Nation & World News
Latest business news from around the nation.
German central bank: Economy to improve 'markedly'
Germany's central bank expects the country's economy to improve "markedly" in the second quarter — a development that could boost the wider eurozone as it struggles to get out of recession. The Bundesbank said Tuesday that Europe's largest economy should expand more robustly after a weak first three months of ...
How the French economy compares to Germany's, UK's
Here's how the struggling French economy stacks up compared to Germany's and Britain's. GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (2012) France: 2 trillion euros ($2.7 trillion) Germany: 2.6 trillion euros ($3.3 trillion) Britain: 1.9 trillion euros ($2.4 trillion) MANUFACTURING AS A PERCENT OF GDP (2009) France: 10.7 percent Germany: 19.3 percent Britain: 11.0 ...
Burberry's profit hit by perfume deal's demise
British luxury brand Burberry says that the end of a perfume licensing deal depressed its bottom line, dragging net profit down 3 percent for the year ending on March 31. But shares in the Burberry Group PLC rose just over 1 percent to 14.83 pounds Tuesday after the company reported ...
Housing recovery boosts Home Depot 1Q results
Even though the weather was poor, Home Depot posted an 18 percent increase in its net income for the first quarter thanks to the ongoing housing recovery. Its quarterly results topped Wall Street's view and the world's biggest home improvement chain boosted its full-year earnings and revenue forecasts Tuesday. Shares ...
Sprint to listen to Dish offer
Wireless company Sprint Nextel Corp. says it can now let Dish Network Corp. see its books and talk with Dish to see whether its competing offer to buy Sprint is better than its current deal with Japan's SoftBank. The companies said late Thursday that SoftBank had waived provisions of its ...
Markets choppy ahead of Bernanke testimony
Markets were fairly choppy Tuesday as investors were reluctant to push stock indexes up further ahead of a much-anticipated statement from U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The Fed is conducting its third round of massive bond purchases known as quantitative easing. The aim has been to help drive down ...
Does France have right plan to revive its economy?
The man charged with reviving France's shrinking economy and attracting businesses to invest there is gaining a reputation for doing the opposite. As the country's first-ever minister for industrial renewal, Arnaud Montebourg has told the world's largest steelmaker it is not welcome in France; exchanged angry letters with the head ...
Oil price falls toward $96 per barrel
The price of oil retreated toward $96 per barrel Tuesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's latest views on the U.S. economy. Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 28 cents to $96.43 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. ...
Average credit card debt, late payments fall in 1Q
Americans got better about paying their credit card debt on time in the first three months of the year, a period when many borrowers use income tax returns to tackle their holiday season debt. The rate of credit card payments at least 90 days overdue fell to 0.69 percent in ...
British inflation eases by more than expected
Official figures show that consumer price inflation in Britain eased in April, largely on the back of lower fuel prices and airfares. The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that the annual rate fell to 2.4 percent in April from 2.8 percent the previous month. The fall was bigger than ...
Head of embattled G4S security force retires
The chief executive of security firm G4S is to retire after a tumultuous year that saw the company fail to fulfill its Olympic contract. The company said Tuesday that Nick Buckles will be replaced by Ashley Almanza, a senior executive from the oil and gas company BG Group. G4S had ...
Committee nears final big immigration decisions
The Senate Judiciary Committee hopes to nail down an elusive compromise on high-tech visas and may punt a controversy over gay marriage to the full Senate as it makes final drafting decisions on immigration legislation that grants a shot at citizenship to millions living in the country illegally. The high-tech ...
Senate to debate crop insurance in farm bill
The Senate is debating cuts to the federally subsidized crop insurance program as it considers a massive farm bill this week. The Obama administration said Monday it wants to see more cuts to crop insurance and farm subsidies in the legislation, which would cost almost $100 billion a year over ...
Should we let wunderkinds drop out of high school?
Thomas Sohmers, 17, of Hudson, Mass., has been working at a research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since he was 13, developing projects ranging from augmented reality eyewear to laser communications systems. This spring, his mom, Penny Mills, let him drop out of 11th grade. She says she ...
Asia stocks muted ahead of Fed meeting
Asian stock markets struggled to post gains Tuesday as investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve to telegraph what it plans to do next with its economic stimulus program. The Fed is currently conducting the third round of massive bond purchases known as quantitative easing to help drive down interest ...
Lew taps government retiree pension fund
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said late Monday he will begin tapping into two government employee retirement funds to buy more time before the U.S. Treasury is faced with the prospect of defaulting on the national debt. In a letter to congressional leaders, Lew said that he would tap the civil ...
Judge tosses ex-BP executive's obstruction charge
A federal judge has dismissed a charge that is the backbone of the case against a former BP executive accused of concealing information from Congress about the amount of oil spewing in 2010 from the company's blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. Defense attorney Reid Weingarten called it a ...
Yahoo looks to regain its cool with Tumblr deal
After falling woefully out of fashion, Yahoo wants to be cool again while catering to the capitalistic demands of its shareholders. That goal led CEO Marissa Mayer to make a $1.1 billion bet on online blogging forum Tumblr in a risky acquisition that revolves around the vision and instincts of ...
Panel: Apple uses firms outside US to avoid taxes
Apple Inc. employs a group of affiliate companies located outside the United States to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes, a Senate investigation has found. The world's most valuable company is holding overseas some $102 billion of its $145 billion in cash, and an Irish subsidiary that ...
Lease to Broadway's biggest theater sold
Britain's biggest theater group has reached across the Atlantic Ocean and bought the lease to Broadway's largest theater from Live Nation Entertainment for about $60 million. Ambassador Theatre Group said Monday it has acquired rights to The Foxwoods Theatre, the 2,000-seat current home of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark." The ...
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