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NEW YORK- U.S. stocks bounced back at Friday's open, a day after fears of slow global growth and bank downgrades sent stocks spiraling downward. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 63 points, or 0.5%, the S&P 500 added 5 points, or 0.4% and the Nasdaq edged up by 10 points, or 0.4% as markets opened.

NEW YORK- Amid the global economic gloom, there's a ray of sunshine for summertime motorists in the U.S.: The price of gas has dropped 6% over the last month. The national average price of unleaded gasoline fell to $3.45 per gallon, its tenth consecutive daily decrease, reported motorist club AAA on Friday. That's compared to a national average of $3.67 on May 22.

HONG KONG- The health of several of the world's biggest banks has been called into question following the decision by Moody's to downgrade their credit ratings. In all, 15 institutions were downgraded after Wall Street closed Thursday, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC, Credit Suisse, UBS, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Canada.

NEW YORK- Reducing the amount struggling homeowners owe on their mortgages is proving to be a more effective way to prevent foreclosures than other methods, such as reducing interest rates or postponing payments, a new report finds. In a report presented this week, Amherst Securities Group said that when principal reductions brought mortgages near the home's market value, borrowers were substantially less likely to fall behind on payments again and lose their homes.

NEW YORK- White Americans have 22 times more wealth than blacks -- a gap that nearly doubled during the Great Recession. The median household net worth for whites was $110,729 in 2010, versus $4,995 for blacks, according to recently released Census Bureau figures. The difference is similarly notable when it comes to Hispanics, who had a median household net worth of $7,424. The ratio between white and Hispanic wealth expanded to 15 to 1.