Business News

Senator John Warner wants to enforce a national speed limit as an answer to soaring gas prices

New-home sales fell less than expected in June and inventories dropped to a 31/2-year low, the government said Friday, fueling hopes that the worst of the housing slump is over. Meanwhile, durable goods orders and consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose.

WASHINGTON - After weeks of one negative report after another, the economy finally got some news Friday that wasn't half bad.

NEW YORK (AFP) - With Wall Street investors hesitant, fresh data in the coming week could help provide a clearer picture of whether the US economy is in recovery mode or an extended downward spiral.

NEW YORK - Wall Street ended a volatile week with uneven gains Friday after better-than-expected economic data placated a market pummeled a day earlier by concerns about housing and the financial sector.

BOSTON (Reuters) - A funding arm of General Electric Co this month received notification that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a civil action against it, the second-largest U.S. company by market capitalization said in an SEC filing on Friday.

Halfway through earnings season, banks are still a drag, tech firms are doing OK while the overall outlook remains cloudy.

SAN FRANCISCO - Netflix Inc.'s second-quarter profit crept up 4 percent, beating analyst expectations as the online DVD rental leader signed up 168,000 new customers while spending less money to attract them to the service.

ST. LOUIS - Arch Coal Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profit tripled on soaring global prices and the company boosted its outlook after beating Wall Street expectations easily.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC said its financing arm would stop offering vehicle leases to U.S. consumers, a sharp break in strategy in response to tighter credit and the plunging resale prices for gas-guzzling trucks.

DETROIT - Chrysler LLC said Friday its financial arm will get out of the auto leasing business by the end of the month because economic conditions have made leasing more expensive than buying, for both consumers and the company.

TRENTON, N.J. - Like other major drugmakers, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. saw benefits from the weak dollar in the second quarter, as sales grew at a faster rate overseas, but both also posted improvements in their U.S. businesses.

Ultra-Safe Harold R. Evensky, President, Evensky & Katz Wealth Management, Coral Gables, Fla.

Just a few years ago, if you wanted to save much more than $100,000 in a certificate of deposit (CD) without losing federal deposit insurance, you faced the tedious job of opening accounts at an array of banks around the country.

Surrounded by a canyon of neatly stacked trash bundles, Bob Cappadona, area manager of Casella Waste (NasdaqGS:CWST - News) Systems' 65,000-square-foot recycling facility in Auburn, Mass., can't believe the record prices his garbage is commanding. "Aluminum cans, $900 a bale. Tin cans, $150. No. 2 clear plastic, $300. Cardboard, $70. Mixed paper, $40." He barely conceals his glee as he explains the effects of a recent spike in metals prices: "We get an extra $100 a ton!"

PHOENIX - Customers of two banks closed by federal regulators were assured that every penny of their money was protected, preventing lines of angry accountholders from forming Saturday.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The plant has been described by local residents as magical, its qualities almost mythical.

NEW ORLEANS - A large fuel spill that has shut down 100 miles of the Mississippi River for four days has had a limited impact on wildlife so far, but officials are worried about fragile wetlands downstream.