Category: Business

By Thomas Lee, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — Richard Schulze’s resignation from Best Buy’s board Thursday sets the stage for a potentially divisive battle for the company’s future, one that pits…

By Andrew Maykuth, The Philadelphia Inquirer – PHILADELPHIA — Eighteen months ago, Philadelphia entrepreneur Norman P. Zarwin opened an electric-vehicle charging kiosk at a gas station he owns on Columbus Boulevard. If…

By Jeremy C. Owens, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — LinkedIn admitted Wednesday that a hacker managed to steal millions of users’ passwords and post them to the Web, leading…

By Andrew Tangel, Los Angeles Times – NEW YORK — Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.’s proposed $40 million fund to repay brokerages that lost money during the botched Facebook Inc. IPO may not be…

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – May 29, 2012 – Interstate Power and Light Company, an Alliant Energy company, is helping sixth and eighth grade students become whizzes in saving energy. Thousands of Iowa…

By Jeremy C. Owens, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Google Inc. continued to bolster its product line with acquisitions Tuesday, announcing the purchase of mobile office software company Quickoffice…

By Eve Mitchell, Contra Costa Times – WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Millions of employees put money in 401(k) plans to build a retirement nest egg. But most don’t know that the plans they…

By Lorraine Mirabella, The Baltimore Sun – BALTIMORE — Two customers of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Hampstead, Md.-based men’s apparel chain, accusing the retailer…

By Jodi S. Cohen, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Michael Quinlan was 18 years old, a broke college student at Loyola University Chicago, when a fraternity brother suggested his mother might be able…

By G. Chambers Williams III, McClatchy Newspapers – The iconic pony car returns for 2013 with some cool tweaks and upgrades, soldiering on as one of the most-popular Ford models ever. Last…

By Gail MarksJarvis, Chicago Tribune – Savers are suffering. A trip to the gas station, supermarket or pharmacy can present gut-wrenching costs and leave people feeling vulnerable, while a trip to the…

WASHINGTON, DC – Alan B. Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, issued the following statement today on the employment situation in May. You can view the statement HERE. The Employment Situation…

By Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press – Details have begun to emerge about the technology behind two eagerly anticipated performance cars: the Chevrolet SS and Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid. The Chevrolet SS…

By Brad Bergholdt, McClatchy-Tribune News Service – QUESTION: I have a 2007 Ford Freestyle SEL AWD with a continuously variable transmission, or CVT. I don’t know much about the CVT other than…

By Alisa Priddle, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — Japanese automakers came roaring back in May, even as Detroit’s carmakers held their own. Toyota led the field with a jump in May…

George C. Ford, CR Gazette – IOWA CITY — The recent 2012 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials at the University of Iowa generated a projected $5.6 million economic impact for Johnson County….

By Shan Li, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Shoppers cautiously hit the malls to refresh their wardrobes in May, but slower job gains and flagging consumer confidence are raising some…

By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — As mortgage rates sink deeper into record territory, homeowners are refinancing into 15-year loans at a pace not seen in a…

By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Three years after their shotgun marriage, Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat SpA are rolling out a new car that combines Chrysler’s legacy…

By Laura Mandaro, MarketWatch – SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. stocks started the new month with more than 2 percent losses Friday, turning the Dow industrials negative for the year and pushing the…

By Wailin Wong, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Shares of Groupon Inc. tanked on Friday, reflecting heavy selling as restrictions on insider sales of stock were lifted. The stock closed down nearly…

By Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Despite signs of a slowing economy, automakers continued to power ahead as pent-up consumer demand, easier borrowing and better deals drove consumers…

By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Newspaper group Freedom Communications Inc. agreed to sell 21 small papers in Florida and North Carolina and warned a group of…

By David Shaffer, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — One of the world’s top leasing companies is betting that corporations with fleets of cars and trucks increasingly will want them to be…

By Shan Li, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Shoppers cautiously hit the malls to refresh their wardrobes in May, but slower job gains and flagging consumer confidence are raising some concerns…

By David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times – Making money from YouTube videos — it’s something I’ve always wondered about. You won’t get rich stuffing Mentos into bottles of Diet Pepsi, right? Probably not….

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The Food and Drug Administration rejected a petition from the Corn Refiners Association to rename high-fructose corn syrup “corn sugar,” saying that the…

By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — This year’s spate of record low mortgage rates have led borrowers to refinance into 15-year loans at a pace not seen in…

By Brandon Bailey, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a significant win for Google Inc., a federal judge Thursday rejected Oracle Corp.’s claim that the Android mobile software violated…

By Shan Li, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Shoppers cautiously hit the malls to refresh their wardrobes in May, but slower job gains and flagging consumer confidence are raising some concerns…

By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — As mortgage rates sink deeper into record territory, homeowners are refinancing into 15-year loans at a pace not seen in a decade,…

AMES, Iowa – James and Alyssa Fullerton and Jon Ross, funeral directors at Fullerton Funeral Home in Mason City and Charles City, recently attended the 132nd Annual Iowa Funeral Directors Association (IFDA)…

By Steve Alexander, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – QUESTION: I’ve recently been told that I must check my computer for malicious software or risk losing my Internet connection in July. Is this true or…

Rod Boshart, CR Gazette – Iowa corn producers will be asked in July to decide whether they want to increase a per-bushel checkoff that raises money for research, promotion, market development and…

By Thomas Lee, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy Co. Inc.’s plans to close 50 big-box stores by the end of the year is creating, at least temporarily, a consumer electronics…

By John Schmid, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – MILWAUKEE — A persistent dilemma of the Midwest industrial economy resurfaced in a new study showing that skilled trades such as welders and electricians once…

By Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — Chrysler Group LLC, the inventor of the minivan, plans to discontinue the Chrysler Town & Country minivan and keep the Dodge Caravan as…

By Claudia Buck, McClatchy Newspapers – This week marks the last call by our current trio of “Ask the Experts” contributors. Here with some closing advice are Davis, Calif., certified financial planner…

By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times – BEIJING — The Warren Buffet-backed Chinese carmaker BYD Co. defended the safety of its e6 electric car Tuesday after the vehicle was involved in a…

By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The New Orleans Times-Picayune will move to a three-day-a-week print schedule in the fall, becoming the largest metropolitan newspaper to cut back paper…