Business
Budget deficit sets record in February
(AP)
AP - The government ran up the largest monthly deficit in history in February, keeping the flood of red ink on track to top last years record for the full year.
Unemployment rises in 30 states in January
(AP)
AP - Unemployment rose in 30 states in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country.
Wholesale inventories fall while sales increase
(AP)
AP - Businesses trimmed inventories at the wholesale level again in January even though sales rose for a 10th consecutive month. The dip in inventories underscored that businesses remain cautious about restocking their depleted shelves.
CDC uses shopper-card data to trace salmonella
(AP)
AP - As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time — the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries.
Unemployment benefit cuts, higher taxes projected
(AP)
AP - Benefits paid to suffering unemployed workers will have to be cut and taxes on struggling businesses will have to go up to pay for a staggering number of claims due to the recession, Wisconsin lawmakers were told Wednesday.
Curbing derivatives might hurt, not help, Greece
(AP)
AP - Derivatives have become a dirty word.
How the major stock indexes fared on Tuesday
(AP)
AP - Financial companies led stocks higher Tuesday on the one-year anniversary of the markets hitting a 12-year low. The gain in bank stocks came as traders reacted to rumors that the government might prohibit the trades known as short sales in the stocks of companies it owns. Such a move would be aimed at preventing sharp drops in stocks including Citigroup Inc. and American International Group Inc.
UKs Brown paves way for election with budget date
(AP)
AP - Britains economic recovery remains fragile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Wednesday, as he paved the way for a national election by announcing the governments budget would be published in two weeks.
A.M. Castle 4th-quarter loss narrows
(AP)
AP - Specialty metal and plastic products company A.M. Castle & Co. said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter loss shrank, helped by lower material costs and the effect of one-time charges.
Euro rebounds, gains on dollar
(AFP)
AFP - The euro staged a modest turnaround against the dollar Wednesday in featureless trading as dealers looked for signals on prospects for the world economy and a proposed European monetary fund.
Home loan demand nudges higher in latest week
(Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. mortgage applications nudged higher last week, reflecting increased demand for home purchase loans even as interest rates trekked higher, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
WTO chief holds talks with US officials, lawmakers
(AFP)
AFP - WTO chief Pascal Lamy was in Washington Wednesday for talks with US officials and lawmakers amid an uphill effort to wrap up the long-running Doha Round of global trade talks by this year.
Dollar General sues rival chain over colors
(AP)
AP - Dollar General Corp. has filed a federal lawsuit against rival discount chain Freds Inc., claiming the smaller company is using its trademark yellow and black colors.
Nationalized UK bank Northern Rock back in profit
(AP)
AP - Nationalized mortgage lender Northern Rock said Wednesday that it returned to profit in the second half of 2009 as interest income rose and losses on loans fell.
CA-CANADA Summary
(Reuters)
Reuters - Canadian parliamentarians tucked into a meal of seal meat on Wednesday to defy both animal right activists and the European Union, which has banned imports of seal products. Some two dozen guests, surrounded on all sides by media, crammed into a small room off the main parliamentary restaurant to hear speeches backing the annual hunt off Canadas East Coast, which the EU says is inhumane.