Business Highlights

Benchmark U.S. crude on Friday rose $4.27 to end the day at $91.40 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which sets the price for oil imported into the U.S., climbed $3.04, or 2.9 percent, to $108.94 per barrel in London.

Prices climbed after the government said U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July. Last month's hiring was the best since February, though it wasn't enough to drive down the unemployment rate. Prices for oil and gasoline tend to rise on signs of strength in the economy, which increases energy demand.

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Consumer agency probes mortgage insurance deals

WASHINGTON (AP) ⿿ The government's consumer finance watchdog is investigating deals that transferred billions in premiums charged to mortgage borrowers from mortgage-insurance companies to the banks that made the loans.

The deals amounted to kickbacks, because the banks pressured insurers into them in exchange for a share of the banks' mortgage-insurance business, according to civil lawsuits filed by borrowers and legal experts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has served subpoenas to American International Group Inc., MGIC Investment Corp. Genworth Financial Inc. and Radian Group Inc., the companies said in public filings this week. The CFPB asked for documents and answers to written questions about captive mortgage reinsurance deals, they said.

The companies did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

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Toyota raises sales plan as quarterly profit zooms

TOKYO (AP) ⿿ Toyota raised its sales target for this year to a record 9.76 million vehicles and reported a strong recovery in quarterly profit Friday, underlining its bounce back from a disaster plagued 2011.

Toyota Motor Corp. said April-June profit zoomed to 290.3 billion yen ($3.7 billion) from 1.1 billion yen the year before. Its new sales target would represent a 23 percent increase from the 7.95 million vehicles sold in 2011, and is 180,000 vehicles more than Toyota's last forecast in February.

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