Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
9:48
Invoking the memory of Edward M. Kennedy, Democrats united Saturday night to push historic health care legislation past a key Senate hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on...
Obama trumpets Asia trip as boost to US economy
8:13
President Barack Obama's eight-day trip to Asia produced no tangible wins for the United States, though he is citing talks with Asian allies that he says could help create thousands of job and open new markets for...
Senate vote under way on 1st test of health care
7:58
The Senate has begun voting on whether to move ahead on a sweeping health care bill. The roll call began with many of the 100 members seated in their chairs and rising to vote. Such formal voting is common with Supreme...
Comparison of Democratic health care bills
1:58
A comparison of the health care bills before Congress: ___ The Senate Democratic bill (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act): WHO'S COVERED: About 94 percent of legal residents under age 65 _ compared with 83...
LyondellBasell gets buyout offer from Reliance
12:10
LyondellBasell Industries said Saturday Reliance Industries offered to acquire a controlling interest in the beleaguered chemical company, which is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. LyondellBasell declined to...
Hawaii anxiously watching year-end tuna supply
12:00
On New Year's Eve each year, thousands line up at fish counters across Hawaii to buy blocks of raw tuna, hoping that eating it will bring good luck and prosperity in the new year. This year, the long tradition may get a...
GOP: Health test recommendations could affect care
9:24
Republicans are seizing on this week's recommendations for fewer Pap smears and mammograms to fuel concern about government-rationed medical care _ and to try to chip away support by women for President Barack Obama's...
Russia president criticizes ruling party over vote
8:45
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday sharply criticized officials in the ruling Kremlin-backed party for manipulating recent regional votes, saying it must learn to win fairly. Medvedev's statement marked a...
Philly transit union ratifies labor pact
10:03
A labor agreement for Philadelphia transit workers has been ratified overwhelmingly by union members. Transport Workers Union Local 234 spokesman Bob Wolper said Friday night that 2,806 members voted to ratify the...
Texas high court agrees to rehear Exxon case
9:07
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said it will again hear arguments in the nearly 15-year legal battle over accusations that Exxon Mobil Corp. loaded abandoned wells with junk, sludge and even explosives to keep other...
13 charged in $19M Central Oregon bank fraud
8:59
The collapse of a Bend real estate development company has resulted in charges against 13 people in what prosecutors say is the largest Oregon fraud case to emerge from the national real estate boom and bust. A federal...
Pa. residents sue gas driller over polluted wells
8:36
Pat Farnelli says there's something in the water at her house. The last time she drank it, she says she vomited four times. It's made her children sick, too. Like her neighbors in this rural community 15 miles south of...
Publisher says buyer emerges for Ariz. paper
8:08
The publisher of the East Valley Tribune in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa said Friday that a buyer has made an offer that would keep the paper and its Web site in business. Publisher Julie Moreno told Tribune staffers...
More ethics rules issued for NC treasurer workers
8:07
State Treasurer Janet Cowell unveiled new rules Friday banning employees from taking gifts from companies that do substantial business with the agency and setting a limit on charitable solicitations. The rules come...
UConn: Merger with Hartford Hospital not feasible
7:36
University of Connecticut officials say a plan to merge the UConn Health Center in Farmington with Hartford Hospital is unlikely to win official approval. President Michael J. Hogan told university staff and faculty...
Ex-Vivendi CEO: I made mistakes but never misled
7:35
Former Vivendi CEO Jean-Marie Messier told a jury Friday he made mistakes in his troubled bid to turn the French water company into a global media giant, but he never misled shareholders about the risks. Messier said...
Monsanto aims to stop leaks at Idaho mine dump
7:28
Monsanto Co. is installing a water management system at an Idaho phosphate mine the company depends on to make its Roundup weedkiller to stop the leakage of selenium and heavy metals into a tributary of the Blackfoot...
Moody's downgrades Liberty Media LLC ratings
7:13
Moody's Investors Service downgraded ratings for Liberty Media Corp. subsidiary Liberty Media LLC on Friday. The changes come shortly after shareholders approved the formation of a new company out of DirecTV Group Inc....
More ethics rules issued for NC treasurer workers
6:47
North Carolina's state treasurer has unveiled rules banning employees from taking gifts from companies that do substantial business with the agency. Treasurer Janet Cowell also announced Friday her top-level staff...
Southwest Airlines changes board election rules
6:40
Southwest Airlines Co. said Friday it will require uncontested candidates for its board of directors to win a majority among shareholder votes cast to be elected, instead of just a plurality. If an incumbent fails to...
Sun-Times Media names John Barron group publisher
6:34
Sun-Times Media Group, which was recently sold out of bankruptcy to an investor group, said Friday it named John Barron to the newly created group publisher position and as senior vice president of news and editorial...
West Virginia regulators approve gas rate increase
6:31
West Virginia's Public Service Commission has approved a 5 percent rate increase for Hope Gas Inc. The $8.78 million increase approved Friday is substantially smaller than the $34.4 million increase the utility had...
La. businessman indicted in alleged Ponzi scheme
6:27
A Louisiana businessman was charged Friday with engaging in a Ponzi scheme to defraud about 160 investors _ mostly elderly people _ out of roughly $19.5 million and using some of the money to pay for cars, cruises,...
Former Iowa slaughterhouse manager seeks acquittal
6:24
A former kosher slaughterhouse manager convicted of financial fraud has asked for an acquittal or new trial, saying prosecutors unfairly brought in evidence of immigration violations. In a motion filed late Thursday,...
Nasdaq notifies Overstock it violated listing rule
6:22
Overstock.com Inc. said Friday that it received a listing rule violation letter Thursday from the Nasdaq Stock Market related to the recent filing of its third-quarter report. The online retailer said Nasdaq informed...
Stocks fall for 3rd day as dollar strengthens
6:19
Investors can't shake their fears that the economy isn't keeping up with the stock market. Stocks fell for a third straight day Friday as a disappointing outlook from computer maker Dell Inc. suggested that an economic...
Report: Hershey may launch bid for Cadbury
6:19
Hershey Co. may make a $17 billion bid for UK candy company Cadbury PLC, topping the recent $16.5 billion hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc., the Wall Street Journal reports Friday. The bid wouldn't be ready for two...
Small Florida bank shuttered, 124th this year
6:13
Florida banking regulators on Friday shut down Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida, marking the 124th U.S. bank to succumb this year to the struggling economy and rising loan defaults. The Federal Deposit Insurance...
Fla. commissioner OKs Citizens Property rate hikes
6:09
More than 15,000 mobile home owners insured by state-backed Citizens Property insurance Corp. will see an 11 percent increase on their insurance policies in 2010. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty signed an...
How the major stock indexes fared on Friday
6:08
Stocks fell for a third straight day Friday as a disappointing outlook from computer maker Dell Inc. suggested that an economic recovery could be uneven. The market, which has been shuttling between concerns about the...
Americans save more but earn less as rates fall
6:04
The U.S. is finally becoming a nation of savers. Now if only we could get something for our money. Interest rates are sinking to near zero for the first time since last year's financial meltdown, dampening spending as...
TD Ameritrade offering $1.25B in senior notes
6:04
Online retail brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. said Friday that it will sell $1.25 billion in senior unsecured notes in a public offering and use proceeds to retire debt and stagger the maturity of its long-term...
New Hampshire AG seeks bankruptcy for mortgage co.
5:59
The New Hampshire attorney general's office wants to force a mortgage company that closed suddenly into bankruptcy. Financial Resources Management of Meredith closed abruptly Nov. 9 as did two other businesses sharing...
Movers roundup: Dress Barn, Hibbett Sports
5:58
Among the stock activity stories for Friday, Nov. 20, from AP Financial News: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Shares of Dress Barn Inc. climbed a day after the company raised its yearly profit estimate above analysts' forecasts. ...
Huntington Bancshares to buy $338.9M in notes
5:57
Huntington Bancshares Inc., parent company of Huntington National Bank, said Friday that it will pay $338.9 million for subordinated bank notes tendered for an offer that expired Thursday. Huntington, based in...
Judge strikes down Tennessee guns-in-bars law
5:54
Tennessee's new law allowing people with handgun permits to be armed in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol is unconstitutionally vague, a judge ruled on Friday. Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman said the law, enacted...
Nebraska ethanol plant fire produces lawsuit
5:51
The owners of a Lexington ethanol plant and their insurer are suing a subsidiary of a Houston-based natural gas provider they say is responsible for an explosion and fire that shut down the plant for weeks. Cornhusker...
Recalls: cantaloupes, chilled side-dish products
5:47
The following recalls have been announced: _ Five Crowns Marketing is recalling cantaloupes packed under the Majesty label because they could be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and...
Business Highlights
5:43
More states add jobs, but many for temporary staff WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a sharp improvement, more than half of U.S. states added jobs in October, though economists said many of the gains likely occurred in temporary...
Fla. jobless rate climbs to 11.2 percent in Oct.
5:37
Florida's unemployment rate continued its steady upward climb in October to 11.2 percent _ a mark last seen in the 1970s and a tenth of a percentage point higher than September's adjusted rate, state officials said...
Treasury prices fall, yields inch off lows
5:37
Treasury prices mostly fell Friday, pushing their yields higher. Yields on short-term bills hovered near their lows of the year. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered among the safest investments, dipped to...
J.M. Smucker 2nd-quarter profit soars on coffee
5:37
J.M. Smucker Co. nearly tripled its profit in the second quarter as the addition of Folgers coffee gave a jolt to its lineup and lower commodity prices for coffee beans and other items fattened its profit margins. The...
Investors sue Fla. lawyer in fraud probe for $100M
5:28
Investors claiming they were fleeced by a high-profile South Florida attorney filed a $100 million lawsuit Friday contending that the lawyer orchestrated a massive Ponzi scheme with the help of a Canadian bank's U.S....
Moody's downgrades Sprint rating
5:27
Moody's Investors Service said Friday that it downgraded ratings for Sprint Nextel Corp. because it is taking longer than expected to stanch a deterioration in its profit. Moody's downgraded the wireless service...
SC jury finds '3 Hebrew Boys' guilty in scam
5:26
Three South Carolina men have been found guilty of bilking thousands of investors out of more than $80 million. A federal jury of four men and eight women deliberated for less than four hours Friday before finding...
Minn. House tells court governor abused budget law
5:21
Lawyers for the Minnesota House spell out in a 34-page brief why they believe Gov. Tim Pawlenty misused a state law to enact budget cuts without legislative consent. The brief filed Friday supports a lawsuit...
D.R. Horton sees 26 perecent spike in 4Q orders
5:20
Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc., saw new home orders spike 26 percent from a year ago in the latest quarter as buyers raced to close deals and take advantage of a federal tax credit. But a wider-than-anticipated loss...
Mo. governor: Community colleges to freeze tuition
5:18
Community colleges have joined Missouri's four-year colleges and universities in agreeing to freeze tuition next school year if state officials promise to nick and not slash their budgets. Gov. Jay Nixon said Friday...
Louisiana sees decline in initial jobless claims
5:15
First-time claims for jobless benefits in Louisiana fell last week after a spike attributed to a temporary layoff in the transportation equipment industry. The Louisiana Workforce Commission reported 4,623 initial...
Medidata shares fall on offering announcement
5:14
Medidata Solutions Inc., a maker of software and services for clinical development of drugs and medical devices, said Friday it plans a public offering of 4.5 million shares of its common stock. Medidata, which filed a...