Headline
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Asia stocks rise on continued hopes for ECB action
2012-07-30 05:24:06 UTC
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets rose again Monday as expectations remained high for strong European Central Bank action to stem the continent's chronic debt crisis.
Sentiment was also helped by U.S. second quarter growth not slowing as much as feared. The world's No. 1 economy grew just 1.5...
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US economic growth slowed to 1.5 pct. rate in Q2
2012-07-27 19:07:26 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. economic growth slowed to an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, as Americans cut back sharply on spending. The weaker growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended.
The Commerce Department also said ...
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Stocks soar after ECB vows to protect the euro
2012-07-26 19:32:20 UTC
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks soared in the U.S. and Europe Thursday after the European Central Bank president vowed to "do whatever it takes" to keep the continent's monetary union intact.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 211 points, or 1.7 percent, to 12,887 as of 3:20 p.m., following Europe...
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Roche profits drop on one-off costs
2012-07-26 08:04:08 UTC
GENEVA (AP) — Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG on Thursday posted a 17 percent drop in first-half net profit from the same period a year, but its strong sales of cancer drugs and cost-cutting contributed to a rise in core operating profits and an outlook for continued sales growth that beat analy...
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Spain under more financial pressure
2012-07-25 08:01:30 UTC
MADRID (AP) — The financial pressure on Spain shows no signs of abating as investors demanded more to buy the country's bonds.
The yield, or interest rate, on Spain's benchmark ten-year bond has spiked 0.11 percentage point to 7.65 percent in the first hour of trading Wednesday.
Spain is ba...
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Europe shaken by fear Spain will need full bailout
2012-07-23 17:17:33 UTC
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe is on the brink again. The crisis over too much debt in the 17 countries that use the euro flared dangerously on Monday.
Fears that Spain was next in line for a full-blown government bailout intensified following a weekend of bad news about the country's econom...
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Spain under more acute market pressure
2012-07-23 10:30:09 UTC
MADRID (AP) — The financial pressure on recession-hit Spain ratcheted up further Monday to levels that saw other European countries need a financial bailout.
The yield on Spain's benchmark ten-year bond spiked 0.23 percentage points to 7.46 percent, further evidence that investors are skeptica...
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Haunted by Europe, US market can't get ahead
2012-07-22 09:15:43 UTC
NEW YORK (AP) — For the past few days, the U.S. stock market was able to forget about problems in Europe.
Friday put Europe squarely back in the spotlight.
U.S. stocks fell sharply as escalating problems in Spain jolted investors. Spain's stock market plunged 6 percent and its borrowing cos...
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Concern over US economy keeps markets in check
2012-07-20 12:17:39 UTC
LONDON (AP) — Evidence that the U.S. economic recovery remains weak kept global markets in check on Friday despite continued hopes for new stimulus measures.
In late morning trading in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent at 5,701.05 while Germany's DAX was off 0.18 percent at 6,746...
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US economic data add to signs of slowing recovery
2012-07-19 21:20:37 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — A raft of economic news Thursday sketched a picture of a weakening U.S. economy held back by sluggish home buying and factory production.
Americans bought fewer homes in June than in May. Manufacturing in the Federal Reserve's Philadelphia region contracted for a third straig...
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Yahoo's 2Q earnings, revenue remain flat
2012-07-17 22:53:54 UTC
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo turned in another lackluster performance in the second quarter.
The results announced Tuesday underscore the challenges facing Yahoo's newly hired CEO Marissa Mayer as she tries to turn around the Internet company after a 13-year career as a top Google executive.
...
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US economy appears weaker as retail sales slump
2012-07-16 21:16:07 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — The outlook for the U.S. economy appeared dimmer Monday after a report that Americans spent less at retail businesses for a third straight month in June.
The report led some economists to downgrade their estimates for economic growth in the April-June quarter. Many now think ...
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Microsoft, NBC dissolve MSNBC.com joint venture
2012-07-16 04:41:19 UTC
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft is pulling out of the joint venture that owned MSNBC.com, freeing the world's largest software maker to build its own online news service.
The breakup announced late Sunday dissolves the final shreds of a 16-year marriage between Microsoft Corp. and NBC News, whi...
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Asia stocks muted after China cautions on economy
2012-07-16 02:57:16 UTC
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets are mixed after China's premier said weakness in the world's second-biggest economy is not yet over.
The weekend comments from Wen Jiabao came after China on Friday reported that quarterly economic growth slipped to a three year low.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng ...
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How Penn State can repair its image
2012-07-14 18:21:59 UTC
NEW YORK (AP) — A scathing report accusing Penn State coach Joe Paterno and other top university officials of hiding what they knew about Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of children is another crippling blow to a school and football program already reeling from one of the worst scandals in sports h...
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NY Fed told of interest rate manipulation in '07
2012-07-14 13:02:19 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released documents Friday that show it learned five years ago of big banks understating their borrowing costs to manipulate a key interest rate.
The documents also show Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was then president of the New...
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JPMorgan traders may have sought to conceal losses
2012-07-14 12:57:10 UTC
NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase said Friday that its traders may have tried to conceal the losses from a soured bet that has embarrassed the bank and cost it almost $6 billion — far more than its CEO first suggested.
The bank said an internal investigation had uncovered evidence that led execut...
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Fewer auto closings reduce US unemployment claims
2012-07-12 22:29:50 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits plunged last week. But a big reason is that automakers have skipped some of their usual summer shutdowns to keep up with demand, causing fewer temporary auto layoffs.
Economists expect the number of Americans seeking une...
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Democrats block Senate vote on Obama tax plan
2012-07-11 19:55:20 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats blocked a Senate vote Wednesday on President Barack Obama's plan to extend expiring tax cuts for a year for everyone but the highest-earning Americans as the two parties maneuvered to try embarrassing each other on one of the election year's foremost issues.
The mov...
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Asian stocks fall as outlook for earnings dims
2012-07-11 06:11:03 UTC
SINGAPORE (AP) — Asian stock markets fell Wednesday as the global economic slowdown threatens to reduce corporate profits.
Companies start reporting second-quarter results this week and investors were dismayed when chip maker Advanced Micro Devices said Tuesday that weaker sales in China and E...
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Euro finance ministers agree on bailout for Spain
2012-07-10 06:49:08 UTC
BRUSSELS (AP) — Euro area finance ministers agreed early Tuesday on the terms of a bailout for Spain's troubled banks, saying that €30 billion ($36.88 billion) can be ready by the end of this month.
The finance ministers for the 17 countries that use the euro as their official currency will re...
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Diplomats: Regling will head ESM bailout fund
2012-07-10 00:05:35 UTC
BRUSSELS (AP) — Diplomats say that Klaus Regling, a German economist who currently heads the temporary EU bailout fund, has been chosen to head the European Stability Mechanism — the permanent bailout fund meant to head off instability in the eurozone.
Finance ministers from the 17 countries t...
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China inflation falls, giving leeway for stimulus
2012-07-09 11:16:11 UTC
BEIJING (AP) — China's inflation fell to a 29-month low in June, giving Beijing more room to fight a deepening economic slowdown.
Consumer prices rose 2.2 percent over a year earlier, down from May's 3 percent, government data showed Monday. Food costs rose 3.8 percent.
Lower inflation clea...
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Obama challenges Romney on China trade
2012-07-07 10:39:09 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama challenged rival Mitt Romney's promise to get tough on China, saying in a new ad released Saturday that Romney "made a fortune" allowing China to take U.S. jobs.
Obama's ad turns again to a report that several businesses backed by Romney's former privat...
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US stocks drop after weak June jobs report
2012-07-06 15:37:47 UTC
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks retreated on Wall Street Friday after the U.S. government reported that only 80,000 jobs were created in June, the third straight month of weak hiring.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 157 points to 12,739 a half-hour before noon on Friday. The loss wiped out the...