NEW YORK (Reuters) - A false Internet report that Apple Inc’s Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack briefly slammed his company’s stock Friday and raised fresh questions about the delicate relationship between traditional and new media.

Stocks are moderately higher in early trading as investors await testimony from top federal economic officials before Congress about efforts to hammer out a $700 billion financial rescue plan.

Trading resumed late Friday afternoon after a volatile session saw stocks shoot higher.

Bush administration officials met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday night to discuss a plan to stabilize financial markets. 

U.S. stocks, nursing deep losses from the past few days, opened higher Thursday after the Federal Reserve and central banks throughout the world pumped $55 billion dollars into the markets.

Worries about AIG have intensified after several ratings agencies reduced their ratings on the company.

Today is a big deadline for ladson-based Force Protection.

U.S. stock futures have come well off their highs following Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.‘s announcement that it plans to sell a majority stake in its investment management division and would consider selling itself.