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Tue, Mar 09 2010 

Recent Business News

A quarterly small business magazine and Web site showcasing the entrepreneurial spirit in Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Orange, Scott, Washington counties and the greater Louisville area.

Soaring China home prices thwart ordinary buyers

SHANGHAI (AP) -- The luxury apartment buildings Yang Xuhua passes on her way to work are a daily reminder of her own frustrated efforts to buy a home. Prices for even modest apartments in Shanghai have soared, putting home purchases out of reach for white collar workers and professionals........more>>

  • Bank of America ends overdraft fees on debit cards
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Bank of America customers will soon be unable to spend more than they have in the accounts linked to their debit cards. It's a step that may become a common move ahead of new regulations limiting overdraft fees....
  • Obama: Greece, facing bad days, has US as ally
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama stood with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Thursday and pledged that the United States would work with its ally, even as Greece's enormous debts sparked frenzied trading....
  • Gas price rises seen gentler on consumer wallets
    As the economy recovers, energy prices are rising and that is placing extra strain on families' budgets....
  • Shares of bailed out companies surge
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Shares of four companies that have received huge infusions of taxpayer cash soared Tuesday after a report that the government would sell its stake in Citigroup Inc. raised hopes that other bailed-out companies would follow....
  • Mandatory insurance proposed for UK dogs
    LONDON (AP) -- A chip for Spot? In a country where guns are tightly controlled and even carrying a kitchen knife can bring prison time, some thugs use dogs to menace their victims. Now the British government is proposing that dog owners be forced to get microchips and take out insurance for their pets....
  • Abbott paying $450 million for Facet Biotech
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Abbott Laboratories says it will buy Facet Biotech for about $450 million in cash, expanding the company's access to biotechnology drugs, including a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis....
  • Israel, Syria pursue nuclear-powered Mideast
    PARIS (AP) -- Is the Middle East about to go officially nuclear?...
  • Moderate Dem says opposes fast-track health bill
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- A moderate Democrat insisted Tuesday she remained opposed to pushing a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote, despite saying she wanted to see what was in the legislation....
  • Reconciliation bill will be hard for GOP to derail
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are tying the fate of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul to a fast-track process that will make the bill tough for Republicans to derail in the Senate. But GOP lawmakers will still be able to force votes and make arguments that could give them ammunition for November's congressional elections....
  • Producer admits to attempted Letterman shakedown
    NEW YORK (AP) -- A television producer admitted Tuesday to trying to shake down David Letterman in a case that bared the late-night icon's affairs with staffers, avoiding a long prison sentence by pleading guilty in exchange for six months in jail and community service....
  • Broad business coalition opposing health care bill
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Major business groups say President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is a job killer, and they're launching a multimillion-dollar ad campaign to take that message to voters....
  • Energy Dept. still sees $3-plus gasoline coming
    NEW YORK (AP) -- The Energy Department still expects pump prices to climb past $3 per gallon as more motorists hit the road in the spring and summer seasons....
  • Murdoch to Arabs: censorship is counterproductive
    ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Rupert Murdoch on Tuesday challenged tight controls on media in the Middle East, calling censorship counterproductive and urging Arab leaders to allow their citizens the freedom to unleash their creativity....
  • Continental CEO will cancel flights before fines
    DALLAS (AP) -- Continental Airlines plans to cancel flights rather than risk stiff fines under new federal rules designed to punish carriers for delaying passengers....
  • Samsung, Panasonic start selling 3-D TVs this week
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what TV makers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room....
  • Centuries-old shipwrecks discovered in Baltic Sea
    STOCKHOLM (AP) -- A dozen centuries-old shipwrecks - some of them unusually well-preserved - have been found in the Baltic Sea by a gas company building an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany....
  • Chevron to shed 2,000 jobs this year
    DETROIT (AP) -- Chevron Corp. says it will cut 2,000 jobs this year and will continue reducing its work force through 2011....
  • Merkel says EU bailout fund would halt speculators
    LUXEMBOURG (AP) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that a European monetary fund to bail out eurozone nations in need would send a clear signal to markets speculating on the possible break-up of Europe's currency union....
  • Burger King sales hurt by winter storms
    MIAMI (AP) -- Winter storms hurt Burger King's results in January and February, the fast-food chain said Tuesday....
  • EU warns US against protectionism in Pentagon deal
    BRUSSELS (AP) -- The EU on Tuesday warned the United States against protectionism after a European-led consortium pulled out of the bidding for an Air Force contract, saying the terms had been altered to favor a U.S. company....
  • Ford launches affordable made-for-India compact
    MUMBAI, India (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. launched its first made-for-India compact car Tuesday, as the U.S. automaker continues its push into fast-growing Asian markets....
  • Eurotunnel net profit slumps in 2009
    PARIS (AP) -- Eurotunnel SA, the operator of the English Channel tunnel, on Tuesday blamed a fire in the undersea route between France and Britain for nearly wiping out its profit in 2009....
  • Audi '09 net income down 39 pct to $1.8 billion
    FRANKFURT (AP) -- German carmaker Audi AG says its 2009 net income fell 39 percent to euro1.35 billion ($1.8 billion) as the economic downturn cut demand for its cars....
  • Severstal posts $162 mln net loss in Q4
    MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's largest steelmaker Severstal says its fourth quarter net loss narrowed sharply to $162 million and expects market improvements in the year ahead....
  • Senate to take up unemployment insurance extension
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Legislation extending unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless faces a key test vote in the Senate, its momentum helped by about 60 popular tax breaks for individuals and businesses that expired at the end of last year....
  • Deutsche Post Q4 net loss narrows to $385 million
    FRANKFURT (AP) -- German mail and logistics company Deutsche Post AG says its net loss for the fourth quarter narrowed to euro283 million ($385 million) largely because of a cost savings program....
  • Sony to start selling 3-D TVs in June
    TOKYO (AP) -- Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling 3-D televisions in June, joining a competitive industrywide push to convince consumers to embrace the technology for their living rooms....
  • Merck, Sanofi combining animal medicine businesses
    TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Two of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies said Tuesday they are uniting their animal health businesses in a deal to become the top dog in the veterinary industry....
  • China: US assets should not be 'politicized'
    BEIJING (AP) -- An official in charge of China's foreign reserves tried to ease American concern Tuesday about the political impact of Beijing's huge holdings of U.S. government debt....
  • CA police help slow runaway Toyota Prius to stop
    EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) -- The California Highway Patrol says an officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop after the accelerator got stuck....
  • Detroit wants to save itself by shrinking
    DETROIT (AP) -- Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up a radical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile....
  • China faces new pressure to let currency rise
    BEIJING (AP) -- China faces mounting pressure from trading partners to loosen currency controls and is giving signs it might raise the value of the yuan to ease strains on its fast-growing economy....
  • Fed launches reverse repurchase agreement program
    NEW YORK (AP) -- The Federal Reserve is beginning a program to drain some of the unprecedented liquidity it added to markets during the credit crisis....
  • Roche suspends arthritis drug study after deaths
    BASEL, Switzerland (AP) -- Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Group said Monday it has suspended a late-stage trial for a new rheumatoid arthritis and lupus drug after several patients died from infections....
  • EU considers its own crisis fund
    BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Commission is discussing the idea of creating a European Monetary Fund with the 16 countries that use the euro....
  • Portugal uses privatizations to drive down debt
    LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Portugal announced new austerity measures Monday to avoid a debt crisis like the one engulfing Greece, cutting welfare benefits and government hiring as well as selling assets and raising taxes on the well-off....
  • Arrow Energy gets $3 billion takeover bid
    SYDNEY, (AP) -- Arrow Energy Ltd. said Monday that a company jointly owned by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina has sent it a takeover bid worth $3.3 billion Australian dollars ($3 billion)....
  • AIG sells Alico unit to MetLife for $15.5 billion
    NEW YORK (AP) -- American International Group will sell its overseas life and health insurance unit for $15.5 billion to MetLife Inc., the insurer said Monday, as it attempts to repay billions in government aid....
  • Sarkozy urges global expansion of nuclear energy
    PARIS (AP) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday urged developing countries to embrace nuclear energy and rich lenders to help pay for it, but stood firmly against countries that "cheat" and use the technology to make weapons....
  • Cities not on track with Calif high-speed rail
    BUENA PARK, Calif. (AP) -- Mayor Art Brown spent years pushing for a commuter train station combined with nearby housing in his community. But as townhouses are being finished around the $14 million Metrolink station, he's facing the prospect that California's high-speed rail line may plow right through his beloved project....
  • Inside the Oscar show on Hollywood's biggest night
    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Academy Awards is without question Hollywood's biggest night, a time when the world stops to gawk at its celluloid heroes. Here's an insider's look from the Kodak Theatre at what you are not seeing on camera....
  • Toyota moves past apologies, aims for sales
    NEW YORK (AP) -- New ads for troubled automaker Toyota Motor Corp. are skipping the apologies and easing back into sales pitches - too soon, some say....
  • Supermarket workers approve Stop & Shop contract
    HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Supermarket workers at Stop & Shop in southern New England have ratified a contract that ends weeks of difficult negotiations over wages and benefits....
  • `Avatar,' `Hurt Locker' lead expanded Oscar parade
    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Academy Awards voters are expected to go very big or very small on their best-picture winner at Sunday's Oscars....
  • Obama's health care pitch to Democrats: Trust me
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- In private pitches to Democrats, President Barack Obama says he will persuade Congress to pass his health care overhaul even if it kills him and even if he has to ask deeply distrustful lawmakers to trust him on a promise the White House doesn't have the power to keep....
  • Ground zero hotel wants to attract WTC tourists
    NEW YORK (AP) -- A hotel has opened on the edge of ground zero, and executives say the view it offers on the World Trade Center site rebuilding is a selling point....
  • STIMULUS WATCH: Less stimulus for minority firms
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hispanic and black businesses are receiving a disproportionately small number of federal stimulus contracts, creating a rising chorus of demands for the Obama administration to be more inclusive and more closely track who receives government-financed work....
  • UAE's Dana Gas makes 2 new Egypt finds
    CAIRO (AP) -- Dana Gas said Sunday it had made two new gas discoveries in Egypt, finds that will further boost the United Arab Emirates-based producer's extensive holdings in the country....
  • Hollywood billboards taken down amid legal battle
    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Five giant billboards have been removed from buildings in Hollywood near the site of the Academy Awards after Los Angeles prosecutors charged four people and four companies with hanging the so-called supergraphics illegally....
  • Toyota disputes critic who blames electronics
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp. plans Monday to try to undercut suggestions that its electronics systems caused the sudden acceleration problems that led to the recall of more than 8 million vehicles....
  • China faces new pressure to let currency rise
    BEIJING (AP) -- China faces mounting pressure from trading partners to loosen currency controls and is giving signs it might raise the value of the yuan to ease strains on its fast-growing economy....
  • Glover: Help Ohio plant, shun Hugo Boss at Oscars
    CLEVELAND (AP) -- Actor and activist Danny Glover is calling on Academy Awards nominees and others in the film industry to not wear Hugo Boss suits at Sunday's awards ceremony....
  • Congressional estimates show grim deficit picture
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new congressional report released Friday says the United States' long-term fiscal woes are even worse than predicted by President Barack Obama's grim budget submission last month....
  • GM to pay Girsky $5M after getting promotion
    DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Co. reports it's paying Stephen J. Girsky, newly named vice chairman of corporate strategy and business development, $5 million in a package that includes salary and stock....
  • GE's CEO declines bonus for 2nd year
    General Electric Co. said Friday that Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt did not receive 2009 bonus, the second straight year he gave up extra pay as the industrial and financial conglomerate struggled with one of its worst years on record....
  • Claim: San Francisco giving gardeners toxic sludge
    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- San Francisco wears its environmental consciousness like a green badge of honor....
  • US Apple iPad sales to begin April 3
    CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) -- Apple says its much-anticipated iPad tablet will hit U.S. store shelves on April 3....
  • Frigid Fla. winter is bad news for tomato lovers
    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- A frigid Florida winter is taking its toll on your sandwich. The Sunshine State is the main U.S. source for fresh winter tomatoes, and its growers lost some 70 percent of their crop during January's prolonged cold snap....
  • Interior to announce sage grouse finding Friday
    CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- The Interior Department plans to announce whether it will pursue endangered species protection for sage grouse, a decision with major ramifications for the West's renewable energy and oil and gas industries....
  • BAE Systems sells 10 percent stake in Saab AB
    LONDON (AP) -- Defense contractor BAE Systems PLC said Friday it has sold a 10.25 percent stake in Swedish defense company Saab AB for 1.066 billion kronor ($149 million) as part of an ongoing divestment process....
  • Salzgitter posts 2009 pretax loss
    FRANKFURT (AP) -- German steelmaker Salzgitter AG says it had a pretax loss last year of euro497 million ($675 million) as a result of the economic downturn....
  • Ukraine's president heads to Moscow to talk gas
    MOSCOW (AP) -- Ukraine's new president is meeting with his Russian counterpart to talk gas....
  • Claim: San Francisco giving gardeners toxic sludge
    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- San Francisco wears its environmental consciousness like a green badge of honor. Residents separate and recycle their food scraps. Streets close to cars so people can walk and bike them. A city department even gives away "high-quality, nutrient-rich, organic bio-solids compost" to any and all takers....
  • Australian court: Vioxx doubled heart attack risk
    SYDNEY (AP) -- The once-popular painkiller Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attack and was unfit for consumption, an Australian court ruled Friday, awarding a man leading a class action suit against the drug's maker 287,000 Australian dollars ($259,000) in compensation....
  • China promises strong growth in 'crucial year'
    BEIJING (AP) -- China's Premier Wen Jiabao promised strong growth this year and said the government will combat inflation and risks to banks to keep the rebound in the world's third-largest economy on track....
  • Rowdy protester target funding cuts at US campuses
    BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- Students staged raucous rallies on nationwide college campuses Thursday in protests against deep education cuts that turned violent as demonstrators threw punches and ice chunks in Wisconsin and blocked university gates and smashed car windows in California....
  • AP IMPACT: Toyota secretive on 'black box' data
    SOUTHLAKE, Texas (AP) -- Toyota has for years blocked access to data stored in devices similar to airline "black boxes" that could explain crashes blamed on sudden unintended acceleration, according to an Associated Press review of lawsuits nationwide and interviews with auto crash experts....
  • The nominees are... getting little box-office bump
    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Spread 10 ways, the phrase "nominated for best picture" hasn't had much of a box office effect....
  • Airlines adding up losses from February storms
    The snow from last month's storms along the East Coast has melted in most places, but not where it matters most for airlines - their financial ledgers....
  • EU wary of Greece seeking IMF help
    BERLIN (AP) -- Who's afraid of the IMF? Greece is betting that the major European Union powers just might be....
  • Sebelius, insurers debate rate increases
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Keeping up the pressure for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius chastised top insurance executives Thursday over proposed double-digit rate hikes she said top the list of reasons that Congress must quickly pass his plan....
  • Citi CEO says bank has transformed since crisis
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Facing sharp questions from bailout overseers, Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit said Thursday the bank is "fundamentally different" than the tangled behemoth that took more than $45 billion in government aid during the recent financial crisis....
  • Bristol-Myers post-Plavix outlook exceeds views
    TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Thursday it expects a profit of at least $1.95 per share in 2013, a crucial period because that's when U.S. generic competition will start wiping out sales of its top-selling medicine, the blood thinner Plavix....
  • Controller complacency could jeopardize air safety
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the third time in seven months, the judgment of those who operate the nation's air traffic control system has been called into question and concerns raised that complacency may be causing controllers and their supervisors to bend rules....
  • Passenger on cruise ship: Wave ordeal terrifying
    BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- Freak waves that smashed into a Mediterranean cruise ship flooded cabins, broke windows in a restaurant and terrified many travelers in an ordeal that claimed two lives, a passenger said Thursday....
  • Is a voting machine merger too big to stand?
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The largest voting machine company in the country bought its biggest competitor six months ago without advance fanfare. Now the Justice Department is investigating whether to unwind the merger that put a privately held Nebraska company in control of the voting machines in nearly 70 percent of the nation's precincts....
  • Supermarket operator Ahold profit drops in Q4
    AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Royal Ahold NV, the Dutch owner of the Stop & Shop and Giant supermarket chains in the US, reported an 8.2 percent fall in profit for the fourth quarter on Thursday....
  • Shipper A.P. Moller-Maersk posts annual loss
    COPENHAGEN (AP) -- Danish container shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S on Thursday reported an annual loss of 7.0 billion kroner ($1.3 billion), citing a drop in global shipments of goods amid the economic crisis....
  • Solar energy with jewel-like curtains on windows
    TROY, N.Y. (AP) -- Cityscapes of glass-clad buildings gleaming in the sun make Anna Dyson think about wasted energy....
  • GDF Suez makes $6.15B profit in 2009, flat on year
    PARIS (AP) -- French utility GDF Suez SA said Thursday that profits were little changed last year and that it is well placed to benefit from the economic recovery....
  • House to vote on tax breaks for new hires
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- A measure blending highway funding eagerly sought by the states with tax breaks for companies that hire unemployed workers appeared headed for House passage Thursday as Democrats work to send President Barack Obama the first of several promised election-year jobs bills....
  • Flight attendants, American at odds over contract
    DALLAS (AP) -- Contract talks between American Airlines and its flight attendants broke off Wednesday night, with the union declaring that negotiations were hopelessly stalemated while the company said it is looking forward to more bargaining....
  • Yukos vs Russia face off in European court
    STRASBOURG, France (AP) -- Thousands of miles (kilometers) from the Siberian jail where its founder is imprisoned, representatives of the ruined Russian oil giant Yukos and the Russian government will meet face to face for the first time at the European Court of Human Rights this week as the dismantled company seeks to prove that its rights were violated....
  • China announces 7.5 pct jump in defense spending
    BEIJING (AP) -- China announced Thursday a planned 7.5 percent boost in defense spending this year, a smaller increase than expected and the first time in more than two decades the jump has been less than double-digits....
  • Indonesia lawmakers back criminal probe on bailout
    JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesian's parliament called for a criminal investigation into a $715 million government bank bailout in a vote that a newspaper described Thursday as a major blow to President Suslio Bambang Yudhoyono....
  • Thailand offers tourists free insurance
    BANGKOK (AP) -- Thailand is continuing to offer insurance coverage worth $10,000 to anyone harmed in riots and demonstrations as it seeks to attract tourists scared off by political turmoil, officials say....
  • Toyota to spend $250M on workers at Calif. plant
    SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Toyota said Wednesday it will spend $250 million to assist employees at a Northern California factory slated to be closed next month....
  • Fed proposes limits on credit card penalty fees
    NEW YORK (AP) -- The Federal Reserve is proposing strict limits on penalty fees that credit card companies can slap on customers for things like late payments or going over credit limits....
  • Charging fees for Hulu comes with its own problems
    Hulu's days as a free online video site could be ending soon....
  • Inspector: US fishery officer shredded documents
    BOSTON (AP) -- The inspector general for the U.S. Department of Commerce says the nation's top fishery law enforcement officer destroyed documents while his office was under investigation....
  • Volatile new top tax writer has his own baggage
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Pete Stark is the California Democrat captured on YouTube in a steamy argument about body fluids, politics and lying. He challenged one colleague to a fist fight and called others an assortment of names through the years....
  • Govt slow to force safer designs for window blinds
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Shopping for her nursery, Kelly Horvath bought a new window shade because its label advertised its child safety features. She later found her 16-month-old son dead in his crib, the shade's cord wrapped around his neck, another young victim of what U.S. government records show are some of the deadliest recalled consumer products....
  • Wholesale clubs grow as supermarkets slide
    PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A steady stream of shoppers looking for deals on necessities has helped wholesale club operators Costco Wholesale Corp. and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. deliver profit gains while many of their grocery competitors struggle....
  • Key dates in Greece's financial crisis
    Oct. 4, 2009: Greek Socialists win general election, defeating conservatives who had been in power since March 2004....
  • GM's Bob Lutz to retire
    DETROIT (AP) -- Bob Lutz, the longtime auto industry executive who led a near-complete overhaul of General Motors' lineup, will retire May 1....
  • Pfizer Alzheimer's disease drug fails in study
    TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A promising experimental Alzheimer's disease drug Pfizer Inc. and a partner are developing worked no better than a placebo in a late-stage study, an unexpected disappointment after the potential blockbuster stopped symptoms from worsening for a year in a prior test....
  • Gov't still hearing complaints about fixed Toyotas
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Transportation Department is hearing from some Toyota owners who say they're still having trouble with unintended acceleration after their recalled cars were repaired....
  • Adecco posts Q4 profit of $57 million
    GENEVA (AP) -- Swiss-based staffing company Adecco SA posted a euro42 million ($57 million) fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday thanks in part to improving market conditions in France and North America....
  • Russian pawnshops thrive as banks tighten lending
    MOSCOW (AP) -- During the depth of the credit crisis in Russia last year, when banks were charging exorbitant interest rates for loans, some businessmen raised cash by less conventional means - pawnshops....
  • 'Miracle on the Hudson' pilot retiring
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who piloted a US Airways flight during its emergency water landing on the Hudson River in January of last year, is retiring....
  • Audio indicates kid directed planes at NY airport
    NEW YORK (AP) -- A child apparently directed pilots last month from the air traffic control center at John F. Kennedy Airport, one of the nation's busiest airports, according to audio clips. The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it was investigating....
  • Tesla: engineers' death won't derail new model
    GENEVA (AP) -- The death of three Tesla engineers in a plane crash last month was a heavy blow for the tight-knit Californian electric car maker, but it is holding onto its plan of producing and selling the new Model S within three years, its chief designer said Wednesday at the Geneva Motor Show....
  • EU weighing up regulation for debt speculators
    BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Commission said Wednesday that it will call in market regulators and banks to discuss possible problems with the market for credit default swaps on sovereign debt....
  • ISM: Service sector growth accelerates in February
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Growth in the U.S. service sector accelerated in February to its fastest pace in more than two years, but jobs remained hard to find....
  • US Airways says storms cost it $30M in lost sales
    TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- US Airways Group Inc. says severe winter storms in February caused $30 million in lost sales as the carrier had to cancel thousands of flights and suspend operations for six days at three major East Coast airports....
  • BJ's Wholesale Club 4Q profit, sales climb
    NATICK, Mass. (AP) -- BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. said Wednesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit climbed 5 percent and higher gasoline prices led to increased revenue....
  • Cows to chardonnay: Can Conn. dairy farms change?
    WARREN, Conn. (AP) -- A winter breeze rustles through the brittle and dormant vines twisting along the hills of Bill Hopkins' vineyard, the latest transformation of a Connecticut farm that since 1786 has been keeping up with changing agriculture, markets and consumer tastes....
  • Senators seek to block stimulus money for overseas
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- A group of Democratic senators is urging the Obama administration to suspend an economic stimulus program aimed at financing renewable energy, complaining that money is going to projects that are creating jobs in foreign countries....
  • Standard Chartered makes record annual profit
    LONDON (AP) -- Standard Chartered PLC on Wednesday reported a seventh consecutive record annual profit, of $3.38 billion, as stronger wholesale banking earnings offset an increase in provisions for bad loans and other credit risks....
  • GM's China sales up 51 percent in February
    SHANGHAI (AP) -- General Motors said its February vehicle sales in China rose 51 percent from a year earlier on strong demand for Chevrolet and Cadillac models as well as its popular minivans....
  • Family of officer killed in crash sues Toyota
    SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Relatives of a family killed in a high-speed crash that galvanized attention around safety flaws of Toyotas and led to the recalls of millions of cars have sued the world's largest automaker for product liability and negligence, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday....
  • Before Blackwater case failed, legal debate at DOJ
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- As the U.S. investigated Blackwater Worldwide contractors for a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad, a legal debate was playing out behind the scenes at the Justice Department between two veteran prosecutors. One urged caution. The other aggressively pushed the case forward....
  • Pedal issue at first drew little notice in Europe
    GENEVA (AP) -- Long before Toyota's serious problems with surging accelerators, reports surfaced in Europe of a less catastrophic problem with gas pedals that didn't ease off when drivers removed their foot....
  • In Vermont, unease over aging, leaky nuke plant
    WAITSFIELD, Vt. (AP) -- In their annual town meeting on Tuesday, folks in this Vermont ski town voted on a town budget, debated the need for a new roof on the fire department building and adjourned at lunchtime to nosh on Tracey Coutts' famous "yummy chicken pieces" casserole and cherry pie....
  • Internet job site exec's cooperation earns no jail
    NEW YORK (AP) -- A former top executive of the company that runs the Monster job search Web site was rewarded for cooperating in a backdated stock option probe with a sentence of no jail time Tuesday by a judge who said he was troubled that so many companies cheated....
  • Microsoft CEO: Google merits regulatory scrutiny
    SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer intends to keep the regulatory heat on Google as his company strives to lessen its rival's dominance of Internet search....
  • GM shuffles sales leaders for 2nd time in 3 months
    DETROIT (AP) -- When Ed Whitacre Jr. took over as General Motors Co.'s CEO in December, he told reporters that executives wouldn't have long to show results....
  • Hovnanian swings to profit for Q1
    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. says it swung to a profit in its fiscal first quarter, as the homebuilder benefited from a hefty tax gain....
  • Bristol-Myers CEO to retire; CFO to succeed him
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. says its chief executive will retire in May and be succeeded by the current chief financial officer....
  • Thursday's Sports Scoreboard
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  • Euro's decline a relief to some
    LONDON (AP) -- Fears that Greece may need an expensive and embarrassing bailout are heaping pressure on the euro. But many European businesses and politicians are quietly relieved at the common currency's decline....
  • BBC cuts radio stations, Web pages to trim costs
    LONDON (AP) -- Britain's venerable BBC is overhauling its domestic coverage, shedding radio stations, slicing the number of its Web pages by half and moving out of magazines....
  • AstraZeneca shuffles, eliminates Del. R&D jobs
    DOVER, Del. (AP) -- Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC is reorganizing its research and development and eliminating about 1,800 R&D jobs as part of a previously announced cost-cutting plan....
  • Ford sales jump; outsells GM on strong car demand
    DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. outsold General Motors Co. in February for the first time in more than a decade....
  • Automakers show off hybrids at Geneva Auto Show
    GENEVA (AP) -- Hybrid or hype?...
  • Gov't eyes brake safety measures for all new cars
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood said his agency may recommend that all new vehicles come equipped with brakes that can override the gas pedal....
  • Kentucky's Bunning again blocks jobless benefits
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Jim Bunning on Tuesday again blocked the Senate from extending unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the jobless....
  • Apple suing phone maker HTC over iPhone patents
    CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) -- Apple is suing Taiwan's HTC, saying the handset maker has violated patents related to the iPhone....
  • Hard-pressed Europeans flock to cheaper airlines
    BRUSSELS (AP) -- Budget airlines in Europe gained 13 million more passengers last year, with cheaper prices pulling in customers amid an overall drop in air travel....
  • Postal Service's emerging model: Never on Saturday
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Postal Service is increasing the pressure for dropping Saturday home delivery as it seeks to fend off massive financial losses....
  • Postal Service's emerging model: Never on Saturday
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Postal Service is increasing the pressure for dropping Saturday home delivery as it seeks to fend off massive financial losses....
  • CF issues new $4.74 billion offer for Terra
    NEW YORK (AP) -- CF Industries made a new $4.74 billion offer for Terra Industries on Tuesday, just six weeks after vowing to end its hostile pursuit of the fertilizer producer....
  • ArcelorMittal loses court challenge on emissions
    BRUSSELS (AP) -- The world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal SA on Tuesday lost a legal challenge that sought to exempt it from the European Union's greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system....
  • German high court: Telecom data cannot be retained
    BERLIN (AP) -- Germany's highest court on Tuesday overturned a law allowing authorities to retain data on telephone calls and e-mail traffic for help in tracking criminal networks....
  • Toyota apologizes to European consumers at show
    GENEVA (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corporation kept up its worldwide damage-control campaign, apologizing to European customers at the Geneva Auto Show for its safety issues and the concerns they have caused....
  • Irish bank AIB suffers $3.25B loss in 2009
    DUBLIN (AP) -- Ireland's largest financial institution, Allied Irish Banks PLC, reported its first-ever full-year loss Tuesday as bad debts soared amid the recession....
  • Swiss economy grows 0.7 percent in 4th quarter
    GENEVA (AP) -- The Swiss economy recorded a second consecutive quarter of growth in the last three months of 2009, expanding by 0.7 percent, the government said Tuesday....
  • Consumer group sues insurer over policy changes
    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Mary Feller's family of three spends nearly $25,000 a year on health insurance premiums, which is more than they pay on their home's mortgage in California's Marin County....
  • Iraq's oil deals dominate PM election campaign
    BASRA (AP) -- Backed by armed bodyguards, international oil executives have flocked to this southern Iraqi city to survey their potentially lucrative prizes: the fields that it is hoped will one day dramatically increase output of cheap, plentiful crude....
  • Toyota to tap Clinton official on safety panel
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Toyota plans to announce Tuesday that a former Clinton administration official will lead an independent safety panel to review the company's quality control practices....
  • GM to recall 1.3M compacts for steering problem
    DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Co. said Monday it will recall 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail....
  • Disney: ABC may go dark on Cablevision in New York
    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. on Monday began warning Cablevision subscribers in New York that the local ABC television station signal may go dark this weekend in a dispute over how much it is paid by the cable operator....
  • Quake stops production for biggest Chile winemaker
    SAO PAULO (AP) -- Chile's biggest winemaker said Monday that is stopping production for at least a week because the mammoth earthquake hit the nation's wine-growing heartland hard, damaging wineries and the transportation network....
  • 2 charged in alleged $75 million health care fraud
    CHICAGO (AP) -- Two former executives of the bankrupt health care company Canopy Financial Inc. were charged Monday with swindling investors out of $75 million and illegally pocketing $19 million from accounts that were supposed to pay the medical bills of individuals nationwide....
  • Maine lobster catch hits record, value goes down
    PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Maine lobstermen had a record harvest in 2009, but the value of the catch continued to plunge amid the sour global economy....
  • AIG to sell Asian life insurer to repay bailouts
    American International Group Inc. is selling a cornerstone of its business, Asia-based life insurer AIA Group, in a government-approved $35.5 billion deal. The sale to British insurer Prudential PLC could reduce by nearly one-fifth the amount of federal bailout money still invested in struggling AIG....
  • Defense company BAE Systems enters guilty plea
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense company BAE Systems PLC pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Monday and a judge imposed a $400 million fine, among the largest in the Justice Department's efforts to combat overseas corruption in international business....
  • Biden defends bailouts before labor leaders
    ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden told AFL-CIO leaders Monday that the government bailouts of the banking and auto industries were necessary steps the Obama administration needed to take before it could tackle causes important to organized labor....
  • Treasury sets Bank of America warrant sale date
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department says it will auction 272 million warrants for Bank of America stock to recoup taxpayer money from the controversial financial bailout fund....
  • Bair pitching for consumer agency
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. pitched again Monday for a new agency for consumer financial protection, now a key sticking point in Senate talks in legislation to overhaul the finance system....
  • High court hears ex-Enron CEO Skilling's appeal
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court appears troubled by the selection of the jury that convicted former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling as well as the use of a federal fraud law against him....
  • States may ban credit checks on job applicants
    ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- It's hard enough to find a job in this economy, and now some people are facing another hurdle: Potential employers are holding their credit histories against them....
  • Obama seeks money, interventions to stem dropouts
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama took aim Monday at the nation's school dropout epidemic, proposing $900 million to states and education districts that agree to drastically change or even shutter their worst performing schools....
  • Kohn to leave Fed in June
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Kohn, the second-highest ranking official at the Federal Reserve, says he will step down when his term ends in late June....
  • Astellas Pharma plans $3.5B takeover bid for OSI
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. says it will take a $3.5 billion takeover offer for OSI Pharmaceuticals directly to shareholders after being rebuffed several times by executives of the U.S. company....
  • Survey: 26 pct of Americans get news via phone
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Just over a quarter of American adults now read news on their cell phones, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center....
  • Vivendi 4th-quarter net loss narrows 32 pct
    PARIS (AP) -- Vivendi SA said Monday its net loss narrowed by 32 percent in the fourth quarter due to lower financial charges, even though it made a euro550 million ($746 million) provision to cover possible fines from a U.S. class action suit brought by shareholders....
  • Research group: China prepares for Arctic melt
    STOCKHOLM (AP) -- China is starting to prepare for the commercial and strategic opportunities arising as global warming melts the polar ice cover in the Arctic, an international peace research group said Monday....
  • Renault gears up in Russia
    MOSCOW (AP) -- French car maker Renault SA is ramping up its investment in Russia by doubling capacity at its Moscow plant....
  • HSBC 2009 profit rises 2 pct to $5.8 billion
    LONDON (AP) -- HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe's largest bank, says its full-year profit rose 2 percent despite an increase in loan impairment charges....
  • Germany's Merkel opposed to Greek bailout
    BERLIN (AP) -- Germany's chancellor says she is opposed to EU countries bailing out fellow eurozone member Greece....
  • Suit seeks to bar genetically modified sugar beets
    PHILOMATH, Ore. (AP) -- Organic farmers fear this year's spring breezes will be carrying pollen from genetically altered sugar beets, which they say could render their crops worthless, and they hope to persuade a federal judge this week to halt the plantings nationwide....
  • Prudential close to buying AIG's Asia unit
    LONDON (AP) -- British insurer Prudential PLC said Monday it was in advanced talks to buy the Asian operations of U.S. insurer American International Group Inc....
  • Senate impasse puts federal employees out of work
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two thousand federal transportation workers will be furloughed without pay on Monday, and the Obama administration said they have a Kentucky senator to blame for it....
  • Toyota chief visits China amid recall woes
    BEIJING (AP) -- Toyota President Akio Toyoda's visit to China to talk about his company's quality problems reflects the fast-growing Chinese market's importance to automakers as they struggle with weak global sales....
  • Report: Germany's Merck buying Millipore for $7.2B
    German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA will buy U.S. biotech equipment maker Millipore Corp. in a deal valued at $7.2 billion including debt, according to media reports Sunday....
  • Geneva Auto Show: Industry faces tough road
    MILAN (AP) -- For most of the world's automakers, the Geneva Auto Show will be back-to-business with new model rollouts to put the gotta-have-it gleam back in consumers' eyes....
  • JFK runway closure to rattle nerves, wallets
    NEW YORK (AP) -- One runway, a whole lot of problems....
  • AP Enterprise: How nuclear equipment reached Iran
    TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Early last year, a Chinese company placed an order with a Taiwanese agent for 108 nuclear-related pressure gauges. But something happened along the way. Paperwork was backdated. Plans were rerouted, orders reconfigured, shipping redirected....
  • Desperate for work, Miss. town awaits Toyota plant
    BLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) -- Terry McShan isn't thinking about car sales analyses or excess capacity when he drives by the idle Toyota plant in northeast Mississippi. He's thinking about his little girl....
  • Not much impact from repeat buyer credit
    It sounded like a great idea three months ago: Hand homeowners a $6,500 tax credit to find a new place to live, giving a thrust of energy to the housing market's recovery....
  • Germany reaches wage deal with public employees
    BERLIN (AP) -- Union and government officials in Germany say they have agreed on a new wage deal for some 2 million public employees....
  • Organized labor's agenda hits roadblock; what now?
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Labor's high hopes for major gains under President Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress have dimmed, raising fresh doubts about union leverage even in the best of political times....
  • Reports: Prudential PLC may buy AIG unit
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Prudential PLC, Britain's largest life insurer, is exploring a bid for the Asian life-insurance arm of American International Group Inc., according to media reports Saturday....
  • Buffett letter gives Berkshire Hathaway 101 course
    OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Billionaire Warren Buffett devoted much of his annual letter to educating new Berkshire Hathaway shareholders about the company and why he believes the firm will have a profitable future....
  • Obama: Compromise on health if GOP is serious
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Saturday that he's ready to compromise with Republicans if they're serious about it but that his health care overhaul must go forward....
  • First North American Kia plant opens in Georgia
    WEST POINT, Ga. (AP) -- Gov. Sonny Perdue joined Korean and American dignitaries in celebrating the opening of Kia's first North American manufacturing facility in west Georgia Friday....
  • Kohl critical of NBC online Olympic coverage
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Democratic senator criticized NBC on Friday for its handling of online access to the Vancouver Olympics, calling it unfair and restrictive....
  • Report shows government's liabilities surging
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government fell further into the red in 2009, with its financial position hitting a deficit of $11.46 trillion....
  • Citigroup CEO Pandit earns $128,000 in 2009 pay
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit received $128,751 in compensation for 2009 as the bank suffered huge losses on risky investments and failing consumer loans, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing disclosed Friday....
  • Shows to go on at SeaWorld, king of orca business
    ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Shamu is big business at SeaWorld, which owns more killer whales than anyone else in the world and builds the orca image into its multimillion-dollar brand, and the killing of a trainer this week won't change that....
  • California puts 11 office buildings up for sale
    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California has put up the "for sale" sign on 11 state office buildings, including the San Francisco Civic Center and Ronald Reagan building in Los Angeles....
  • Thai court orders assets seized from ex-PM Thaksin
    BANGKOK (AP) -- Thailand's highest court ruled Friday that ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra abused his power to enrich himself and his family while in office and ordered that $1.4 billion of his telecommunications fortune be seized....
  • Northeast snow halts planes, trains, automobiles
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Hundreds more flights were canceled Friday. Train and bus service was scrubbed. And some shipments of small packages and heavy freight were suspended or delayed....
  • Pound takes another battering as polls narrow
    LONDON (AP) -- The British pound took another battering Friday as investors fretted about the strength of the recovery from recession and about a general election that opinion polls suggest will be closer than previously thought....
  • Zedillo named to Citi board; 2 members step down
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup says it's restructuring its board, bringing in former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo as three other members leave....
  • Lee to buy CKE Restaurants for $619M and debt
    CARPINTERIA, Calif. (AP) -- Thomas H. Lee Partners says it will buy the owner of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants for about $619 million in cash....
  • Biden to announce retirement savings safeguards
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration on Friday is proposing regulations aimed at protecting workers' retirement savings....
  • EU approves Irish 'bad bank' plan
    BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Commission on Friday approved Ireland's plan to create a state-owned bank that will secure the future of private banks by absorbing their risky loans, nominally valued at euro77 billion ($105 billion)....
  • McCain: GOP willing to negotiate on health care
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. John McCain says congressional Republicans are willing to negotiate changes in the health care system with President Barack Obama, but only on a "step-by-step" basis....
  • Greece won't seek German reparations during crisis
    ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's prime minister on Friday said his country will not raise the issue of World War II reparations payments from Germany during the financial crisis....
  • Telefonica Q4 profits up 22 percent
    MADRID (AP) -- Spanish telecoms company Telefonica SA said Friday its fourth quarter net profit rose 22 percent as an increase in customer numbers in Latin America helped boost revenue....
  • Lloyds Banking Group in full year profit of $4.3B
    LONDON (AP) -- Lloyds Banking Group PLC on Friday reported a full-year net profit of 2.8 billion pounds as a goodwill gain helped offset soaring impairment charges....
  • Bayer Q4 net income up 44 percent
    FRANKFURT (AP) -- German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer AG said Friday its net income improved 44 percent in the fourth quarter to euro153 million ($208 million) on cost savings and a pickup in some business....
  • Paso Robles: The best wine region you may not know
    PASO ROBLES, Calif. (AP) -- The February issue of a respected wine industry trade publication gives only one of the world's wines both a rarefied 98 score and the top spot in the "highly recommended" section....
  • Ford adds 60 jobs at Cleveland-area engine plant
    BROOK PARK, Ohio (AP) -- The Ford Motor Co. has announced it's investing $155 million and adding 60 jobs at an engine plant in suburban Cleveland to build a fuel-efficient V-6 engine for the 2011 Mustang....
  • Senate inaction jeopardizes unemployment benefits
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate failed late Thursday to extend programs for laid-off workers, jeopardizing unemployment benefits scheduled to expire over the weekend....
  • Honolulu Star-Bulletin buys rival Advertiser
    HONOLULU (AP) -- The parent company of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Thursday announced it was purchasing longtime rival The Honolulu Advertiser, the largest newspaper in Hawaii....
  • Lawmakers probe banks' lending to small businesses
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- House lawmakers are examining a crucial element of the economic recovery: banks' lending to small businesses and for commercial real estate....
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