updated Wed December 12, 2007

Looking for a Room for the Beijing Olympics? Be Patient

BEIJING (AP) -- Patience will go a long way when trying to find a reasonably priced hotel for the Olympics.Prices for rooms during the Aug. 8-24 games reportedly have skyrocketed, and it is unclear where the ra...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Word Awaited on Possible Change to Sparrows Point Steel Mill Sale

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- The owner and the prospective buyer of the Sparrows Point steel mill continued their negotiations Tuesday to avoid a potential collapse of the $1.35 billion court-supervised deal affecti...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Chicos FAS Chief Information Officer Gary King Buys 10,000 Shares

NEW YORK (AP) -- The chief information officer of Chicos FAS Inc., a clothing retailer, bought 10,000 shares of stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.In a Form 4 filed with the ...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Striking Truck Drivers in Italy Block Highways, Causing Shortages and Snarling Traffic

ROME (AP) -- Italy's striking truck drivers used hundreds of their vehicles to block highways outside large cities and border points on Tuesday, causing shortages of gasoline and basic food across the country a...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Tackling Poverty Takes Priority Over Global Warming, Poor Nations Say

BALI, Indonesia (AP) -- Poor nations want to join the global fight against greenhouse gas emissions but boosting economic growth and reducing poverty remain the top priority, their finance ministers told wealth...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Maroon 5, Fergie, Kanye West Among the Top Sellers of the Year on ITunes

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Maroon 5 and Fergie hold the top spots on iTunes' year-end sales roundup.The online music store released its top-selling albums and singles Tuesday, though they declined to release actual sa...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

FDA Questions if Consumers Can Properly Use Over-The-Counter Cholesterol Drug

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is questioning if too many of the wrong people will take cholesterol-lowering Mevacor if it's sold without a prescription, days before Merck & Co. makes its third try to mo...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Daimler Buys Back More Than 49.9 Million Shares for $5.1 Billion

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Daimler AG, which sold off most of its Chrysler division earlier this year, has spent $5.1 billion to buy back more than 49.9 million shares, according to the automaker.The Stuttgart-...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Putin Assures Business Leaders State Corporations Will Not Become Monopolies

MOSCOW (AP) -- President Vladimir Putin reassured business leaders Tuesday that Russia's new state corporations would not become monopolies, and that the Kremlin had no plans to "strangle" the private sector. P...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

NC Grand Jury Indicts State Rep. Wright on Fraud, Other Charges

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A long-awaited indictment handed up Monday accuses Democratic state Rep. Thomas Wright with fraudulently obtaining $160,000 in bank loans and pocketing $185,000 meant for his campaign. A W...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Stocks Mixed Ahead of Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision; Market Expects 0.25 Point Cut

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street turned mixed Tuesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and absorbed more fallout from the mortgage and credit crisis.Investors are expecting policyma...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Suzuki to Make Compact, Low-Emissions Hatchback in India Geared for Global Export

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Beginning next October, Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to make a new compact hatchback in India that will be sold all over the world, the company's chairman said Tuesday. The plan...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

House Lawmakers Agree on Mortgage Bankruptcy Bill to Widen Chapter 11 Judges' Power

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Several key U.S. House Judiciary Committee members have reached a deal on legislation that would give bankruptcy judges more flexibility to alter the terms of some mortgages, spokesmen for tw...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Accenture to Continue Work on New York City's '311' Information Hot Line Under New Contract

NEW YORK (AP) -- Accenture will continue to provide services to help operate New York City's 311 non-emergency city service line and a complementary Web site under a new contract, the business consulting and ou...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Base Realignment in Maryland Discussed Before State Lawmakers

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown gave lawmakers a briefing on plans to prepare for tens of thousands of jobs that are slated to come to Maryland as part of the military's base realignment. Brown, w...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Insurance Claims Begin to Arrive Following Northwest Storms

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- In storm-ravaged parts of the Northwest, home and business owners are beginning to file insurance claims -- a process that could be complicated by whether severe winds or floods did the d...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

EU Court: Unions Can Act Against Cheap East European Labor, but Only to Protect Workers

LUXEMBOURG (AP) -- The European Union's highest court ruled on Tuesday that trade unions can in principle take action to prevent employers from using cheaper workers from EU countries with fewer labor rights. B...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Britain's Health Service Faces Extra Bill for Drugs

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's National Health Service faces an additional bill for drugs worth hundreds of millions of pounds because of exclusive deals between manufacturers and distributors, the Office of Fair Tra...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Sprint Nextel to Use Synchronoss' Order-Management Services for Consumer Wireless Business

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) -- Synchronoss Technologies Inc. said Tuesday that its order-management services will be used by Sprint Nextel Corp. for its consumer wireless business.Synchronoss makes software and syst...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

China Airlines to Buy Up to 20 of Airbus' A350 Wide-Bodied Jets on Heals of Big Libyan Sale

PARIS (AP) -- Taiwan's China Airlines ordered 14 Airbus A350 wide-bodied planes and signed an option for an additional six, the European planemaker said Tuesday.The sale follows Libyan Airlines' firm order for ...