WASHINGTON (AP) -- Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, whose sprawling banking empire collapsed this year, has been indicted for what prosecutors say is a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors.

Justice Department officials announced the charges against Stanford, who ran Stanford Financial Group, and six others at a news conference Friday. Also indicted were executives of the company and a former Antiguan bank regulator.

Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's lawyer in Houston, said in a written statement that Stanford was "confident that a fair jury will find him not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing."

The indictment unsealed Friday charged Stanford and other executives at his firm "would cause the movement of millions of dollars of fraudulently obtained investors' funds from and among bank accounts."

The firm would give money to some investors "to perpetuate the false appearance that (Stanford's business) was financially sound," according to the indictment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed court papers charging that Stanford and top executives orchestrated a massive fraud by advising clients to buy certificates of deposit from the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank.

Stanford has been working since February to challenge what his attorney called "the false accusations against him." DeGuerin said that rather than resulting from fraud or a pyramid scheme, "the present insolvency of the Stanford Companies was caused by the SEC heavy-handed actions, which have

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The unemployment rate in the West jumped over 10 percent last month, the first time that regional threshold has been broken in about 25 years. On the state level, eight set record-highs and only two -- Nebraska and Vermont -- did not report increases.

The Labor Department reported Friday that 48 states and the District of Columbia saw employment conditions deteriorate last month. The fallout from the longest recession since World War II, was the worst in Michigan as automakers cut tens of thousands of jobs. Its unemployment rate rose to 14.1 percent.

The West region reported the highest jobless rate at 10.1 percent. The last time any region had a rate of at least 10 percent was September 1983, when the country was emerging from a severe recession.

The region is home to California, where the jobless rate jumped to a record 11.5 percent last month, Nevada, where it's a record 11.3 percent, and other states that have been slammed when the housing boom went bust -- snatching jobs and wealth.

The other six states that set new highs on records dating to 1976 were: North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

Nebraska's jobless rate dipped last month, while Vermont's was flat.

On the layoffs front, Arizona and Florida suffered the largely monthly percentage decreases, followed by

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil rose to end the week higher as investors pumped money into the commodities market as a hedge against inflation.

Benchmark crude for July delivery added 55 cents to $71.92 a barrel in light trading Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as the contract was set to close Monday. The August contract climbed 46 cents to $72.37 a barrel.

Money poured into oil markets all week as the dollar weakened against the euro.

While demand for energy remains weak, oil markets are attracting a lot of attention because crude can be used as a hedge against inflation.

Crude prices have doubled their value in three months, hitting a high for the year of $73.23 a barrel last week.

Meanwhile, retail gas prices in the U.S. rose for the 52nd straight day Friday.

Pump prices added a half cent overnight to a new national average of $2.69 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

Pump prices could remain near the current level through the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

"Gas prices should back off a bit after that," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. "However,