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Japanese stocks eke out gains; Dollar up
Nov 15 2005 11:24PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks eked out gains Wednesday morning after two straight days of declines as buying in automobile and banking issues offset selling in real estate and oil stocks. The dollar was near 27-month highs versus the yen.
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Cooper seeks $25M fee for work at Enron
Nov 15 2005 11:09PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - The turnaround expert who led Enron Corp. through one of the most complex and expensive bankruptcies in history said Tuesday that his work is worth $25 million.
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Miller claims Bud Light formula altered
Nov 15 2005 10:55PM (CT)
MILWAUKEE (AP) - The latest fight in the U.S. beer battle is a matter of taste. Miller Brewing Co. says rival Anheuser-Busch has altered Bud Light in the past year to make it more bitter and bubbly, rolling out the claim about Bud Light in national television ads that began airing Friday. The company said data it has collected show Bud Light's bitterness and carbonation rose from last year.
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Stanford business school getting $30M
Nov 15 2005 10:43PM (CT)
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Stanford University's Graduate School of Business will receive $30 million from philanthropists Anne T. and Robert M. Bass, the largest single gift in the business school's 80-year history, school officials said Tuesday.
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Massey to buy back $500M of common shares
Nov 15 2005 10:43PM (CT)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Massey Energy Co. on Tuesday announced a plan to buy back $500 million worth of its common shares and to conduct a capital restructuring program that will remove another 6.8 million shares from the company's earnings calculations.
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Coca-Cola sued over Turkish labor disput
Nov 15 2005 10:16PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A labor activist who previously sued Coca-Cola Co. over the death of a worker in Colombia, filed a lawsuit against the company in New York on Tuesday on behalf of a group of former Turkish transport workers, alleging abuse and coercion of union organizers.
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Justice Dept. approves Oracle acquisition
Nov 15 2005 10:12PM (CT)
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (AP) - The Justice Department on Tuesday approved Oracle Corp.'s proposed $5.85 billion acquisition of rival Siebel Systems Inc. after finding the deal raised no antitrust concerns.
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Bernanke: I won't use politics to run Fed
Nov 15 2005 9:46PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ben Bernanke, the president's chief economist, told senators Tuesday he'll continue the policies of Alan Greenspan if confirmed as Federal Reserve chairman and will make sure the central bank remains free of political influence.
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J&J agrees to acquire Guidant for $21.5B
Nov 15 2005 9:45PM (CT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Ending a weeklong standoff, Johnson & Johnson agreed Tuesday to acquire the struggling medical device manufacturer Guidant Corp. for $21.5 billion, about 15 percent less than its initial offer last year.
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Abercrombie income jumps 79 percent
Nov 15 2005 9:40PM (CT)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Teen fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Tuesday that its third-quarter earnings rose 79 percent, and the company raised its profit guidance for the year.
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Allergan makes $3.2B offer to buy Inamed
Nov 15 2005 9:12PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Botox maker Allergan Inc. made a $3.2 billion cash-and-stock offer to buy Inamed Corp. Tuesday, setting up a potential bidding war for the cosmetic surgery product manufacturer, which already was in talks to be acquired by Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp.
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Boeing, union reach tentative agreement
Nov 15 2005 8:33PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Boeing Co. and the union representing its engineering and technical employees said Tuesday they had reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year labor contract for workers in Washington's Puget Sound region and in three other states.
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Volvo to extend warranty on stalling cars
Nov 15 2005 8:13PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo subsidiary has quietly reached a deal with California regulators to extend the warranty of defective throttles in about 356,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada that are prone to stalling, the company said Tuesday.
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Borders Group widens 3Q loss to $14.1M
Nov 15 2005 6:57PM (CT)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Borders Group Inc. on Tuesday reported a third-quarter loss within the bookseller's own lowered expectations, reflecting weaker sales trends.
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Staples 3Q profit up 14 pct. to $237.8M
Nov 15 2005 6:37PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Staples Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit grew 14 percent as gains in the office products seller's delivery business and copying services offset slow sales overseas.
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Fitch drops ratings on Big Easy agencies
Nov 15 2005 6:27PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Fitch Ratings has downgraded to "junk" the ratings on bonds issued by the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board of the city's Audubon Commission, which operates the Aquarium of the Americas.
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Bond market ends higher on Bernanke talk
Nov 15 2005 6:21PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Prices of longer-dated Treasurys led the government bond market higher Tuesday, as investors sought comfort in anti-inflation rhetoric from Ben Bernanke, nominated to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.
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AIG CEO doesn't expect to restate again
Nov 15 2005 6:21PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The chief executive of American International Group Inc., one of the world's largest insurers, said Tuesday that he doesn't expect that AIG will have to restate its earnings again.
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Sandwich shop agrees to change its name
Nov 15 2005 6:15PM (CT)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - The owners of a father-and-son sandwich shop in Milford said Tuesday they will change their company's name to avoid a costly legal fight with Subway, the world's largest sandwich chain.
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Boeing to launch bigger versions of 747
Nov 15 2005 6:11PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Boeing Co. is launching bigger, more efficient versions of its 747 jumbo jet in a move that will put competitive pressure on rival Airbus and its A380 superjumbo.
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Fannie Mae ups CEO salary to $950,000
Nov 15 2005 6:06PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Home mortgage lender Fannie Mae said it approved a new employment agreement Monday with its chief executive, Daniel H. Mudd, that increased his base salary to $950,000 from $850,000.
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TJX third-quarter earnings fall to $171M
Nov 15 2005 6:02PM (CT)
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) - Off-price retailer TJX Cos. said Tuesday that its third-quarter profit declined by nearly 15 percent, hurt by warmer weather and weak performance of women's sportswear.
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Avon Products unveils major restructuring
Nov 15 2005 5:57PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Avon Products Inc.., the world's biggest direct seller of beauty products, announced Tuesday a major restructuring that includes downsizing and other actions to restore its growth after business weakened last year amid heightened competition from rivals and a softening economy.
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Indonesia court drops case vs. Newmont
Nov 15 2005 5:51PM (CT)
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - An Indonesian court on Tuesday dropped a civil suit filed by the government against Newmont Mining Corp.'s local subsidiary accusing it of pollution, saying the case should be taken to international arbitration.
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GM bankruptcy fears rising on Wall Street
Nov 15 2005 5:48PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - An increasing number of investors are betting that General Motors Corp. may be forced to seek bankruptcy protection within the next 12 months as it struggles with slumping sales and high health care costs for workers and retirees.
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Raytheon wins $1.3 billion Army contract
Nov 15 2005 5:41PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Raytheon Co. on Tuesday said it won a $1.3 billion Army contract to develop and test a new radar system designed to protect troops from cruise missile attacks.
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NYSE dissidents settle Archipelago suit
Nov 15 2005 5:39PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Stock Exchange agreed Tuesday to an independent financial review of its proposed $6 billion acquisition of electronic rival Archipelago Holdings Inc., settling a lawsuit brought by a group of dissident seat owners and allowing a vote on the deal to proceed.
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Inside TV to publish last issue this week
Nov 15 2005 5:32PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. has shuttered its money-losing Inside TV magazine, just eight months after it debuted.
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Tuesday's commodities roundup
Nov 15 2005 5:31PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude-oil futures settled Tuesday below $57 a barrel for the first time since late June, driven down by unseasonably warm weather that incited a sell-off in refined products.
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Dana to restate past financial reports
Nov 15 2005 5:31PM (CT)
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Auto-parts company Dana Corp., which said last month that it would restate its financial reports for 2004 and the first part of 2005, said on Tuesday that it also would restate reports from 2000 through 2004 because of an accounting requirement.
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Lockheed Martin to lay off 300 employees
Nov 15 2005 5:29PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - Lockheed Martin Aeronautics plans to lay off 300 employees in January and further reduce its F-16 fighter jet work force next year in Fort Worth.
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Investor proposes shake-up at McDonald's
Nov 15 2005 5:28PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - An activist hedge-fund investor stepped up pressure Tuesday on McDonald's Corp., telling Wall Street the fast-food chain can boost its stock price dramatically if it spins off 65 percent of company-owned restaurants and focuses on more profitable real estate.
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AC Cars to build plant in Connecticut
Nov 15 2005 5:28PM (CT)
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - AC Cars, Britain's oldest sports car company, will build its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Bridgeport as part of a strategy to increase its American sales, officials said Tuesday.
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Drax Group: Consortium offer is too low
Nov 15 2005 5:07PM (CT)
BALTIMORE (AP) - Drax Group Ltd, which runs Britain's largest coal power plant, said Tuesday that an offer of $4.1 billion from a consortium led by Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group Inc. was too low, but it was continuing to talk to the consortium.
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Judge denies bail to ex-KPMG executive
Nov 15 2005 5:05PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A judge took the unusual step of denying bail to a white collar defendant in the largest criminal tax case in U.S. history after examining the man's alleged actions to hide assets before he was charged in a tax-shelter fraud.
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Mexico shop owner, Coca-Cola unit clash
Nov 15 2005 4:59PM (CT)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico has imposed anti-monopoly fines of about $68 million against a Coca-Cola Co. subsidiary and dozens of distributors and bottlers, largely due to a three-year battle waged by one woman who got tired of being told what to sell at her one-room store in an impoverished Mexico City neighborhood.
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Home Depot 3Q earnings climb to $1.54B
Nov 15 2005 4:28PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - The Home Depot Inc., the nation's largest home improvement store chain, reported a nearly 17 percent jump in third-quarter earnings on strong sales, beating Wall Street expectations. The company boosted its earnings per share growth guidance for the year.
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Lockheed Martin gets $2.9B Air Force deal
Nov 15 2005 4:22PM (CT)
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - Lockheed Martin Corp. said Tuesday it received a $2.9 billion contract from the U.S. Air Force to continue making F/A-22 fighter aircraft.
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Vimicro stock falls in first day of IPO
Nov 15 2005 3:45PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vimicro International Corp., a Chinese company that makes processors for digital cameras, had a poor reception from investors on Tuesday, the company's first day of trading as a public stock.
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Oil prices fall below $57 per barrel
Nov 15 2005 3:44PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude-oil futures fell below $57 a barrel Tuesday on forecasts that U.S. oil inventories likely grew in the past week and that high oil prices are dampening global demand.
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Group: Home prices show sharp increases
Nov 15 2005 3:39PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The booming housing market kept pushing prices higher in the summer months, led by supercharged gains in Phoenix and Orlando.
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Venezuela, China sign oil supply deal
Nov 15 2005 3:23PM (CT)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Representatives of Venezuela's state oil company signed a one-year fuel supply contract with China National Petroleum Corp. as the South American country moves to diversify its export market.
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Delta pilots rally in defense of contract
Nov 15 2005 3:07PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots put on a united front Tuesday in defense of their contract from the company's attempt to void the agreement in bankruptcy court and impose deep pay and benefit cuts. The pilots insist their strike threat is not a bluff.
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Greece scraps airline privatization bid
Nov 15 2005 2:59PM (CT)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The Greek government canceled its latest bid to privatize Olympic Airlines on Tuesday after the European Union ruled that the troubled airline benefited from illegal subsidy payments.
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WTO: U.S. complies with int'l trade rules
Nov 15 2005 2:32PM (CT)
GENEVA (AP) - The United States has made sufficient changes to import duties on Canadian lumber and is now in compliance with international rules, the World Trade Organization ruled Tuesday.
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Refco auditor: led in uncovering fraud
Nov 15 2005 2:22PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Refco Inc.'s auditor, Grant Thornton LLP, told a bankruptcy judge it played a crucial role in uncovering the securities fraud that precipitated the collapse of the nation's largest independent commodities brokerage.
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TRM down; higher ATM expenses hurt results
Nov 15 2005 2:16PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The stock of TRM Corp., which placers copiers and ATMs in stores, fell Tuesday after the company reported results that disappointed Wall Street, citing weak photocopy sales and higher ATM expenses.
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Venezuela sells exploration rights to cos.
Nov 15 2005 2:07PM (CT)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela on Tuesday awarded natural gas exploration rights for two offshore areas to Italian energy company ENI SpA, Spanish-Argentine firm Repsol YPF, Brazil's Petrobras and Japan's Teikoku Oil Co. Ltd.
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Commerzbank says it plans Eurohypo takeover
Nov 15 2005 2:00PM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - Commerzbank AG said Tuesday it was close to a deal to take over Eurohypo AG, a commercial bank it jointly owns with German rivals Deutsche Bank AG and Dresdner Bank AG.
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Sandisk falls as Deutsche Bank cuts rating
Nov 15 2005 12:54PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Shares of Sandisk Corp. fell Tuesday, after Deutsche Bank cut its investment rating on stock of the flash memory chip maker to "sell" from "hold."
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Target stock down on November warning
Nov 15 2005 12:53PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Target Corp. stock fell Tuesday after the discounter said it expects November same-store sales growth to lag behind its prior estimate.
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J.C. Penney turns sales rise into profit
Nov 15 2005 12:51PM (CT)
PLANO, Texas (AP) - Department-store chain J.C. Penney Co. Inc. turned a small increase in sales into a 57 percent jump in third-quarter profit, helped by lower interest rate costs and a huge cut in its number of shares, which made the earnings on each share look better.
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NYSE fines Schwab brokerage $1 million
Nov 15 2005 12:08PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Stock Exchange said Tuesday that it has fined discount brokerage Charles Schwab Corp. $1 million for failing to supervise and protect customer assets that were managed by non-employee investment advisers.
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Salomon Brothers to end closed-end format
Nov 15 2005 11:56AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The Salomon Brothers Fund Inc. has struck a deal with dissident shareholders to terminate its closed-end format, effectively converting itself into a traditional mutual fund.
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Saks posts slight third-quarter profit
Nov 15 2005 11:19AM (CT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Upscale department store chain Saks Inc. said Tuesday it eked out a slight third-quarter profit, aided by a gain from insurance proceeds for a New Orleans store damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
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Boeing launching more efficient 747 jet
Nov 15 2005 11:17AM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Boeing Co. is launching bigger, more efficient versions of its 747 jumbo jet in a move that will put competitive pressure on rival Airbus and its A380 superjumbo.
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Parmalat board appoints Bondi as CEO
Nov 15 2005 11:07AM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Dairy and juice company Parmalat SpA, struggling to recover from a fraud scandal, said Tuesday that its board of directors confirmed the appointment of turnaround expert Enrico Bondi as chief executive.
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Nasdaq to enable shorter stock symbols
Nov 15 2005 11:04AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Starting early in 2007, the Nasdaq Stock Market will be able to display symbols with one, two or three letters for its listed stocks, which now are basically limited to four-letter symbols.
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APEC trade ministers forge common stance
Nov 15 2005 10:28AM (CT)
BUSAN, South Korea (AP) - Pacific Rim trade ministers agreed Tuesday on a joint statement aimed at reviving stalled global trade talks, stopping short of naming the European Union as the main stumbling block. Some began to see signs of compromise in the words of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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BJ's Wholesale 3Q income up on sales growth
Nov 15 2005 10:05AM (CT)
NATICK, Mass. (AP) - BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., the nation's third-largest membership warehouse club, said Thursday its third-quarter profit grew 20 percent on strong sales growth, especially at the gasoline pump.
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American Eagle third-quarter profit rises
Nov 15 2005 9:44AM (CT)
WARRENDALE, Pa. (AP) - Youth apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit climbed 27 percent on robust sales, beating its own outlook from earlier this month, but forecast fourth-quarter results shy of Wall Street's consensus. The company's shares tumbled more than 6 percent.
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EU adopts additional accounting rules
Nov 15 2005 9:36AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Commission said Tuesday it had adopted amendments to new International Accounting Rules which would be implemented across the European Union in an effort to avoid accounting scandals such as those involving Enron Corp. and Parmalat Finanziara SPA.
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Harrah's, Wynn eyeing Singapore market
Nov 15 2005 9:27AM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - Las Vegas casino operators Harrah's Entertainment Inc., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MGM Mirage Inc. were among eight consortiums that took the first step on Tuesday toward bidding for licenses to open casinos in Singapore.
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German economy grows 1.3 percent for 3Q
Nov 15 2005 8:11AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The German economy grew by 1.3 percent in the third quarter as a sustained export boom more than made up for depressed consumer consumption, government figures showed Tuesday.
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Koch lauds similar corporate cultures
Nov 15 2005 6:29AM (CT)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Leaders of Georgia-Pacific and Koch Industries Inc. laud their similar corporate cultures as a prime reason they anticipate success for their proposed $13.2 billion combination.
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Price dispute delays Calif. crab season
Nov 15 2005 3:29AM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Central California's Dungeness crab season may start Tuesday, but that doesn't mean the tasty critters will be hauled up anytime soon. Fishermen and processors haven't been able to agree on prices.
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Japan must curb government bond issuance
Nov 15 2005 2:50AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan must limit the issuance of new government bonds to about 30 trillion yen ($253 billion) in the next fiscal year to tackle the country's mushrooming public debt, a top government official quoted Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as saying Tuesday.
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Telstra to cut up to 12,000 jobs
Nov 15 2005 2:49AM (CT)
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Australia's largest telecommunications company, Telstra Corp., on Tuesday announced plans to cut up to 12,000 jobs by 2010 as part of a major restructuring program that could slash earnings by as much as 30 percent this fiscal year.
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UC panel endores Sudan divestment plan
Nov 15 2005 1:16AM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - An investment committee of the University of California's Board of Regents unanimously endorsed a proposal Monday calling for the system to divest university holdings from four companies that do business in Sudan.
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Microsoft launches search for businesses
Nov 15 2005 12:39AM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released a business version of software that aims to help people more quickly find documents, e-mail and other data stored on Windows-based computers.
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