Economy

Dutch company eyed in mislabeled horsemeat scandal
A Cyprus-registered company called "Draap Trading Ltd." moved to the center of Europe's horsemeat mislabeling scandal Wednesday, as it emerged that ...
Wall Street: Comcast got a steal on NBCUniversal
Is General Electric letting Comcast gobble up the NBCUniversal media empire at a bargain price? Wall Street thinks so. "The Comcast folks feel like ...
Lew signals support for tax code rewrite
Jacob Lew, President Barack Obama's nominee for Treasury secretary, pledged to work with Congress on a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code while ...
EU ministers call for emergency meat testing
European Union nations on Wednesday called for more intensive testing for a month to try to contain the scandal in which horsemeat was sold as beef.
Gag orders silence Israeli press in digital age
Israel's military censor, which has long served as the country's guardian of state secrets, is suddenly under the microscope following a pair of ...
Finmeccanica names interim CEO
The board of Italian defense and aerospace company Finmeccanica on Wednesday named Chief Operating Officer Alessandro Pansa as interim chief executive ...
Postmaster: Please let us stop Saturday mail
The head of the U.S. Postal Services pleaded with Congress Wednesday not to thwart his plan to cut Saturday mail as a way to save money, but postal ...
Dubai backs plans for world's biggest Ferris wheel
Dubai's ruler has approval a $1.6 billion island development project that would be home to what's billed as the world's biggest Ferris wheel.
Russian arms trader: Syria shipments will continue
Russia will keep supplying weapons to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime despite the country's escalating civil war, the head of Russia's state ...
Thomson Reuters to cut 2,500 jobs
News and financial information company Thomson Reuters on Wednesday said it is cutting 2,500 jobs, or about 4 percent of its workforce, this year as ...
Deere 1Q net income jumps 22 percent
Farm and construction equipment maker Deere & Co. said Wednesday that its first-quarter net income leaped 22 percent on growing sales of farm ...
Stocks edge lower, down from close to record
Stocks are edging lower at midday, pulling back from close to record levels. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 55 points, to 13,963. The Standard ...
Book tying Angola generals to diamonds protected
Angola received a boost to its free speech from Portugal, which refused to allow Angolan generals to stop the publication of a book exposing ...
US retail sales rise 0.1 pct. after tax increase
Americans barely spent more last month at retail businesses and restaurants after higher taxes cut their paychecks. The small increase suggests ...
BOE to tolerate inflation rise as it helps economy
The Bank of England predicted Wednesday that the U.K.'s inflation rate may hit 3 percent by summer — but pledged to tolerate the increase in an ...
Peugeot Citroen posts $6.7 billion loss for 2012
PSA Peugeot Citroen posted a record €5 billion ($6.7 billion) loss last year after Europe's cratering car market forced France's largest automaker to ...
US companies restocked at slower pace in December
U.S. companies restocked their store shelves and warehouses at a slower pace in December, a sign of caution as sales weakened. Slower restocking was ...
Crisis-hit Greece backs pipeline for Caspian gas
Greece, Italy and Albania signed an agreement Wednesday backing a proposed pipeline to transport natural gas from the Caspian Sea to western Europe, ...
Swiss banks to hold more capital on mortgage risks
The Swiss government took action Wednesday to stop the country's housing market from running out of control by requiring banks to hold more capital ...
Stocks rise on Comcast deal, strong U.S. earnings
Stocks are edging higher in the early going after strong U.S. earnings and General Electric's sale of its remaining NBCUniversal stake. The Dow Jones ...
Chernobyl radiation unaffected after roof collapse
Ukrainian officials on Wednesday sought to reassure the public that radiation levels were unaffected at Chernobyl and there was no safety threat after ...
US stock futures up after hitting year's high
U.S. stock futures are rising slightly a day after strong U.S. corporate earnings sent the Dow to its highest close since 2007. Dow futures are up 17 ...
Oil gains on report showing lower US crude stocks
The price of oil moved up closer to $98 a barrel Wednesday, spurred on by a report indicating a fall in U.S. crude stockpiles. By early afternoon in ...
Heineken full-year profit soars on one-time gain
Heineken NV said Wednesday its profit doubled in 2012 following a reappraisal of its Asian business. However, the company's actual performance was ...
Bahrain Air grounded by mounting debts
Debt-burdened carrier Bahrain Air grounded all flights Wednesday after announcing plans to shut down operations and sell its assets amid struggles to ...