Avon Tumbles on Cash Crunch Concerns; Crude Pulls Energy Lower

Avon (AVP) plummeted on Friday, a day after briefly surging on reports it is seeking out investment from private-equity funds. That has provoked fears the cosmetics company is facing a cash crunch as sales take a hit on currency exchange. Stocks ended the day with modest increases and the week with solid gains. Markets have traded erratically this week in anticipation of the September meeting of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Crude oil ended the day sharply lower and closed the week with losses of just over 3% after Goldman analysts predicted oil could fall as low as $20 a barrel on oversupply concerns. The latest check on rigs should help lift some of those fears, though. Active drilling rigs in the U.S. fell by 16 in the past week.