Jan. 11 at 2:00 p.m.
Filed under:
Airplanes,
Government
By Associated Press
U.S. government safety officials urged Tuesday that aircraft owners be required to retrofit small planes with shoulder-lap seat belts but stopped short of calling for the installation of air bags.
A three-year study of small plane accidents released by the National Transportation Safety Board found several cases in which air bags prevented serious injuries or fatalities. But investigators said that since only about 7,000 planes have air bags, there haven’t been enough accidents to judge whether they should be required on all planes. Get the full story »
Jan. 7 at 2:11 p.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards,
Government
By Dow Jones Newswires
Americans kept their credit cards at bay in November, subdued by high joblessness and fallen home values.
The 27th straight drop in revolving credit restrained overall consumer borrowing, according to the Federal Reserve’s monthly consumer credit data. Get the full story »
Jan. 7 at 1:58 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Government
By Associated Press
Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says he wants to pay back the loans Chrysler got from the U.S. and Canadian governments this year if he can.
Marchionne said Friday that he remains committed to that in remarks to reporters while at a Chrysler plant in Brampton, Ontario, where he met with employees to celebrate the production launch of the redesigned 2011 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger. Get the full story »
Jan. 7 at 1:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Reuters
The U.S. budget deficit narrowed slightly in the first three months of the fiscal year as revenue grew at a faster rate than outlays, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated Friday.
The government recorded a deficit of $371 billion in October, November and December, $18 billion less than a year earlier, CBO said.
Jan. 7 at 1:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Reuters
U.S. economic recovery may have started to gain traction and market expectations for stronger recovery have bid up interest rates, Federal Reserve Gov. Elizabeth Duke said Friday.
Duke, in prepared remarks to the Maryland Bankers Association, said she believes expectations will remain subdued despite signs economic recovery is gaining momentum. Get the full story »
Jan. 7 at 11:17 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Updated
By Associated Press
President Barack Obama appointed Gene Sperling as his director of the National Economic Council Friday, placing a Washington veteran with a bipartisan track record in the White House as the administration contends with a divided Congress.
Sperling’s appointment coincided with the release of the December jobs report that showed the unemployment rate dropping to 9.4 percent, its lowest level in nearly two years. But job growth fell short of expectations, and Obama said that Sperling, along with other newly appointed members of the economic team, have a challenging task ahead. Get the full story »
Jan. 7 at 5:51 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Investing
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
As Illinois lawmakers huddle behind closed doors this week trying to find ways to plug the state’s $13 billion deficit, municipal-bond investors are sizing up how to wager amid the state’s woes.
The state’s bonds have the highest spreads — a measure of the perceived risk of default — of any state, according to Thomson Reuters data. Meanwhile, the cost of insuring against the bonds’ default keeps rising. Many muni-bond investors are avoiding Illinois even as they buy bonds of other cities and states. Others believe the state may prove a good bet, either because it will get its financial act together or be aided by the federal government. Get the full story »
Jan. 6 at 1:21 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Energy,
Food,
Government
By Associated Press
Truckloads of Four Loko and other alcohol-laced energy drinks are being recycled into ethanol and other products after federal authorities told manufacturers the beverages were dangerous and caused users to become “wide-awake drunk.”
Wholesalers from Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and other East Coast states started sending cases of the high-alcohol, caffeinated malt beverages to MXI Environmental Services in Virginia after the Food and Drug Administration cracked down on the sale of such beverages in November. Get the full story »
Jan. 6 at 7:23 a.m.
Filed under:
Government
By Reuters
As Republican lawmakers threaten a showdown over the federal debt limit, bond investors are calculating when they should start to get nervous. The answer: early March, and probably, really worried in April.
Wall Street economists, looking at recent seasonal spending and revenue trends, estimate the $14.3 trillion debt limit will be reached toward the end of March or sometime in April if Congress fails to raise it before then. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
Tobacco maker Star Scientific Inc. says it has developed a moist smokeless tobacco with lower levels of cancer-causing chemicals than any other tobacco product on the market.
The small Virginia company, which sells tobacco lozenges that dissolve in the mouth, said Tuesday that it plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration this quarter for approval to sell the new item as safer than any competing product. Get the full story »
Jan. 4 at 1:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care
By Dow Jones Newswires
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued Invacare Corp. a warning letter for failure to fully address reports of fires and entrapment involving beds made by the company.
In a Dec. 15 warning letter, the FDA said Invacare, which makes a variety of medical equipment used in homes and long-term care facilities, didn’t properly handle or investigate reports of fire and patients becoming trapped in beds. The letter was posted to the agency’s Web site Tuesday. Get the full story »
Jan. 4 at 1:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Litigation,
Media,
TV
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
A federal appeals court on Tuesday tossed a $1.2 million indecency fine the Federal Communications Commission imposed against ABC Television affiliates for airing a 2003 episode of “NYPD Blue,” which showed a woman’s naked bottom.
It was just the latest in a series of victories for broadcasters, who have spent the last few years challenging the U.S. government’s effort to police airwaves and fine stations for racy content. Get the full story »
Jan. 4 at 1:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Reuters
Federal Reserve officials in December felt the U.S. economic recovery was still weak enough to warrant monetary support despite growing signs of strength, Fed meeting minutes released on Tuesday showed.
Wall Street economists have been revising up forecasts for economic growth in recent weeks on the back of signs showing business activity and consumer spending picking up steam. Get the full story »
Jan. 4 at 12:43 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Jobs/employment
By Associated Press
Unemployment rates rose in more than two-thirds of the nation’s largest metro areas in November, a sharp reversal from the previous month and the most since June.
The Labor Department says unemployment rates rose in 258 of the 372 largest cities, fell in 88 and remained the same in 26. That’s worse than the previous month, when the rate fell in 200 areas and rose in 108. Get the full story »
Dec. 30, 2010 at 4:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Updated
By Dow Jones Newswires
Illinois politicians are reviewing whether to follow in California’s footsteps by forcing its bond underwriters to disclose what credit derivatives they have entered into on the state’s debt.
Staff members working for Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Michael Madigan reached out to California officials on Wednesday for information about how the Golden State has gone about improving disclosures relating to credit default swaps on its own state debt. Get the full story »
