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Consumer products and services

GM's Opel to end car production at German plant
General Motors Co.'s Opel unit said Monday that it plans to end car production at one plant in Germany in 2016, but a slimmed-down factory may ...
DC lottery contract is subject of federal probe
A federal grand jury is investigating the awarding of the $38 million contract to run the District of Columbia lottery, a process that raises further ...
Chinese company wins bid for battery maker A123
Bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems Inc. on Sunday said it will sell most of its assets to the U.S. arm of Chinese auto parts conglomerate Wanxiang ...
Last no-alcohol Ala. county votes dry, drinks wet
Clay County has almost 14,000 residents, around 100 churches and not a single place where you can buy a beer legally. There's no Bud Light in the ...
Booze, smokes on agenda for quirky gov't group
Deep in a secure laboratory just outside Washington sits the federal government's heaviest smoker. It is a half-ton hulk of a machine, all brushed ...
Cisco grabs for 'No. 1 IT company' crown
Cisco Systems Inc. isn't content to be the world's largest maker of computer networking gear. It says it wants to become the "No. 1" supplier of ...
Oil prices fall slightly after US jobs report
The price of oil ended the week lower after the latest U.S. jobs report offered a mixed picture of the economy. Benchmark oil dropped 33 cents to ...
Correction: Auto Sales story
In a story Dec. 3 about U.S. auto sales, The Associated Press, relying on information from the TrueCar.com auto pricing site, reported erroneously ...
Black boxes in cars raise privacy concerns
Many motorists don't know it, but it's likely that every time they get behind the wheel, there's a snitch along for the ride. The National Highway ...
Spain's luxury Parador hotels hit by 2-day strike
Employees at Spain's luxury Parador hotels, which are set in some of the country's most picturesque castles, monasteries and palaces, began a two-day ...
India's parliament permits foreign retailers entry
India's parliament on Friday approved the government's plans to open up the country's massive retail sector to international big-box companies such ...
Fiat cutting about 1,500 jobs at Polish factory
The Italian carmaker Fiat says it plans to cut about 1,500 jobs at a factory in Poland due to falling demand for cars on the European market.
Israeli beverage maker takes on soda super-giants
An Israeli maker of home soda machines hopes to make a splash in the U.S. soft drink market through a global advertising campaign it will launch ...
APNewsBreak: Dhaka factory lost fire certification
The factory where 112 garment workers died in a fire should have been shut down months ago. The fire department refused to renew the certification it ...
$2 billion price tag for presidential election
The 2012 presidential election broke the $2 billion milestone in its final weeks, becoming the most expensive in American political history, according ...
Apple to produce line of Macs in the US next year
Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company will move production of one of its existing lines of Mac computers from China to the United States next year.
Zynga moves to enter US gambling market
Online games company Zynga said it has asked Nevada gambling regulators for a decision that could pave the way for it to enter the U.S.
CDC: Language barrier caused chlorine gas leak
A chlorine gas leak that sickened nearly 200 people at a Tyson Foods plant in Arkansas last year happened because a worker who couldn't read the ...
Transgenders break into Brazil's modeling sector
Walking the catwalk in a Brazilian bikini is a nerve-racking experience for even the most seasoned of models, but for Felipa Tavares it's nothing ...
Oil drops on bleak outlook for Europe economy
The price of oil fell Thursday after the European Central Bank predicted a bleak year ahead for the region's economy but stopped short of offering new ...
Sandy brings economic booms, busts to Northeast
On a storm-battered stretch of Connecticut's shoreline, landscaping crews use heavy equipment to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy, racking up ...
Activision: New 'Call of Duty' hits $1B sales mark
"Call of Duty: Black Ops II" crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide retail sales 15 days after its Nov. 13 release, Activision Blizzard Inc., the ...
French luxury group PPR to sell US retail brand
French retailer PPR is selling its American plus-size clothing business to two private equity firms. The company behind Gucci has been jettisoning its ...
PSY's riches from 'Gangnam Style' not made at home
As "Gangnam Style" gallops toward 1 billion views on YouTube, the first Asian pop artist to capture a massive global audience has gotten richer click ...
Report: Suspect in fatal China fire angry over pay
Chinese state media quoted a former worker as saying he set the fire that killed 14 young women at a Chinese undergarment factory because he was angry ...