Latest Business News
Economic Figures
Dollar & Gold News
Board of Trade News
Personal Finance
|
|
|
|
|
|
Internet audio craze spurs a land grab
Jul 15 2005 8:44PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The runaway popularity of blogging, which has turned everyday people into online news outlets, caught the media establishment off guard. The industry is trying not to make the same mistake with podcasting _ which lets nearly anyone "broadcast" on the Internet.
|
|
|
Enron to settle price-gouging claims
Jul 15 2005 7:48PM (CT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Bankrupt energy company Enron Corp. has agreed to pay $47.5 million in a settlement that could reach $1.5 billion to resolve claims that it gouged California and other western states during the 2000-2001 energy crisis.
|
|
|
GE 2Q profit increases 24 percent
Jul 15 2005 6:36PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - General Electric Co., one of the world's biggest companies, said Friday that its second-quarter earnings jumped 24 percent as profits surged across all 11 of its business units, prompting the company to tighten its full-year forecast.
|
|
|
EU approves P&G's purchase of Gillette
Jul 15 2005 6:26PM (CT)
CINCINNATI (AP) - Procter & Gamble Co.'s proposed $57 billion takeover of Gillette, which would create a global consumer products giant, gained European Union antitrust approval Friday.
|
|
|
Kroger, others sue Visa over price-fixing
Jul 15 2005 6:24PM (CT)
CINCINNATI (AP) - Grocery chain operator Kroger Co. and several other large retailers are charging Visa with price-fixing on credit-card transaction fees.
|
|
|
June industrial production roars ahead
Jul 15 2005 6:20PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Industrial production, helped by a jump in utility output, surged in June at the fastest pace in 16 months, providing the strongest evidence yet that U.S. manufacturing is rebounding.
|
|
|
HP expected to announce massive layoffs
Jul 15 2005 6:19PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Hewlett-Packard Co. is widely expected to cut thousands of jobs next week as part of a long-expected restructuring that will attempt to bring the computer maker's costs in line with business and its rivals' numbers, according to industry analysts.
|
|
|
McDonald's shares up on 2Q profit guidance
Jul 15 2005 6:16PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - McDonald's Corp. said Friday its second-quarter results will handily beat Wall Street's estimates as longer hours and new products continue to lift sales at the world's top-selling fast food company. Its stock surged nearly 5 percent.
|
|
|
Corporate crime sentences start to pay off
Jul 15 2005 6:12PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - In the summer of 2003, when a grand jury indicted Martha Stewart, pundits asked why the government was going after her for a relatively small personal stock sale when fat cats like WorldCom's Bernard Ebbers walked free.
|
|
|
Businesses assess NHL lockout damage
Jul 15 2005 6:09PM (CT)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Bartender Paul Lewis used to pay his college tuition with the $600 in tips he made nightly when the Columbus Blue Jackets played next door.
|
|
|
Ex-ad agency execs sentenced for fraud
Jul 15 2005 5:55PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Two former senior executives at the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency have been sentenced to more than a year in prison for conspiring to overbill the government for a campaign warning children about the dangers of drugs.
|
|
|
Friday's commodities Roundup
Jul 15 2005 5:43PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices posted modest gains Friday, as an early rally sparked by worries about Hurricane Emily's potential impact on Gulf of Mexico production fizzled.
|
|
|
Bonds are narrowly mixed
Jul 15 2005 5:42PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Bond prices were narrowly mixed Friday as Wall Street had a modest advance, fueled by strong economic data.
|
|
|
Dollar rises following positive data
Jul 15 2005 5:39PM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The dollar rose against most major currencies Friday, with the U.S. currency getting a boost from economic data that showed tame inflation and robust production.
|
|
|
Abercrombie CEO sells $104M in stock
Jul 15 2005 4:54PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - As Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported sizzling early summer sales figures, the company's top executive was logging some sales of his own.
|
|
|
FDA approves implant against depression
Jul 15 2005 4:27PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Cyberonics Inc. received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval Friday for a pacemaker-like treatment for depression, the first such device.
|
|
|
Italy government slashes growth forecast
Jul 15 2005 3:41PM (CT)
ROME (AP) - The Italian government on Friday approved an economic document predicting no growth this year for the euro zone's third largest economy and a sharp rise in the budget deficit.
|
|
|
ATA Airlines cutting 450 jobs
Jul 15 2005 3:09PM (CT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - ATA Airlines is cutting an additional 450 jobs as it works to emerge from bankruptcy protection, the airline said Friday.
|
|
|
Oil prices rise as traders track hurricane
Jul 15 2005 2:35PM (CT)
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Oil prices rose Friday, reflecting traders' concerns over possible hurricane dangers in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to oil exports from Mexico and Venezuela.
|
|
|
United gets nod for extra $310M in loans
Jul 15 2005 2:12PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - A federal bankruptcy judge on Friday approved United Airlines' request for an additional $310 million in loans as the carrier works on its plan to emerge from bankruptcy this fall.
|
|
|
Southwestern selling books door-to-door
Jul 15 2005 1:13PM (CT)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Southwestern Co. started selling Bibles just after the Civil War, and the sales model hasn't changed much since.
|
|
|
Court says teen can sue lead paint cos.
Jul 15 2005 12:59PM (CT)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A 15-year-old boy can sue the manufacturers of a lead paint pigment for his injuries even though he cannot prove which ones made the pigment that may have sickened him, a split Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday.
|
|
|
Conte reaches plea deal in steroid case
Jul 15 2005 12:57PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - BALCO founder Victor Conte has agreed to plead guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering in a deal with federal prosecutors, making it much less likely that top athletes such as Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Marion Jones will be forced to testify about alleged drug use.
|
|
|
U.S. weekly oil and gas rig count up 10
Jul 15 2005 12:47PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States increased by 10 this week to 1,404.
|
|
|
Tata Consultanc's 1Q profit up 33.7 percent
Jul 15 2005 12:34PM (CT)
BOMBAY, India (AP) - First-quarter profit at India's biggest software company by sales, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., rose 33.7 percent from the previous quarter on robust growth in orders from telecommunications and manufacturing clients, the company said on Friday.
|
|
|
Dell holders endorse options expensing
Jul 15 2005 11:51AM (CT)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Dell Inc. shareholders narrowly approved a measure Friday requesting that the company treat stock options as expenses.
|
|
|
Chiron cuts European flu vaccine supplies
Jul 15 2005 11:47AM (CT)
EMERYVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Chiron Corp., which last flu season halted its output of flu vaccine for the U.S. market because of quality-control problems, said Friday it will cut supply of vaccine in Europe after it discovered tainted batches at its plant in Germany.
|
|
|
Romania plans to privatize companies
Jul 15 2005 11:38AM (CT)
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romania will privatize its postal and national radio communication companies, the government said Friday.
|
|
|
13 bidders compete in privatization of co.
Jul 15 2005 11:09AM (CT)
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Thirteen groups including the world's largest steel producers have qualified to take part in the sale of a 46 percent stake in Turkey's largest steel business, a government agency said Friday.
|
|
|
Brazilian president agrees to buy warplanes
Jul 15 2005 11:08AM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed Friday to buy a fleet of used French warplanes in a package aimed at tightening bilateral ties, but he complained about French President Jacques Chirac's refusal to back off from EU agricultural subsidies.
|
|
|
Belgian diamond dealers lodge complaint
Jul 15 2005 10:43AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - A diamond trade group said Friday it had made a formal complaint to the European Commission, claiming that South African company De Beers was breaking EU antitrust rules by artificially limiting the supply of the gems on the market.
|
|
|
Brazil asks WTO to allow $3B in measures
Jul 15 2005 9:53AM (CT)
GENEVA (AP) - Brazil asked the World Trade Organization on Friday to allow it to impose $3 billion in annual countermeasures to punish the United States for its illegal cotton subsidies, but said it would not implement the measures immediately.
|
|
|
VW: employees must be ready to adjust
Jul 15 2005 9:19AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The new head of Volkswagen AG's core brand says the struggling automaker's employees must be "ready to tread new paths" and warned that "if we carry on as we have so far, we won't make it."
|
|
|
Judge allows Bondi suit to proceed
Jul 15 2005 9:16AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday allowed a lawsuit by Dr. Enrico Bondi, the government-appointed administrator of Italy's Parmalat Finanziaria SpA, to proceed here against auditors Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Grant Thorton International.
|
|
|
Morgan Stanley's Mack hires former aide
Jul 15 2005 9:09AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Morgan Stanley's new chief executive, John Mack, has recruited former aide Tom Nides as chief administrative officer and a member of the management committee.
|
|
|
3 sentenced to prison for kidnapping exec
Jul 15 2005 8:51AM (CT)
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - A court on Friday convicted and sentenced three men to prison for kidnapping a Swedish millionaire and keeping him locked up for more than two weeks.
|
|
|
Japan: 374 workers die in asbestos handling
Jul 15 2005 7:51AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - More than 370 factory workers died and nearly 90 others were sickened after handling asbestos over a decades-long period, Japan's trade ministry announced Friday in a national survey following reports about health problems linked to the carcinogenic material.
|
|
|
KPMG accounting ordered to pay $100M
Jul 15 2005 7:36AM (CT)
OSLO, Norway (AP) - The Norwegian branch of international accounting group KPMG LLP was ordered to pay 656 million kroner ($100 million) in damages Friday after one of Norway's worst bankruptcies. The company said it will appeal.
|
|
|
Reports: Ex-AIG chief makes public comments
Jul 15 2005 7:31AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Maurice R. Greenberg made his first public comments defending accounting decisions while he was chief executive at American International Group Inc., The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported Friday.
|
|
|
Report: China plans to build 10 new plants
Jul 15 2005 7:31AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - A state-owned utility plans to build 10 nuclear power plants in eastern China as the country tries to reduce its reliance on coal, a state newspaper reported Friday.
|
|
|
Lobster soup to debut at Hong Kong Disney
Jul 15 2005 7:30AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Lobster soup and seafood bouillon will replace the controversial shark fin soup at Hong Kong Disneyland wedding banquets, a Disney spokeswoman said Friday.
|
|
|
McDonald's global same-store sales rise
Jul 15 2005 7:29AM (CT)
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) - McDonald's Corp., the world's largest fast food company by sales, on Friday issued second-quarter earnings guidance and said global same-store sales grew 3.8 percent in June at locations open at least a year.
|
|
|
EU chief: political reforms to spur growth
Jul 15 2005 6:56AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - China should introduce political reforms to ensure stability and maintain long-term economic growth, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Friday.
|
|
|
Terrorism fears affect consumer confidence
Jul 15 2005 6:02AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer confidence over the past month slid to a two-year low, and economists say terrorism fears rekindled by the London bombings probably played a large role in the decline.
|
|
|
Japanese stocks end down; dollar up vs yen
Jul 15 2005 5:42AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks were little changed Friday, giving up gains held for much of the day as traders sold shares to lock in profits from market's recent rise. The dollar dipped lower against the yen.
|
|
|
Samsung Electronics' 2Q profit slides
Jul 15 2005 5:32AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chipmaker, said Friday that second-quarter profit fell 46 percent, largely due to a sharp drop in prices for computer chips.
|
|
|
China protests Japanese drilling deal
Jul 15 2005 4:58AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - China on Friday formally protested Japan's decision to give a private oil company drilling rights in a part of the East China Sea also claimed by Beijing, calling it a severe provocation.
|
|
|
Boeing confident it can catch up to Airbus
Jul 15 2005 4:46AM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - With its sales lagging behind Airbus, Boeing Co. is confident its newest 777 model will help it catch up to its archrival in the high-stakes battle for long-range jet supremacy.
|
|
|
Sony Ericsson's 2Q earnings drop 16 pct.
Jul 15 2005 4:04AM (CT)
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Sony Ericsson, the world's sixth-largest mobile phone maker, said Friday that its earnings dropped 16 percent in the second quarter despite growing sales.
|
|
|
Delta raises fare cap, competitors follow
Jul 15 2005 3:58AM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. blamed persistently high fuel costs Thursday as the nation's third-biggest carrier raised the cap on its most expensive fares by $100, a move that was quickly matched by several rivals. Airline stocks rose on the news.
|
|
|
Daewoo founder Kim Woo-choong hospitalized
Jul 15 2005 3:41AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The former chairman of collapsed South Korean conglomerate Daewoo Group was hospitalized with a life-threatening heart ailment Friday, casting a shadow over a multi-billion dollar fraud investigation.
|
|
|
Wal-Mart to open first Shanghai outlet
Jul 15 2005 3:27AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, plans to open its first store in China's biggest city, Shanghai, at the end of July, the company said Friday.
|
|
|
Bush to lobby for CAFTA in North Carolina
Jul 15 2005 2:42AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's tour of a North Carolina textile mill takes him to the kind of business that critics say would be damaged by his free trade pact with Central America.
|
|
|
Firefighters search for beetle in Calif.
Jul 15 2005 12:52AM (CT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Federal officials have begun searching trees near an air force base in Northern California for a destructive Asian beetle officials believe arrived last month in a shipment of tiles from China.
|
|
|
Cardinal rebounds after turbulent year
Jul 15 2005 12:02AM (CT)
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) - Medical supplier Cardinal Health Inc. is showing signs of stabilizing after a turbulent year marked by an embarrassing accounting scandal, falling earnings and a plummeting stock price.
|
|
|
Nation's first Vioxx trial begins
Jul 15 2005 12:00AM (CT)
ANGLETON, Texas (AP) - A plaintiff's attorney spoke of "Merk-y ethics" while a lawyer for Merck & Co. said jurors will hear about responsible corporate actions as the first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial opened with contrasting legal styles.
|
|
|
|
|
|