Economy

Asian energy boom threatens Montana ranches
The big mining companies first came knocking on Ellen Pfister's door in the 1970s, ready to tap the huge coal deposits beneath her family's eastern ...
Financier to sell Richter painting at NYC auction
A painting by German abstract artist Gerhard Richter that's owned by "king of hedge funds" Steven Cohen is going on the auction block in New York City
Wal-Mart's holiday hiring to be up slightly
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday it expects to hire more than 50,000 people this holiday season and will be offering more hours to its existing ...
RIMM drops on news of Blackberry outage
Shares of Research In Motion approached nine-year lows Friday as its Blackberry service went down in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. THE SPARK: ...
Unemployment rates rise in half of US states
Unemployment rates rose in more than half of U.S. states last month, the latest evidence that hiring remains tepid across the country. The Labor ...
Wal-Mart to open Indian stores in 12 to 18 months
Wal-Mart plans to open retail outlets in India in the next 12 to 18 months, the company said Friday, making it the first multinational to jump on the ...
Central Bank bars Nigeria airlines from bank loans
Nigeria's Central Bank has barred the nation's top two airlines from receiving any additional loans over their massive outstanding debts, an official ...
GM recalls midsize cars to fix transmission cables
General Motors is recalling nearly 474,000 Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn cars to fix a transmission problem that can cause the cars to roll away ...
Apple loses German patent case v Samsung, Motorola
A German court has dismissed Apple Inc.'s claim that Samsung Electronics and Google Inc.'s Motorola Mobility infringed patents used in touch-screen ...
Sotheby's closer to coveted China auctions with JV
Global auction house Sotheby's said Friday it's setting up a Chinese joint venture that will allow it to become the first foreign company to hold art ...
China eases access to insurance, travel industries
China has eased restrictions on foreign companies in parts of its insurance, travel and delivery industries in a possible effort to reverse a slide ...
Canadian auto union has deals with 2 of Big 3
Canadian autoworkers have reached contract deals with two of the Big Three and now are focusing in on the third — Chrysler. The Canadian Auto Workers ...
Honda aims to double global auto sales in 5 years
Honda is aiming to double its global auto sales to more than 6 million vehicles over the next five years as the Japanese automaker gears up for ...
Canadian auto union reaches deal with GM
The Canadian Auto Workers union said late Thursday it reached a tentative deal with General Motors, leaving Chrysler as the only Detroit automaker ...
Labor strife threatens American Airlines schedule
With American Airlines canceling dozens of flights every day, passengers with fall travel plans are confronting an inconvenient question: Should they ...
Oracle's 1Q earnings rise 11 pct despite sales dip
Oracle joined a recent procession of technology companies that have stumbled in a shaky economy, but management's forecast for the next few months ...
Chick-fil-A makes another statement on controversy
Chick-fil-A is once again in the public relations fryer. The controversy flared up this week when a Chicago politician said the company was no longer ...
Higher stock prices help Americans regain wealth
A jump in the stock market and rising home prices are bringing Americans closer to regaining the wealth they lost in the recession. U.S. household net ...
Census data another sign economy has bottomed out
More young adults are leaving their parents' homes to take a chance with college or a job. Across the nation, people are on the move again after ...
Nigeria's largest airline halts domestic flights
Nigeria's largest airline Arik Air Ltd. halted all its domestic flights indefinitely Thursday as its leaders alleged government corruption made it ...
Taiwan co. fined $500 million for LCD price fixing
A Taiwanese company was fined $500 million Thursday and its former president and executive vice president were each sentenced to three years in prison ...
S&P cuts Washington Post rating by 1 notch
Standard & Poor's cut the credit rating of the Washington Post Co. to "BBB" on Thursday, citing deteriorating performance at its Kaplan education unit ...
Oil drop reflects reality of global economy
Reality returned to the oil market this week. Oil has fallen 7 percent since last Friday, when the price briefly topped $100 for the first time in 4 ...
US economy hobbled by weak hiring, manufacturing
A trio of reports Thursday offered a reminder that the U.S. economy is struggling to grow and add jobs. The number of people seeking unemployment ...
Israel's Maariv paper sold to hardline publisher
One of Israel's main daily newspapers has been sold, placing the future of its 2,000 employees in jeopardy. Israeli businessman Nochi Dankner sold the ...