Markets

Top Stories

• Comcast, Cablevision Lose Sharing Rule Challenge
  A federal court has upheld regulations that require cable TV companies to make channels they own available to satellite TV providers and other rivals on equal terms.Friday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia leaves in place the Federal...
• Infant Deaths Prompt Warning About Sling Carriers
  
  The government warned Friday that those chic baby slings that hip moms and dads are sporting these days can be dangerous, even deadly for their little ones.The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it has investigated at least 13 deaths associated with sling-style infant...
• Internet Fraud Losses Doubled Last Year
  The cost of Internet fraud doubled in 2009 to about $560 million, the FBI said Friday. The most common type of frauds reported were scams from people falsely claiming to be from the FBI.Individual complaints of Internet scams grew more than 20 percent last year, according...
• FDA Puts Black Box Warning on Plavix Blood Thinner
  
  The Food and Drug Administration is adding its strongest warning to the label for Plavix, cautioning that some patients do not respond to the blockbuster blood thinner.The FDA said in a statement Friday that certain patients with a genetic variation cannot metabolize the...
• MGM Mirage to Sell Atlantic City Casino Stake
  MGM Mirage will sell its 50 percent stake in an Atlantic City casino under a proposed agreement with New Jersey regulators.At issue are regulators' concerns about the alleged organized crime ties of an MGM Mirage business partner in a Chinese casino venture in Macau.The...
• Global Oil Demand Seen Higher in 2010
  World oil demand will rise this year due to surging economic activity in Asian countries, especially China, the International Energy Agency said Friday as it bumped up its forecasts.The Paris-based IEA, which advises oil-consuming countries, predicted in its monthly report...
• Chinese Minister Insists Google Obey the Law
  China's top Internet regulator insisted Friday that Google must obey its laws or "pay the consequences," giving no sign of a possible compromise in their dispute over censorship and hacking."If you want to do something that disobeys Chinese law and regulations, you are...
• GM's Lutz: Hybrids, Electrics Are the Future
  General Motors Co. will keep making big trucks and SUVs because U.S. buyers demand them, but a major portion of them will be gas-electric hybrids in the near future, retiring Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Friday.Lutz didn't give details, but said GM must apply hybrid...
• U.S. May Seek More Authority on Vehicle Safety
  Government vehicle safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks following Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles for safety problems.David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said...
• Exxon Mobil to Boost Spending to $28 Billion
  
  Exxon Mobil said Thursday it will boost spending this year on new and existing projects even as some rivals pull back because of weak global demand for energy.Chairman and CEO Rex W. Tillerson told analysts during a meeting in New York that the world's largest publicly...
• American Air Union Seeks Step Toward Strike
  
  The union representing mechanics and other ground workers at American Airlines is asking federal officials to let them take a big step closer toward a possible strike against the nation's second-largest carrier.The Transport Workers Union said Thursday they asked federal...
• Airlines Halve Loss Estimate to $2.8 Billion
  Global airlines are undergoing a surprisingly strong recovery with Asian and Latin American carriers leading the way, the leading industry group said Thursday as it halved its loss forecast for 2010 to $2.8 billion.The International Air Transport Association said carriers...
• India Aims to Be World's Fastest Growing Economy
  Just how fast can India grow? Ask Manal Farooq, who can't make gloves quickly enough."We are facing a major problem," said Farooq, a senior executive at Marvel Gloves Industries, which produces 3 million pairs of gloves a month, most used in industrial production in India....
• Feds Pledge Tough Review of Comcast-NBC Deal
  Federal regulators are pledging a rigorous review of the proposed combination of Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal.Christine Varney, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, and Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said their...
• Motorola to Add Microsoft's Bing to Smart Phones
  Motorola Inc. said Thursday that it will add Microsoft Corp.'s Bing search and map functions to its smart phones that use Google Inc.'s Android operating software.Motorola said it start by rolling out the services on smart phones in China this quarter.The company will...
• Toyota Troubles Spotlight U.S. Safety Agency
  Toyota's massive recalls are prompting Congress to reconsider whether the nation's auto safety agency has lived up to its mission of protecting motorists.A House panel on Thursday planned to examine the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's oversight of the auto...
• Natural Gas Supplies Fell in Last Week
  
  Natural gas stockpiles fell last week, the government said Thursday, although they remained above the five-year average.The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower...
• Cable, Satellite TV Firms Ask U.S. to Stop Blackouts
  The most recent showdown left millions of Cablevision Systems Corp. customers around New York without an ABC station at the start of the Academy Awards.About 15 minutes into the show, a scrolling announcement told viewers that a tentative agreement had been reached.As...
• Snow Buries N.J. Casinos in Dismal Results
  
  The snowiest month ever recorded in Atlantic City kept would-be gamblers frozen in their homes in February, contributing to a 15.7 percent decrease in casino revenues.The 11 casinos in the nation's second-largest gambling market took in $261.6 million last month as three...
• Tropicana Sizes Shrink, Prices Rise on Citrus Woes
  Pepsico Inc. is raising prices on its popular Tropicana orange juice because of the deep freeze that hurt much of Florida's citrus crop.The company said Wednesday it is shrinking its most popular size by about 8 percent while maintaining its price and raising the price...
• Shell Stops Selling Gasoline to Iran
  Royal Dutch Shell Plc said Wednesday it has stopped selling gasoline to Iran, the latest company to cease business with a country that is increasingly targeted by U.S.-encouraged sanctions."We do not currently sell any gasoline to Iran," said Rayiner Winzenried, a Shell...
• Panasonic's First 3-D TV Set in $2,900 Package
  Panasonic Corp. on Wednesday revealed the price for its first 3-D TV set, confirming that $3,000 is about what it takes to be among the first to watch 3-D movies in the home.The Japanese company put its first 3-D sets on sale at an event in New York on Wednesday....
• Health Chief Pushes Insurers to Accept Reform
  The head of the Health and Human Services Department is sketching outa stark choice for the nation's insurers: oppose reform and eventuallylose customers, or work with the Obama administration to improve thelegislation.Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told health...
• Gasoline Price Isn't Expected to Top $3 a Gallon
  As the economy recovers, energy prices are rising and that is placing extra strain on families' budgets.Each spring brings a familiar ritual in gasoline markets rising prices and this year won't be an exception. But motorists aren't likely to pay much more than $3 a...
• Crude Oil Stockpiles Climb by 1.4 Million Barrels
  Crude inventories rose less than expected last week, while gasoline supplies dropped, the government said Wednesday.Crude inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels, or 0.4 percent, to 343 million barrels, which is 3.7 percent below year-ago levels, the Energy Department's...