Asian markets mixed after Wall Street slips
12:23
Asian stock markets were mixed in sluggish, year-end trade Wednesday, following a lackluster session on Wall Street as many investors held back after this year's global rally. A number of markets fluctuated, with...
Oil falls amid reported rise in US inventories
12:07
Oil prices fell slightly Wednesday in Asia amid a surprise rise in U.S. weekly crude inventory ahead of the release of government data. Benchmark crude for February delivery was down 10 cents to $78.77 a barrel at...
Report: GMAC to get another $3.5B in federal aid
11:09
GMAC Financial Services is expected to receive $3.5 billion more in federal aid to further stabilize the automotive lender, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The announcement is expected within days and would...
US weighs duties on Chinese steel grating
10:26
The Commerce Department says it may impose anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese steel grating, saying it has been sold in the U.S. for up to 145 percent below its normal value. Chinese companies have been assigned...
ND lawsuit likely over Minn. carbon dioxide tax
7:49
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said North Dakota is likely to file a legal challenge to Minnesota's efforts to make it costlier for utilities to use coal-generated electricity produced in western North Dakota. North...
Treasury yields fall after successful bond auction
6:05
Interest rates dipped in the market for previously issued Treasurys Tuesday after a successful auction of $42 billion of five-year notes. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which is used as a benchmark for...
How the major stock indexes fared on Tuesday
6:04
The stock market edged lower Tuesday, breaking a six-day advance as reports on home prices and consumer confidence did little to excite buyers. Major indexes rose modestly in the early going but slipped as the dollar...
Judge who sentenced Boesky in NY to prison dies
5:55
Morris Lasker, the judge who sentenced Ivan Boesky to prison in a 1980s insider trading scandal and helped eliminate horrid conditions in New York City jails, has died. He was 92. His son, Timothy Lasker of Chilmark,...
Stocks slip to break six-day winning streak
5:53
The stock market edged lower Tuesday, breaking a six-day advance as reports on home prices and consumer confidence did little to excite buyers. Major indexes rose modestly in the early going but slipped as the dollar...
Consumer confidence rises in Dec, but still weak
5:49
Americans are ending 2009 feeling better about the economy than when the year began, buoyed by optimism that job prospects will improve in the first half of 2010. Consumer expectations for the job market reached their...
Gold dips back below $1,100 as dollar rises
5:49
Gold and other metals fell Tuesday in response to a stronger dollar, while energy futures eked out small gains. The price of gold ended a three-day winning streak, falling back below $1,100 as the dollar rose against...
Hacker pleads guilty in Mass. to fraud case
5:34
A computer hacker who helped orchestrate the theft of tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers from major retailers in one of the largest such thefts in U.S. history pleaded guilty Tuesday in the last of three...
2 more companies pass up promised NC incentives
5:33
A pair of specialty outsourcing companies won't collect job-creation grants from North Carolina taxpayers as the recession hits health care and financial services differently. The state's Economic Investment Committee,...
Outback to pay $19M to settle discrimination suit
5:31
Outback Steakhouse has agreed to pay $19 million to female workers and take other steps, including hiring a new human resources executive, to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit. A consent decree describing the...
Gunman barricaded in SoCal tribal gaming office
5:29
A man who was fired from his job at the Barona Resort and Casino last month burst into the tribal gaming commission's security office with a gun Tuesday and reportedly fired shots before barricading himself inside,...
No such thing as off year for Ark. politics in '09
5:21
There's no such thing as an off year in Arkansas politics. That fact was on display throughout 2009 as U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln's re-election bid dominated the state's political talk, long before she would even appear...
Residents with disabilities sue SC Gov, lawmakers
5:19
Advocates for disabled South Carolina residents have sued Gov. Mark Sanford and lawmakers, saying they slashed services after illegally sending federal stimulus money to a state savings account. The lawsuit asks the...
Former NM insurance regulator's convictions upheld
5:08
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld former state insurance regulator Joe Ruiz's corruption convictions. Ruiz was convicted last year of soliciting charitable donations from insurance companies in exchange for...
Business Highlights
5:06
Consumer confidence extends rise in December NEW YORK (AP) _ A more upbeat outlook on jobs pushed Americans' confidence in the economy higher in December for the second month in a row, a survey released Tuesday said. ...
String of investment bubbles marked 2000-09
5:03
A string of exploding investment bubbles that started with the dot-coms and ended with mortgages and oil dominated the years from 2000 to 2009. And it looks like the next decade will be no different. It doesn't seem to...
Southwest Missouri paintball manufacturer to close
5:00
A southwest Missouri factory that makes paintballs will close early next year, putting 60 people out of work. The Brass Eagle plant in the town of Neosho will shut down in mid-February, although a paintball...
Mercedes pays $6.8M in fuel efficiency fines
4:58
The government says Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc. has paid a $6.8 million fine for failing to comply with federal fuel-efficiency requirements. Mercedes, a division of Daimler AG, paid the fines for violations...
Kentucky Power asks for nearly 35 pct rate hike
4:54
Kentucky Power is asking the state Public Service Commission to approve a rate increase of nearly 35 percent. Company spokesman Ronn Robinson says it's the first base rate increase the company has sought in more than...
Ky. budget shortfall could exceed $1.5 billion
4:49
Kentucky could be facing a budget shortfall of more than $1.5 billion over the next two years because of the economic recession, Gov. Steve Beshear said Tuesday. "We face a challenge much greater than many had...
YRC Worldwide, Spectranetics, Palm are movers
4:38
The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE: Marshall & Ilsley, up 5 cents at $5.50 The regional bank...
4:33
Obama: 'totally unacceptable' 'systemic failure' led to failed airline plot. ...
Pa. casino group says its activity wasn't lobbying
4:28
A casino trade association headed by a former state Supreme Court chief justice rebutted a lawmaker's criticism by saying that it doesn't have to register under Pennsylvania's lobbying-disclosure law because its...
Iraq inks oil deal with Russia's Lukoil
4:25
A consortium led by Russia's private oil giant Lukoil on Tuesday signed an initial deal with Iraq to develop one of its biggest oil fields, an agreement key to the war-ravaged nation's efforts to boost the output of a...
WSJ: GM offering deep discounts on Saturn, Pontiac
4:25
General Motors Co. is offering deep discounts on its remaining Saturn and Pontiac vehicles as it looks to move the leftover inventory of the soon-to-be-dead brands, according to a published report. The automaker will...
Tylenol Arthritis Caplet voluntary recall expanded
4:25
Johnson & Johnson is expanding a voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets due to consumer reports of a moldy smell that can cause nausea and sickness. According to a statement posted to the Food and Drug...
Senior-citizen volunteers fight Medicare fraud
4:25
The first box that arrived at Shirley Shupp's door was filled with braces to help with her arthritis. Then came a motorized scooter, just like the one the 69-year-old already owned. She hadn't asked for any of it _ but...
Broadcasters' woes could spell trouble for free TV
4:25
For more than 60 years, TV stations have broadcast news, sports and entertainment for free and made their money by showing commercials. That might not work much longer. The business model is unraveling at ABC, CBS, NBC...
W.Va. regulators OK Allegheny Energy rate increase
4:23
The West Virginia Public Service Commission has approved a $118 million rate increase for Allegheny Energy. Tuesday's action means the average residential customer will pay nearly $8 a month more for 1,000 kilowatt...
Fla. AG wants to review federal health care bill
4:19
Florida's attorney general said Tuesday that he is looking at possibly suing the federal government over concerns about proposed health care legislation moving through Congress. Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is...
Dollar edges up on housing, confidence data
4:17
The dollar edged up against other currencies in light trading Tuesday after reports on U.S. home prices and consumer confidence, as expected, showed slight improvement. The 16-nation euro slipped to $1.4351 in late New...
Magnolia Insurance placed under state supervision
4:17
Florida insurance regulators have taken over supervision of a struggling South Florida based property insurer. Regulators confirmed Tuesday that Coconut Grove-based Magnolia Insurance is financially troubled and that...
Home prices rise again in October
3:55
Home prices rose for the fifth month in a row in October, but the recovery is shaky with only 11 of the 20 metro areas tracked showing gains. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday...
Agriculture futures trade mixed on the CBOT
3:33
Agriculture futures were mixed Tuesday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for March delivery dropped 9.75 cents to $5.41 a bushel, while March corn rose 1 cent to $4.17 a bushel and oats for March delivery added 4...
Tenn. county working to build on stimulus job gain
3:29
Perry County officials are looking for ways to make job gains more permanent after short-term federal stimulus money helped cut unemployment in the rural Tennessee county from the nation's highest rate in May to 16.4...
Vivus files for approval of obesity drug Qnexa
3:27
Drugmaker Vivus Inc. said Tuesday it asked regulators to approve its drug candidate Qnexa as a treatment for obesity. Vivus said it has filed a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration. A week ago,...
4 settle SEC claims against defunct Pa. firm
3:16
Three former officers of a defunct Pittsburgh-area medical staffing company and an attorney who worked for them have agreed to settle stock fraud claims filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The settlements,...
Spectranetics will pay $5M to end federal probe
3:11
Spectranetics Corp. said Tuesday it will pay $5 million to end a government investigation into allegations it imported and marketed medical lasers that had not been cleared by regulators. The U.S. Department of Justice...
Canal expansion sets off race among Gulf ports
2:47
With the recession showing signs of ebbing, Gulf of Mexico ports hope hundreds of millions of dollars in expansion projects proposed before the downturn will help them capture more trade as the world economy recovers. ...
A look at economic developments around the globe
2:06
A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Tuesday: ___ PARIS _ European stock markets moved higher as investors continued to book modest gains amid thin volume on the back of...
Mich. regulators OK air permit for power plant
1:28
Michigan regulators approved a key air permit Tuesday that could help clear the way for Consumers Energy to build an 830-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Bay City. The Department of Environmental Quality's move...
Moody's: November credit card payments slip
1:23
More U.S. credit card users fell further behind on their payments in November, Moody's Investor's Services said Tuesday. The charge-off rate on U.S. credit cards, as measured by Moody's Credit Card Index, rose to 10.56...
France-based Areva plans California nuclear plant
1:12
French nuclear engineering company Areva SA said Tuesday that it plans to work with Fresno Nuclear Energy Group on developing one or two new-generation reactors in California's Central Valley. Areva said FNEG is a...
Trading halted on Nasdaq's options floor
12:55
Trading on the floor of the Nasdaq stock market's Philadelphia Stock Exchange was halted for an hour because of smoke. The exchange, known as Nasdaq OMX PHLX, handles options trading. Nasdaq OMX Group said its...
Prominent brother-developers retiring in Ohio
12:54
Two brothers are retiring from top jobs at an Ohio shopping mall development company with properties in 11 states. The Cafaro Co. of Youngstown says president Anthony M. Cafaro Sr. and vice president John J. "Jay"...
Enzyme developer Codexis files for $100M IPO
12:35
Industrial enzyme developer Codexis Inc. plans to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering in 2010. The Redwood City, Calif., company has not yet set a date for the proposed IPO and did not say how many...