Most interesting finance and busines news.
Technology giant Apple Inc., which briefly surpassed Exxon Mobile Corp. this month as the world most valuable company, is now worth nearly as much as the 32 biggest euro zone banks combined.
That follows recent news reports that Apple Computers had more cash in the bank on a late July day ($76 billion) than the U.S. […]
Robert Griggs is a risk-taker by nature. He has never been afraid of debt.
At the moment, however, Griggs is delaying a decision on whether to invest $10 million or more and create about 50 new jobs at his steel pipe mill in St. Charles. Orders are strong and profits have never been higher, but Griggs […]
Stocks are falling after heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. reported weak results in the second quarter, sowing doubts about the pace of the global recovery.
The weaker results from Caterpillar and a continuing deadlock over raising the U.S. borrowing limit pushed stocks lower. Overseas markets rose after European leaders reached a deal aimed at containing the region’s […]
The Obama administration said Tuesday it is buying more than 100 Chevrolet Volts and other electric cars as it moves to improve fuel efficiency of the government’s massive fleet of cars and trucks.
The plan by the General Services Administration to buy 116 plug-in electric cars marks the government’s first purchase of road-ready electric vehicles, a […]
The European Union warned Friday that the debt loads of Greece, Ireland and Portugal will be much bigger than previously forecast, adding to fears that international bailouts are failing to solve the region’s crisis.
The EU’s Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Greece needed to cut spending even further than foreseen in its bailout program. While […]
Australian house prices declined in the first quarter by the most since 2008 as higher borrowing costs curbed demand and floods disrupted the property market in Queensland state.
An index measuring the weighted average of prices for established houses in eight major cities slid 1.7 percent from three months earlier, the biggest fall since the […]
The Federal Reserve may need to begin an exit from record levels of monetary accommodation even amid global uncertainties in Japan and the Middle East, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said.
“The process of normalizing policy, even once it begins, will still leave unprecedented policy accommodation on the table,” Bullard said at a […]
The operator of Japan’s crippled, leaking nuclear plant says two of the six reactor units are now safely under control after their fuel storage pools cooled down.
Tokyo Electric Power Company declared Units 5 and 6 safe Sunday night after days of pumping water into the reactors pool brought temperatures down.
Bringing the two units under control […]
China on Friday ordered its banks to raise the amount of money they hold in reserves in another move to curb lending and cool a spike in inflation.
The People’s Bank of China said banks must raise reserves by 0.5 percent of deposits. This is the third such move this year by the central bank and […]
China’s government says inflation held steady at 4.9 percent in February despite efforts to cool price rises.
Friday’s announcement adds to pressure on communist leaders to rein in surging living costs that they worry could fuel social tensions. The rate was above the government’s target of 4 percent inflation this year and close to November’s 28-month […]