Category: Business

By Jeremy C. Owens, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — If you want to own the latest iteration of Apple Inc.’s popular iPad tablet computer on the first day it’s…

By Neela Banerjee, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Against the backdrop of gasoline prices rising at the pump in an election year, a new Obama administration report cites “significant progress” in reducing…

By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — Plain-vanilla money-market funds, part of the skeletal structure of American finance, may be a $2.7 trillion disaster hiding in plain sight. When Congress in…

By Greg Robb, MarketWatch – WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in January, driven higher by record imports of autos, capital goods and food, government data showed Friday. The trade…

By Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times – SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc. has been given the green light to offer video services to residents of Kansas City, Mo., which could put the…

By Tom Hudson, McClatchy Newspapers – When does a possibility become a promise? For three years the Federal Reserve has said it expects the economy to remain so weak it will likely…

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Apple Inc. has been denied permission to file a patent-infringement lawsuit against Eastman Kodak by the film-maker’s bankruptcy judge. Judge Allan Gropper,…

By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times – BEIJING — China’s annual inflation rate fell to a 20-month low in February, giving policymakers room to ease lending at a time of tapering economic…

By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Technology firm Quest Software Inc. has agreed to go private in a deal valued at $2 billion. The Aliso Viejo, Calif., software…

Jermaine Pigee, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa – Iowa Board of Regents President Craig Lang wants everyone to know how important state colleges are. “Our public universities attract students from all over the…

By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Airfares are rising, planes are packed, and carriers are abandoning less-profitable routes. What’s to blame? Climbing fuel prices. And there will be…

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced that it has launched an offering of $6 billion of its American International Group (AIG) common stock. AIG has indicated that it…

By Nathaniel Popper, Los Angeles Times – NEW YORK — Renewed fears of a European recession are threatening to derail the stock market’s 2012 rally. Stock indexes around the world experienced their sharpest…

By Peter Delevett, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s half an hour before the CEO of Silicon Valley’s hottest social network is set to take the stage, and it’s…

By Reid Kanaley, The Philadelphia Inquirer – Can you avoid an IRS audit by staying on the straight and narrow when preparing your tax return? There’s no guarantee, but some forethought may help…

By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — New research challenges the conventional wisdom that the unemployment rate is falling because workers have given up looking for a job and have exited…

By Jeremy C. Owens, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple unveiled the third generation of its popular iPad tablet computer Wednesday, with a host of upgraded features including 4G,…

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2012—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $19.7 million of financial and technical assistance to help communities rebuild and repair damages caused by flooding, drought and other natural disasters. Funds…

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2012–Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued the following statement after U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced that the U.S. Government is requesting consultations with the Government of India under…

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The new high school in Center Point is a new example of how energy-efficient planning can really save money. The building was recently finished with help from Interstate…

By Erika Gudmundson 3/5/2012 This morning, Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets Mary Miller discussed continued progress on implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act at the Annual…

By Shan Li, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Cafeteria. Camping ground. Transportation hub. Travelers know that airports can take on many identities. Now, around the country, they are taking on a…

Adam Harringa, Austin Daily Herald, Minn. – This story is originally appeared in Progress 2012, which published Sunday, Feb. 26. From the time Jeff Ettinger started at Hormel Foods Corp. 21 years ago, living…

By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times – BEIJING — China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, reduced its holdings of federal securities last year, according to revised data released Wednesday by…

By Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — General Motors Co. has told 1,300 employees at its Detroit Hamtramck plant that they will be temporarily laid off for five weeks as the…

By John Boudreau, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple, which relies on Asian contractors to manufacture its iPhones and iPads, said in a report released Friday that it has…

By Andrew Tangel, The Record (Hackensack N.J.) – HACKENSACK, N.J. — Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, offered a sobering outlook this week on Europe’s debt crisis, predicting the euro in its current…

By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch – NEW YORK — U.S. stocks edged lower Friday, cementing the Dow Jones industrial average’s third weekly loss this year. Energy firms fell the most among the S&P 500…

By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times – BEIJING — China’s massive holdings of U.S. government debt have bolstered the American economy by keeping interest rates low. Now signs are emerging that Uncle Sam’s…

By Rick Montgomery, McClatchy Newspapers – KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You can rent a car today that is under a safety recall and not know it. Cally Houck — whose two daughters died…

By E. Scott Reckard and Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — A $7.6 billion federal program to help unemployed homeowners stave off foreclosure has provided little relief two years after…

By Jeremy C. Owens and Peter Delevett, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Francisco reviews website Yelp received five stars from investors in its stock market debut Friday, as…

By: Emily McMahon Recent press reports have glossed over a number of central facts when describing how federal tax laws were applied to companies that received government assistance during the financial crisis.  These…

By Gary M. Singer, Sun Sentinel – QUESTION: My dad passed away four years ago, and my mom was scraping by working at a department store until recently, when she had to stop…

By Shan Li, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Drawn by unseasonably warm weather across much of the country, shoppers hit the malls in February with their wallets open and handed retailers…

MCT FORUM, By Barry Goldman – I mediated a case some years ago between a small general contractor and a carpenter. The carpenter had done some work for the contractor, and the contractor…

George C. Ford, CR Gazette – CORALVILLE — Costco Wholesale, the world’s largest wholesale membership club, has set a June 29 opening date for its Coralville location in a former Amana refrigerator…

By Steve Johnson, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Smartphone owners can surf the Web, pay bills, watch videos, enjoy music and send email. But while their gadgets have been…