Economy

UK official: London attack could be terror-related
Two men attacked another man near a London military barracks Wednesday, in what British authorities were investigating as a possible terror act.
Fed weighed slowing its pace of bond purchases
Several Federal Reserve policymakers this month favored slowing the Fed's efforts to maintain record-low long-term interest rates as early as summer ...
'Boom Town Baby': African stock markets see gains
The barrage of hourly tweets sent out by Aly-Khan Satchu — East Africa's version of CNBC's Mad Money host Jim Cramer — cheers on what Satchu says is ...
Target's 1Q profit drops 29 pct on weak sales
Target Corp. reported a 29 percent drop in first-quarter profit as unusually cool spring weather and financial pressures chilled customers' appetite ...
Complaint accuses Exxon Mobil of anti-gay bias
One after another, major U.S. corporations have updated anti-discrimination policies to protect gay, lesbian and transgender workers, drawing plaudits ...
Bernanke signals Fed to maintain stimulus efforts
Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to slow its ...
Judge: Hollister clothing unfriendly to disabled
A federal judge in Denver is contemplating an injunction against Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and J.M. Hollister LLC after ruling earlier that nearly 250 ...
Germans, French eye plan to create jobs for young
Germany and France are preparing to launch a drive to combat the problem of high European youth unemployment, which officials in Berlin say will ...
Oil falls near $95 on small drop in supplies
The price of oil fell near $95 a barrel Wednesday as the nation's oil supply fell less than expected and demand for gasoline remained weak.
IMF calls on Britain to do more for growth
The International Monetary Fund has called on Britain to do more to support the economic recovery, urging the government Wednesday to speed up ...
Conn. rail service returns to normal
Regular train service returned to Connecticut on Wednesday, five days after a derailment injured scores of commuters and damaged tracks. Commuter rail ...
Iceland forms center-right govt, halts EU talks
The leader of the center-right Progressive Party was chosen as Iceland's new prime minister Wednesday and promptly announced a halt to talks with the ...
US auto factories cutting back on summer downtime
The Detroit automakers are largely forgoing the traditional two-week summer break at their factories and speeding up production to meet buyers' ...
US home sales tick up to highest in 3 ½ years
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes ticked up last month to the highest level in three and a half years, helped by a jump in the number of houses ...
AAA: 31.2M drivers to take Memorial Day road trip
It's going to be another busy Memorial Day weekend on the nation's highways. From Thursday through Monday, 31.2 million Americans will drive 50 miles ...
Lowe's 1Q profit rises, but results miss Street
Lowe's said Wednesday that its first-quarter net income rose nearly 3 percent, but results fell short of expectations as rainy weather hurt spring ...
Clearwire board approves higher Sprint offer
Clearwire wants to accept a richer buyout offer made by Sprint this week and is recommending that shareholders vote in favor of it. Sprint upped its ...
Stocks edge higher as investors watch the Fed
Stocks are opening slightly higher as investors watch for the latest moves from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 39 points ...
Vatican releases 1st report of financial watchdog
The Vatican took another step Wednesday to show greater financial transparency by publishing the first annual report from its financial watchdog ...
Ahead of the Bell: HP's 2Q results likely to sag
Hewlett-Packard will provide an update on its efforts to rise above the sinking PC market when it releases quarterly earnings Wednesday after the ...
Kerry praises $2.1 billion Raytheon deal in Oman
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Wednesday with officials in Oman to discuss their plans to buy a $2.1 billion air defense system from American ...
Asia stocks rise as Fed official backs easy policy
Asian stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday after investor confidence was boosted by a Federal Reserve official's comments that the U.S.
Japan's trade deficit hits $8.6B due to weaker yen
Japan's trade deficit widened to a larger-than-expected 879.9 billion yen ($8.6 billion) in April as its weakening currency accentuated surging import ...
Ex-Ford execs charged in Argentine torture cases
Three former Ford Motor Co. executives were charged Tuesday with crimes against humanity for allegedly targeting Argentine union workers for ...
Stocks gain on reassurance from a top Fed official
Reassuring comments from a Federal Reserve official and better earnings from two big retailers helped push the stock market higher Tuesday.