In Friday's Americas papers

Nonprofit hospitals strike it rich

Nonprofit hospitals, originally set up to serve the poor, have transformed themselves into profit machines. And as the money rolls in, the large tax breaks they receive are drawing fire.

Regulators defend Bear rescue

The Fed sought a low sale price for Bear Stearns to send a message that taxpayers wouldn't bail out firms making risky bets, a Treasury Department official testified, as regulators offered Congress an explanation of the rescue.

Hunters comb globe for a hot metal

Ex-UBS executive pushes break-up

Former UBS president Luqman Arnold is pushing for a break-up of the Swiss banking giant in the wake of its $37.7bn in write-downs. The surprise attack promises to increase acrimony inside UBS, which has gutted its leadership since becoming one of the hardest-hit banks in the credit crisis.

Wall Street bankers leave for private equity

As the head of JP Morgan Chase & Co's banking unit that covers private equity firms, John Coyle was at the red-hot center of the buyout boom. Now, in the midst of the bust, he has jumped ship to join a former client, private equity firm Permira.

FHA loans grow costly as banks add fees

81% in poll say nation is headed on the wrong track

Americans are more dissatisfied with the country’s direction than at any time since the New York Times/CBS News poll began asking about the subject in the early 1990s, according to the latest poll.

More than 1,000 in Iraq’s forces quit Basra fight

Testimony offers details of Bear Stearns deal

Three weeks after the market crisis that forced the rescue of Bear Stearns, federal officials and senior Wall Street executives offered their first public account on Thursday of the harrowing four days of negotiations that led to a deal to sell the investment bank to JPMorgan Chase.

Investors stalk the wounded of Wall Street

Assessing the complex dream, legacy of MLK

Near the end of his life, the Rev Martin Luther King Jr felt cornered and under siege. His opposition to the Vietnam War was widely criticised, even by friends. He was being pressured both to repudiate the black power movement and to embrace it.

Basra assault exposed US, Iraqi limits

Back to pen and paper

Census Bureau drops plans for workers to use of wireless handheld devices to collect information from people who don't mail in forms, after problems with devices such as technical issues and rising costs.

Whistle-blowers: FAA ties are too close

Administration's reliance on airlines to voluntarily disclose safety issues creates problems, demonstrating weakness in efforts to ensure the wellbeing of all airlines, official says.