Category: Business

By David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times – American Airlines has spent the week trying to persuade a bankruptcy judge to allow it to chuck all its labor contracts and put the squeeze…

By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Chrysler Group LLC reported its third consecutive quarterly profit and logged its best financial performance in more than a decade, a turbulent…

By Don Lee, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve upgraded its outlook for the economy, predicting the unemployment rate would fall to as low as 7.8 percent in the…

By Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times – SAN FRANCISCO — As it closes in on 1 billion users, Facebook Inc. has formed partnerships with five security software outfits to crack down on…

By Mike Swift, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Google is taking the wraps off a long-anticipated product that it views as one of its most important launches of…

By Alisa Priddle, Detroit Free Press – BEIJING — Ford Motor Co.’s China strategy centers on four new SUVs as that segment gains traction in the world’s largest auto market, and it…

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Americans seem to be in a holding pattern when it comes to consumer confidence, feeling generally upbeat about the state of the…

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Fitch Ratings likes what it currently sees in Ford Motor Co., upgrading the automaker’s credit rating Tuesday to investment grade from its…

By Patrick May, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — On the heels of a troubling double-digit slump in its share price, Apple Inc. on Tuesday seemed to suggest investors…

By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The housing market’s long, cold winter may finally be heading into a springtime thaw. New data show price declines easing in big…

Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – Cool wet weather allowed Iowa farmers little time to work in their fields last week and put planting a little behind schedule. Rainfall averaged about 1 inch…

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Swiss food and nutrition giant Nestle SA will shell out $11.9 billion to buy Pfizer Inc.’s nutrition unit, which owns baby food brands…

By Dominic Gates, The Seattle Times – SEATTLE — Japan Airlines on Sunday flew the first scheduled Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger service into the U.S. as it inaugurated service between Tokyo and Boston….

By Michelle Maltais, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Personal computers at home and in the office will soon be displaced by the tablet as the primary computing device, according to a…

By Jim Buchta, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — The short sale process could get a lot quicker starting this summer under new rules that will require lenders to respond to offers within…

By Paul Gores, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – MILWAUKEE — Four months into retirement, Jim Guenther has no regrets. An accountant, he carefully calculated how much money he and his younger wife —…

By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The Jetsons had one, and Fred MacMurray flew one in “The Absent-Minded Professor.” Novelist Ian Fleming included one in his children’s book…

By Tom Hudson, McClatchy Newspapers – It is tough to find fault with a company that does $2 billion of business every week, generating a half-billion dollars in profits. And it does…

By Larry Printz, The Virginian-Pilot – NEW YORK — When was the last time you bought a new car or truck? If shoulder pads were fashionable, you’re in for a surprise when…

By Paul Brand, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – QUESTION: My sister is looking for a 2004 or 2005 Toyota RAV4, but she will not look at one with more than 40,000 miles. She…

By Don Lee, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The world’s top finance officials pressed Europe to do more to address debt problems, saying the global recovery remains fragile and that the…

Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – Whirlpool Corp. plans to invest $3.1 million to bring a built-in refrigeration production line to its Amana plant. The Iowa Economic Development Authority approved a maximum $400,000…

By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch – NEW YORK — U.S. stocks mostly advanced Friday, with two of the major indexes halting a two-week losing streak, as better-than-expected corporate results overrode global concerns. “A…

By Walter Hamilton and Stuart Pfeifer, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — It sounded far-fetched — a “stock-picking robot” that could identify penny stocks poised to double in price. Turns out,…

By Peter Delevett, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Citing “multiple sources close to the company,” a popular technology blog has reported that Facebook Inc. officials have chosen May 17…

By Larry Printz, The Virginian-Pilot – NEW YORK — When was the last time you bought a new car or truck? If shoulder pads were fashionable, you’re in for a surprise when…

By Andrea Ahles, McClatchy Newspapers – FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines’ three largest unions announced Friday that they will support a potential takeover bid by US Airways Group Inc., posing another…

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Blaming a “fundamentally changed” solar industry and plunging business in Europe, panel maker First Solar Inc. is cutting 2,000 jobs and closing a…

By Mike Swift, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Congratulations, recruit! It’s time to learn the ropes of your Facebook engineering job. Take a seat at one of Facebook’s long,…

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Lenders who discriminate on the basis of certain demographics when dealing with auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, student loans and more are now…

By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Internet advertising reached a record $31 billion last year — a gain of 22 percent over 2010 spending, according to a report…

By Thomas Lee, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy Co., in the midst of an investigation of former CEO Brian Dunn, may have other trouble to fend off. The Minnesota-based retail…

By Brandon Bailey, San Jose Mercury News – SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc. CEO Larry Page completed his testimony in federal court Wednesday morning after an hour of laborious grilling by an attorney…

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Bankrupt Twinkie-maker Hostess Brands Inc. is going toe-to-toe with its workers’ union in a clash that the company said may lead to its…

By Claudia Buck, McClatchy Newspapers – SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An anonymous letter arrived recently from a worried spouse. The woman said she was “terrified” that her husband’s tax cheating would land them both…

By Becky Yerak, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Move over, mortgages. Get out of the way, Greece. Another economic doomsday scenario is emerging. Student loan debt has reached about $870 billion, exceeding credit…

By Jessica Guynn and Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times – SAN FRANCISCO — Privacy watchdogs are urging the nation’s top law enforcer to launch a new investigation into Google Inc. after the Federal…

By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Google Inc. is facing a $25,000 fine for impeding a Federal Communications Commission investigation into the tech giant’s data-collection practices. The world’s largest…

By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch – NEW YORK — U.S. blue-chip stocks advanced Monday, with better-than-expected retail sales bolstering optimism, but a slide in the shares of Apple Inc. and Google Inc. dragged on…

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved E15 as a registered fuel, helping clear the way for the 15 percent ethanol blend to be used in all cars, light duty trucks and SUVs…