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Judge: Aloha Air can cancel pension plans
Dec 15 2005 11:57PM (CT)
HONOLULU (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday upheld Aloha Airlines' effort to jettison its worker pension plans, rejecting an appeal by the federal pension agency that could have derailed the airline's exit from bankruptcy.
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WTO to give duty-free deal to poor nations
Dec 15 2005 11:52PM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Negotiators at a World Trade Organization meeting reached an agreement Friday on granting duty-free and quota-free access to imports from so-called least developing countries, an Indian official said.
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Oil prices slip under $60 a barrel
Dec 15 2005 11:39PM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil prices fell Friday as traders shrugged off a snow storm in the U.S. southeast to lock in profits ahead of the weekend.
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Vegas condo developers to sell site
Dec 15 2005 10:55PM (CT)
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Developers are hoping to sell the property for a fizzled 945-unit luxury condo tower associated with Ivana Trump, asking $49 million for the site.
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Oracle 2Q earnings drop, meets estimates
Dec 15 2005 10:44PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Oracle Corp.'s quarterly earnings dipped slightly but still met analyst expectations, a performance unlikely to satisfy investors who have been expecting bigger things since the business software maker launched a nearly $20 billion shopping spree a year ago.
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Calpine, creditors take dispute to court
Dec 15 2005 10:14PM (CT)
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Calpine Corp. was within its rights to use proceeds from the sale of its natural gas assets to buy stored natural gas to operate power plants, an attorney for the struggling power merchant told the Delaware Supreme Court on Thursday.
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Ralphs indicted on charges tied to strike
Dec 15 2005 10:12PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Ralphs supermarket chain was indicted Thursday on federal charges of hiring hundreds of workers under fake names during a 2003 grocery strike in Southern California and concealing the crimes from federal investigators.
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Groups: Ruling doesn't shield tobacco cos.
Dec 15 2005 8:47PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Illinois Supreme Court handed the tobacco industry a huge victory Thursday by tossing out a $10.1 billion fraud judgment against Philip Morris USA over the marketing of its "light" cigarettes.
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BellSouth to slash 1,500 management jobs
Dec 15 2005 8:46PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - BellSouth Corp., the dominant local phone provider in nine Southeastern states, said Thursday it is cutting 1,500 management jobs, or 2.4 percent of its total work force, because of competition from cable providers.
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Merck plans to cut $1B more in costs
Dec 15 2005 8:44PM (CT)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Merck & Co. plans to cut an additional $1 billion in costs through 2010, focus its research on medicines for the most common diseases and speed up development time for new drugs, company officials said Thursday.
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Adobe posts 4Q profit, plans job cuts
Dec 15 2005 8:42PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Adobe Systems Inc., which makes software such as Acrobat for creating digital documents, posted higher fourth-quarter earnings Thursday but said it will cut 650 to 700 jobs as it folds recently acquired rival Macromedia Inc. into its operations.
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Chicago Board of Trade to cut 40 workers
Dec 15 2005 8:22PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Board of Trade said Thursday it plans to cut 40 employees, or 5 percent of the company's work force, as part of a realignment of its technology and operations sectors.
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Exxon Mobil board asked to reconsider pay
Dec 15 2005 8:09PM (CT)
IRVING, Texas (AP) - A small shareholder of Exxon Mobil Corp. has asked the board to reconsider executive pay after company filings indicated outgoing Chairman and Chief Executive Lee R. Raymond received more than $81 million last year, mostly by exercising stock options.
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Judge orders Serono to pay $704 million
Dec 15 2005 7:09PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday formally ordered the Swiss manufacturer of Serostim, an AIDS treatment drug, to pay $704 million to settle claims that it offered kickbacks to doctors in an effort to boost its sagging sales.
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KB Home, Lennar report strong 4Q profit
Dec 15 2005 7:09PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rising housing prices and demand for new homes helped fuel strong fourth-quarter profit for KB Home and Lennar Corp., two of the nation's largest homebuilders.
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Conrad Black indicted on more charges
Dec 15 2005 6:33PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Former newspaper mogul Conrad Black, already accused of fraud, was indicted by federal prosecutors Thursday on additional charges including racketeering and obstruction of justice. He now faces a maximum prison sentence of 95 years if convicted.
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Businesses brace for NYC transit strike
Dec 15 2005 6:33PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - From Fifth Avenue retail emporiums to the financial houses of Wall Street, New York businesses scrambled Thursday to prepare for a possible transit strike could paralyze the city a week before Christmas.
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UAW-Ford deal likely to start in mid-2006
Dec 15 2005 6:28PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - The United Auto Workers on Thursday told Ford Motor Co. workers it didn't expect the new health-care savings it granted the auto maker to kick in until the middle of 2006.
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Money funds decline in latest week
Dec 15 2005 6:17PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds fell by $635.4 million in the latest week to $832.24 billion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.
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Fed Board OKs Bank of America acquisition
Dec 15 2005 5:52PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Bank of America Corp. has received the approval of the Federal Reserve Board to proceed with its $35 billion bid to acquire credit card issuer MBNA Corp., the Charlotte bank said Thursday.
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Southwest to sell seats on ATA flights
Dec 15 2005 5:48PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines Co. has long said it wasn't interested in serving Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, but the low-cost carrier announced Thursday that it would sell seats on ATA Airlines flights between DFW and Chicago.
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Boeing names Duberstein lead director
Dec 15 2005 5:46PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Boeing Co. said Thursday that its board of directors has elected Kenneth Duberstein to the post of lead director, succeeding Lew Platt, who died Sept. 8.
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Report touts Hispanic financial counseling
Dec 15 2005 5:46PM (CT)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - New financial education efforts targeting Hispanics have created mounds of brochures but have not explained to families why they should establish a credit history or how to avoid predatory lenders, according to a report released Thursday by the National Council of La Raza, a nonprofit civil rights and advocacy organization in Washington, D.C.
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Judge OKs Refco sale of unit at auction
Dec 15 2005 5:39PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge approved plans for troubled Refco Inc. to sell its retail currency-trading unit at an auction Jan. 26.
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Treasury bonds end flat to modestly lower
Dec 15 2005 5:33PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Prices of Treasurys staged a late recovery Thursday, finishing flat to modestly lower, after a weaker-than-expected regional manufacturing report appeared to stop an early sell-off dead in its tracks.
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Bear Stearns profit up 15 percent in 4Q
Dec 15 2005 5:25PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street firm Bear Stearns Cos. said Thursday its profit rose 15 percent in its fourth quarter, pushing its full-year earnings up 9 percent on strong proprietary stock trading revenue and an increase in its global clearing business.
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Goldman Sachs 4Q profit matches estimates
Dec 15 2005 5:19PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The investment firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted a 36 percent increase in earnings for its fourth quarter on Thursday and said earnings for all of 2005 set a record on strong investment banking fees.
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KB Home 4Q earnings surpass expectations
Dec 15 2005 5:19PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - KB Home said Thursday its profit rose 66 percent in the fourth quarter, beating Wall Street estimates on the strength of the homebuilder's rising sales volume and selling prices.
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Watsco stock falls on analyst downgrade
Dec 15 2005 5:09PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The stock of Watsco Inc., a distributor of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, fell Thursday after an investment firm lowered the shares' rating.
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Thursday's commodities roundup
Dec 15 2005 5:01PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Gold finished lower Thursday at the New York Mercantile Exchange, while silver rose.
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Barrick Gold proceeds with takeover bid
Dec 15 2005 4:55PM (CT)
TORONTO (AP) - Canada's Barrick Gold Corp. pushed forward Thursday with its hostile $10.8 billion Canadian dollar ($9.4 billion) takeover bid for rival Placer Dome Inc., dropping a key condition and reporting several regulatory approvals that could lead to a merger creating the worlds' largest gold producer.
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Lennar 4Q profit tops Wall Street views
Dec 15 2005 4:54PM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - Lennar Corp., one of the nation's largest homebuilders, on Thursday reported its fourth-quarter profit rose 53 percent, well above Wall Street estimates, as the company improved its building process and generated higher revenue.
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Rite Aid widens 3rd-qtr. loss to $12.5M
Dec 15 2005 4:53PM (CT)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Rite Aid Corp. said its third-quarter loss widened to $12.5 million Thursday, citing anemic sales growth and higher operating costs.
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Kraft stock falls despite court ruling
Dec 15 2005 4:47PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Kraft Foods Inc.'s stock fell Thursday despite a court ruling that removed a multibillion-dollar cloud from its parent company and majority owner, Altria Group Inc., as Wall Street took a bearish view of Kraft's looming spinoff.
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Group considers reinstating Ford boycott
Dec 15 2005 4:37PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - The conservative American Family Association said Thursday it will consider reinstating a boycott against Ford Motor Co. because the automaker plans to continue running advertisements in gay publications.
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La. to drop sales tax for holiday shoppers
Dec 15 2005 4:32PM (CT)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The state of Louisiana will waive its sales tax for holiday shoppers this weekend, trying to lift an economy battered by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
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Citizens Property Insurance OKs rate hike
Dec 15 2005 4:09PM (CT)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The board of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. unanimously approved Thursday an average statewide rate hike of 44 percent for homeowners in high-risk areas, putting aside a state senator's request that it be delayed until an audit of the company is completed in February.
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Judge defends jurors who acquitted Scrushy
Dec 15 2005 4:00PM (CT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Responding to criticism by another judge, the chief federal judge in north Alabama defended the decision of jurors who acquitted Richard Scrushy in a huge fraud at HealthSouth Corp.
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Ex-Cendant exec seeks to travel to Colo.
Dec 15 2005 3:37PM (CT)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Former Cendant Corp. Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton, who was convicted in a massive accounting scandal this year, has asked a federal judge to let him travel to Vail, Colo., for Christmas while he appeals his case.
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Levitz Home Furnishings to shut 35 stores
Dec 15 2005 3:15PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Levitz Home Furnishings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in October, is closing 35 stores, according to documents filed with a New York bankruptcy court.
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Delta COO focuses on winning over workers
Dec 15 2005 3:11PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A former industry consultant, Jim Whitehurst has rapidly moved up the ladder in his four years at Delta Air Lines Inc. to the No. 2 position at the company.
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Microsoft increases quarterly dividend
Dec 15 2005 3:06PM (CT)
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) - Microsoft Corp., has raised its quarterly dividend by a penny to 9 cents, citing confidence in its product lineup and growth prospects.
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Bear, Goldman post record 2005 earnings
Dec 15 2005 2:51PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Both Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted record revenues and record earnings for a record 2005 on Thursday. Yet Wall Street treated the two investment banks very differently.
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FERC OKs Duke Energy takeover of Cinergy
Dec 15 2005 2:29PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved Cinergy Corp.'s $9 billion takeover by Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy Corp., leaving only a handful of state and federal regulators to clear the way.
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Spansion reduces price range of its IPO
Dec 15 2005 2:10PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Spansion Inc., the flash-memory unit of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., on Thursday cut the estimated price range for the company's pending initial public offering to $13 to $14 a share from $16 to $18 a share.
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Medarex, Cell Genesys up on Abgenix deal
Dec 15 2005 1:52PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Medarex Inc. stock rose Thursday on speculation the company might be bought following Amgen Inc.'s acquisition of Abgenix Inc., as both Medarex and Abgenix are developing cancer-antibody drugs in partnership with larger pharmaceutical companies.
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Time Warner Cable announces family tier
Dec 15 2005 1:29PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Time Warner Cable announced the details Thursday of a family-friendly package of cable channels that it will begin offering in the first few months of next year.
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Mortgage rates dip slightly this week
Dec 15 2005 1:18PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Mortgage rates dipped slightly this week as financial markets liked signals from the Federal Reserve that its string of interest rate hikes could be drawing to a close.
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Hertz sells nearly $3B of junk bonds
Dec 15 2005 12:53PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Hertz Corp. sold nearly $3 billion of junk bonds Thursday to help fund the second-largest leveraged buyout ever.
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DCN-Thales deal advances consolidation
Dec 15 2005 12:31PM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - France announced a tie-up between its two main warship makers on Thursday in a move that could pave the way for wider consolidation in Europe's fragmented naval shipbuilding sector.
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Compass Group plans IPO up to $287.5M
Dec 15 2005 12:06PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Compass Group Diversified Holdings LLC plans an initial public offering worth as much as $287.5 million, according to a regulatory filing.
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First Marblehead shares drop 16 percent
Dec 15 2005 12:04PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Shares of First Marblehead Corp., a student loan services company, fell Thursday after one of its largest clients, JPMorgan Chase & Co., said it is buying another of its clients, Collegiate Funding Services Inc.
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British Airways fires worker over walkout
Dec 15 2005 11:57AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - British Airways PLC said Thursday it had fired a worker for orchestrating a walkout that grounded hundreds of flights at Heathrow Airport this summer.
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Reports: Quiznos sandwich chain for sale
Dec 15 2005 11:12AM (CT)
DENVER (AP) - Denver-based sandwich chain Quiznos, the fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country, is on the auction block and could sell for as much as $2 billion, according to published reports.
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U.S. envoy: Trade deal would ease deficit
Dec 15 2005 10:49AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - A sweeping global trade deal would reduce the bulging U.S. trade deficit, America's top trade official said Thursday, shrugging off suggestions that the growing trade gap would undermine his efforts to negotiate at the WTO talks this week.
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U.S. blames EU for WTO deadlock
Dec 15 2005 10:46AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - U.S. officials said Thursday that a deadlock stalling this week's world trade talks in Hong Kong would only end when the EU agrees to deeper cuts to farm tariffs.
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Poor nations close ranks as U.S., EU bicker
Dec 15 2005 10:45AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Developing countries were closing ranks Thursday to push their agenda at this week's global trade talks as the U.S. and the European Union traded charges with time running out to broker a global trade deal that could lift millions out of poverty.
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Royal Philips to sever semiconductor unit
Dec 15 2005 9:57AM (CT)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Royal Philips Electronics NV, Europe's largest consumer-electronics maker, said Thursday it plans to legally separate its semiconductor division in a step seen as a prelude to a merger or sale.
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DaimlerChrysler selling American LaFrance
Dec 15 2005 9:26AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - DaimlerChrysler AG said Thursday that it is selling its emergency vehicle unit American LaFrance to a private equity firm for an undisclosed sum.
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Toyota begins hybrid production in China
Dec 15 2005 8:56AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its joint venture with China's biggest automaker began production of Toyota's Prius hybrid cars in China.
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GM to stop paying into some 401(k)s
Dec 15 2005 8:40AM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp. has reportedly told its white-collar workers that it will suspend making matching contributions to their 401(k) retirement savings accounts and will reduce the severance benefits it pays.
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Late fees return at some Blockbusters
Dec 15 2005 8:39AM (CT)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Blockbuster Inc. stores in several states are quietly resuming late fees for customers who keep movies too long, rejecting the video-rental chain's national advertising of "No Late Fees!" because they can no longer keep popular movies on their shelves.
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Swiss National Bank raises interest rate
Dec 15 2005 8:26AM (CT)
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - The Swiss National Bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday because of better economic prospects, the first change in more than a year.
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Former Wal-Mart exec takes helm at Seiyu
Dec 15 2005 8:08AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - A former Wal-Mart executive on Thursday took the helm at Japanese retailer Seiyu Ltd., which will become a subsidiary of the U.S. chain later this month as the world's largest retailer tries to grab a bigger share of Japan's lucrative but finicky retail market.
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Macquarie Bank makes 2nd offer for LSE
Dec 15 2005 8:04AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia's largest investment bank, made a 1.48 billion pound ($2.6 billion) cash offer for the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, matching a previous offer the exchange had rejected as too low.
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UAW: Health care to cost Ford workers more
Dec 15 2005 7:07AM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Ford Motor Co.'s active and retired autoworkers, who have long enjoyed some of the most generous benefits in the country, will have to pay more for their health care under a tentative agreement between the automaker and the United Auto Workers, the union said Wednesday.
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Anti-WTO protesters march against WTO
Dec 15 2005 6:35AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Anti-WTO protesters launched a consulate-hopping street march Thursday in Hong Kong, stopping at several foreign offices to tell officials that free trade is hurting workers in developing countries.
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FARM SCENE: Nebraska beef heads to Japan
Dec 15 2005 4:46AM (CT)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - As one of the nation's top beef-producing states, Nebraska paid a dear price when Japan banned American beef imports in 2003 amid fears of mad cow disease. But now that Japan relaxed the ban earlier this week, Nebraska beef will be among the first shipments to reach the Asian country, which used to be America's biggest beef export market.
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Kazakhstan opens oil pipeline to China
Dec 15 2005 4:21AM (CT)
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Thursday ceremonially opened the taps of a new pipeline carrying oil from one of the region's greatest energy powers to one of its hungriest consumers, China.
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Coach still has room in the bag to grow
Dec 15 2005 12:52AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - At the Coach Inc. Manhattan flagship store, which exudes the cachet of its Madison Avenue address, Rhonda Gaynier justifies splurging $58 on a key fob.
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