Stocks fall for 3rd day as dollar strengthens

By STEPHEN BERNARD and TIM PARADIS

Investors can't shake their fears that the economy isn't keeping up with the stock market.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:20 pm

Small Florida bank shuttered, 124th this year

By MARCY GORDON and DANIEL WAGNER

Florida banking regulators on Friday shut down Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida, marking the 124th U.S. bank to succumb this year to the struggling economy and rising loan defaults.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:15 pm

Americans save more but earn less as rates fall

By STEVENSON JACOBS

The U.S. is finally becoming a nation of savers. Now if only we could get something for our money.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:05 pm

J.M. Smucker 2nd-quarter profit soars on coffee

By SARAH SKIDMORE

J.M. Smucker Co. nearly tripled its profit in the second quarter as the addition of Folgers coffee gave a jolt to its lineup and lower commodity prices for coffee beans and other items fattened its profit margins.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:35 pm

D.R. Horton sees 26 perecent spike in 4Q orders

By ALEX VEIGA

Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc., saw new home orders spike 26 percent from a year ago in the latest quarter as buyers raced to close deals and take advantage of a federal tax credit. But a wider-than-anticipated loss fueled by write-downs sent shares tumbling more than 15 percent Friday.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:20 pm

Chase drops arbitration from card contracts

By MARK JEWELL

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Friday it is dropping a clause from its credit card contracts that required disputes with customers to be handled through binding arbitration, a move that could lead to consumers filing class-action and other lawsuits.

Nov 20, 2009 | 2:40 pm

AP changes roles for 6 news editors, 4 photo eds

The Associated Press has named six news editors to oversee expanded multistate territories and has assigned four interim regional photo editors as part of a restructuring of U.S. news management to ensure the continuing strength of the news cooperative's state reports.

Nov 20, 2009 | 2:35 pm

More states add jobs, but many for temporary staff

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

In a sharp improvement, more than half of U.S. states added jobs in October, though economists said many of the gains likely occurred in temporary employment.

Nov 20, 2009 | 1:15 pm

Natural gas plunges 12 percent this month

By CHRIS KAHN

Natural gas prices have dropped by more than 12 percent in the past month as the country continues to sip at its energy reserves and a balmy November allowed homeowners to leave the heat off.

Nov 20, 2009 | 1:10 pm

ALL BUSINESS: Economics 101, by way of toy hamster

By RACHEL BECK

In a world full of economic indicators, the best one during the holiday season may prove to be a furry toy hamster.

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:00 pm

Trichet: time to withdraw some support measures

By MICHAEL BAUER and GEORGE FREY

Although it is too early to say the crisis is over, it is time to withdraw some of the policy measures that supported the financial system through the credit crunch, the European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Friday.

Nov 20, 2009 | 8:00 am

Vivendi inching closer to decision on NBC

Media and entertainment conglomerate Vivendi SA is nearing a decision on whether to sell its stake in NBC Universal, which would clear the way for the creation of one of the most powerful media companies in the world.

Nov 20, 2009 | 7:15 am

EU extends Oracle/Sun review deadline until Jan 27

European Union regulators said Friday that they have extended until Jan. 27 a deadline to wrap up their antitrust review of Oracle Corp.'s planned $7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc.

Nov 20, 2009 | 5:10 am

Gap profit up 25 pct in 3Q as Old Navy recovers

By ASHLEY M. HEHER

Shoppers spent more money at low-price Old Navy stores in the third quarter, helping Gap Inc.'s profit climb 25 percent compared with last year, the retailer said Thursday.

Nov 20, 2009 | 5:05 am

GM to release plan for European units in December

By GEORGE FREY

General Motors Co. said it expects to release a full restructuring plan for its Opel and Vauxhall operations in mid December, but did not specify the amount of cuts to capacity and jobs it would seek.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:50 am

Oil moves down near $77 amid economic uncertainty

By BARRY HATTON

Oil prices edged down toward $77 a barrel on Friday after a drop in many stock markets and amid concern about the strength of the global economic recovery.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:35 am

European markets push higher ahead of Trichet

By PAN PYLAS

European stock markets rose Friday despite a drop in Asia as investors recouped some of the previous day's hefty losses ahead of a key speech from European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:30 am

Volkswagen board moves closer to Porsche merger

German carmaker Volkswagen AG said Friday its supervisory board had approved certain agreement contracts for the planned merger with German sportscar builder Porsche, taking the companies one step closer to completing the deal.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:25 am

China raises nonresidential electricity rates

By ELAINE KURTENBACH

China raised electricity rates for businesses and industries Friday, part of a long-term effort to adjust prices to reflect costs and promote energy saving as the country struggles to meet soaring demand.

Nov 20, 2009 | 1:25 am