared to a record near $124 and touched off concerns that the stock market's recent gains might have been premature as consumers grapple with rising energy and food costs. The major stock market indexes each lost more than 1.5 percent, with the Dow Jones industrial average declining by more than 200 points.

Sharp gains in commodities prices have drawn fresh attention from investors worried that consumers — the lifeblood of the U.S. economy — will be forced to pare discretionary spending to keep up with increasing costs for necessities.

A tiny country of 7 million people, with few natural resources and surrounded by enemies, Israel has against the odds built an economy that has achieved global status and growth of 5 percent a year since 2003.

A shift to free-market policies in recent years has helped, but much of Israel's growth has been based on entrepreneurs who start technology companies and then take them public or sell them, a model that may be reaching the limits of its economic potential.

Oil futures held steady above $120 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after surpassing that mark for the first time in the previous session on threats to supply and a weakening of the U.S. dollar.

The surge in oil prices was also fueled by hopes that the U.S. economy will be spared a sharp downturn after the release of data Monday showing an unexpected expansion in the U.S. service sector in April, analysts said.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 20 cents to $120.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract surged to a trading record of $120.36 a barrel overnight before settling at $119.97 a barrel, up $3.65 from Friday's close.

For years, Northern Ireland was a byword for brutality and fear. But now, the tiny province is selling itself as a central, low-cost land of business opportunity, and investors are buying.

A year after Catholic and Protestant political foes put aside decades of hostility and agreed to share power in a regional government, attention is focused on opening the public sector-heavy economy and attracting investment.

"There is no doubt that Northern Ireland is now seen as being open for business," Economy Minister Nigel Dodds told Reuters. "People now see a major opportunity."

Software maker walks away after it says it raised its offer to $46 billion; CEO Ballmer says economics demanded by Yahoo 'do not make sense.'

Microsoft Corp.'s pursuit of Yahoo Inc. ended abruptly Saturday when the world's largest software maker withdrew a sweetened $46 billion offer and said it would not make a hostile bid for the Internet company.

Microsoft said the breakdown came despite having raised the bid to $33 a share, or $5 billion above what it said was the current value of the offer and a 70% premium compared to its original offer.

Nearly 8 million Americans received tax rebates in the past week. Treasury Department hopes to distribute remaining payments by July.

Nearly 8 million taxpayers found some extra money in their bank account this week, courtesy of the U.S. Treasury.

The Treasury Department deposited about $7.1 billion into the accounts of more than 7.7 million taxpayers this week in the first stage of an economic stimulus package that passed earlier this year to help Americans combat a slowing economy.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Time's running out for Microsoft to announce a new plan of action for Yahoo!

Last week, the software titan had said it would announce this week how it will proceed in its three-month quest for Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) after the Internet giant failed to respond to Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) April 26 deadline to accept its $31-per-share offer. So far, Microsoft has not uttered a word.

How weird have things gotten in the drug industry? Ask Roger Newton, who led the development of Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's biggest drug. Then, 10 years ago, he left to found a biotech and sold it to Pfizer for more than a billion dollars. And now he's spinning the same biotech back out as a start-up backed with $22.75 million in venture capital to support its work to develop new heart disease drugs that work by boosting the good cholesterol, HDL.

Stranger still, the deal, almost a year in the making, seems to make sense for all involved, including Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) itself.

Even during down times, some buys are just too sweet to pass up.

On Monday, candy outfit Mars and billionaire Warren Buffett confirmed their joint bid for William Wrigley Jr. Co. (nyse: WWY - news - people ). The all-cash offer to buy the gum maker is for $80 per share, or $23.0 billion. Wrigley shares added 24.0%, or $14.95, in premarket trading in New York.

The offer represents a premium of 28.0% to Wrigley's Friday closing price of $62.45. The deal is expected to be concluded in the next six to 12 months.