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Wash Post Business
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| http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/business/index.html?wprss=rss_business |
| The Washington Post Business and Economy section provides coverage and analysis of economic policy,business policy and financial news as it relates to Washington,D.C.,the federal government and individual agencies. Washington Post Business also offers video,discussions and blogs about major economic issues. |
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Federal regulators this afternoon shot down rumors in the financial markets they were planning to ban short selling of stocks in which the government has a stake.
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Georgetown residents Christopher Cahill and Richard Marshall consider the $75,000 wedding that they're planning for June to be their own "personal stimulus package" for the District economy.
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The Washington law firm Arent Fox said Monday that it has named longtime partner Mark M. Katz as its new chairman, a leadership change that comes as the legal sector copes with an economic downturn that has curtailed business and prompted layoffs.
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The White House is mounting a stinging, sustained broadside against health insurance rate increases as President Obama and his aides enter what they hope will be the final stretch of a year-long political war over health-care reform.
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BRAZIL
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Another video rental store might have been content to boast a "Horror" section, but Alexandria's Video Vault always catered to far more specialized tastes.
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That's part of what Greece's prime minister, George Papandreou, blames for his country's financial crisis. A credit default swap is a form of insurance on bonds that investors buy and sell. When it looks like a bond issuer might have trouble paying, its CDS prices soar because the bonds are more...
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Embattled Japanese auto giant Toyota launched a broad counter-attack on Monday aimed at refuting research that suggests electronics may be at the heart of runaway acceleration problems that have led the automaker to recall more than 6 million vehicles.
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Dozens of former federal officials are playing leading roles in helping carmakers handle federal investigations of auto defects, including those for Toyota's runaway-acceleration problems.
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Chris Chapman owns an Anne Arundel County business that sounds deceptively simple. It brings him a comfortable six-figure income on more than $1 million in revenue, allows him to employ a handful of relatives and is built around a sport he loves.
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Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella militant group that had been weakened in recent months, staged a forceful resurgence Monday with an attack that killed at least 12 in the heartland city of Lahore. As the workday began, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-packed truck into an unmarked...
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ABC returned to the televisions of Cablevision's 3 million New York area subscribers late Sunday, allowing viewers to catch most of the Academy Awards. But the companies didn't say whether they had ended their tense and bitter impasse over how much the cable operator should pay Walt Disney Co., t...
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Ryan Fochler's life changed six years ago when he left his job in the computer industry to buy an Arlington County-based dog-walking business with $50,000 in personal savings and a home-equity line of credit. The firm grew quickly, with revenue more than doubling each year. By 2008, Fochler was r...
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LONDON -- Icelanders this weekend resoundingly rejected a plan to reimburse overseas depositors after the failure of an online Icelandic bank, a rare public referendum on the repayment of a foreign liability that could fuel further concerns over debt problems in Europe.
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A federal law that bars attorneys from telling clients who are contemplating bankruptcy to take on more debt is not an unconstitutional restriction on the free-speech rights of lawyers, the Supreme Court decided Monday.
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President Obama nominated retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert A. Harding on Monday to lead the Transportation Security Administration, selecting someone unknown to the aviation industry and federal unions to lead one of the government's most visible agencies.
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Dana Moore sells rain. He sells a lot of it, for about a buck per reusable storm.
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The U.S. government, while pushing for tougher sanctions against Tehran, has given $107 billion in the past 10 years to U.S. and foreign companies doing business in Iran, much of it in the energy sector, the New York Times reported in its Sunday editions.
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President Obama has the chance during his first term to appoint leaders for each of the federal agencies that oversee banks, an important opportunity to reshape the government's approach to regulation even as the White House struggles to push structural reforms through the Senate.
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A-T Solutions of Vienna named Paul McQuillan , former president of Leonie Industries, executive vice president of business development.
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After a spurt of major economic data last week, most of it moderate to positive, this week will offer something of a breather.
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MONDAY Job Search Support Group. A four-week workshop on practical job-search techniques also offers support and inspiration from others to help face the challenges of finding a job in the current economy. 10:30 to noon, 401 N. Washington St., Suite 100, Rockville. Sponsor: Montgomery County...
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These companies recently filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's local clerk of court offices.
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Elected officials like to look toward sexy new industries such as clean energy technology as answers for job creation. But a McKinsey Global Institute study argues that the actual number of jobs created by such industries is small, and leaders may be better off looking to more conventional service...
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The first job I landed after finishing school was at a community college, where I helped students find jobs. The community in which I worked had been experiencing high unemployment. But I was determined.
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Position : Group managing director at RHI Executive Search, a D.C.-based company.
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In the past few days, we've seen product recalls for more than 1.5 million General Motors and Nissan automobiles for, respectively, faulty power steering and defective brakes. Closer to home, 1,000 "climate control" footrests, made by company based in Itasca, Ill., called Fellowes, were taken out...
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Stephanie Harris's management and sales skills helped her earn $3,000 for just six or seven hours of work on a "good" day.
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In "I, Alex Cross," the new bestseller set in Washington by James Patterson, fictional detective Alex Cross scans the ego wall in the office of a senator he's investigating:
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When financial reform legislation finally lands on the Senate floor, a provision that advocates call the single most important item for Main Street investors will probably have been banished from the ponderous bill.
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MASON CITY, IOWA -- Republican Terry Branstad's lines have a familiar ring as he campaigns to return to the governor's office after 11 years away. He blasts the incumbent Democrat for "mismanagement," promising an "economic comeback" and the end of "more government than we can afford."
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Just after the stroke of midnight, 3 million Cablevision viewers in the New York area lost their ABC channels because of an impasse by the cable operator and broadcaster to resolve their feud over transmission fees.
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I won't lie to you: I was not a good engineering student. That's one of the reasons I went into journalism. But I managed to acquire a bachelor of sciences in mechanical engineering, and the recent Toyota hearings on Capitol Hill brought back a lot of memories. Specifically, memories about how...
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Ten players from the local technology scene look back at the Internet boom and bust.
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General Motors said Friday that it will reinstate more than half the 1,100 dealerships it had planned to close, after a vigorous campaign waged by dealers against the closings.
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Separate House committees are demanding more information from Toyota and government regulators after executives from the embattled Japanese automaker appear to have given conflicting answers about the causes of runaway vehicle acceleration plaguing the company.
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An influential voice on Capitol Hill has unexpectedly called into question the safety of investing in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, raising the specter that investors who have lent money to the two firms or bought their mortgage-backed securities could one day suffer losses.
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A few feet of snow in February was not enough to impede the steady healing of the job market, according to data released Friday that showed the U.S. economy's tepid recovery remained on track.
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Before Haiti and international donors can rebuild this devastated city, they must first destroy it.
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Before Adrian M. Fenty was elected D.C. mayor in 2006, Sinclair Skinner lived in a worn, two-story brick home on Georgia Avenue NW above his dry cleaning business, a venture that collapsed in financial ruin.
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Q: Should we borrow to pay the tax on a Roth IRA conversion?
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Good news: You're eligible. Until now, only taxpayers with incomes of $100,000 or less were permitted to convert a traditional retirement account to a Roth IRA. But the income-eligibility limit on Roth conversions disappeared Jan. 1 (income-eligibility limits on contributions remain in effect). So...
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Q: I'd like to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth, but my son will be going to college soon. Will converting the IRA affect our chances of getting financial aid?
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Stephanie Harris Age: 27 Background: Harris was raised in a middle-income home with parents who expected her to do well. "I had a great childhood with family values," she said. "When the street lights came on, we couldn't leave the alley behind our house." Harris, who said she was an honors stud...
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The District will become the first city in the United States to distribute female condoms free, part of a project that will make 500,000 of them available in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in parts of the city with high HIV rates.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel avoided giving debt-plagued Greece a commitment of financial assistance Friday, as Athens was rattled by more strikes and violent protests by unions outraged by harsh economic austerity measures.
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Lobbyists and corporate officials talked bluntly in e-mail exchanges about connections between making generous campaign donations and securing federal funds through members of an important House Appropriations subcommittee, according to not-yet-public documents reviewed by ethics investigators.
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President Obama's proposed budget would add more than $9.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, congressional budget analysts said Friday. Proposed tax cuts for the middle class account for nearly a third of that shortfall.
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Federal regulators seized Waterfield Bank in Germantown on Friday night and announced that the institution would be closed after a one-month period to allow customers to remove their deposits.
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Herndon-based RCN announced Friday that it has agreed to be acquired by a private-equity investment firm in a transaction valued at $1.2 billion.
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After stalling briefly, the Democrats' jobs agenda regained momentum on Thursday as the House passed one measure designed to boost employment and the Senate pressed forward on a more ambitious bill that is expected to come to a vote next week.
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A senior Treasury Department official overseeing the financial bailout told a congressional panel Thursday that the government is not providing a blanket guarantee that it will save institutions deemed too big to fail.
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AIG Federal Savings Bank and Wilmington Finance settled Justice Department claims that they broke the law by allowing wholesale mortgage brokers to charge higher direct broker fees to black borrowers.
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Christine Foote Age: 33 Background: Foote grew up in a middle-income family in Wicomico County, Md. She has a 14-year-old daughter, Samantha.
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Greece's economy is about the same size as that of Massachusetts. The Mediterranean nation ranks 63rd among buyers of U.S. exports. Athens is 5,139 miles from Washington.
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A look at the two Maryland women who have agreed to let columnist Michelle Singletary advise them as they leave prison and start new lives.
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How about this for a new and ingenious real estate money machine? Every time a house sells during the next 99 years, 1 percent of the price goes back to the original developer or is shared among investor partners. Ka-ching!
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More Toyota drivers in the United States say their cars have sped up by themselves even after being fixed to correct the problem.
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Telecommunications equipment maker Ciena of Linthicum, Md., said it lost $53.3 million in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $24.8 million in the comparable period a year earlier, as it recorded costs from its pending acquisition of part of Nortel Networks.
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The recession may have done a number on your credit score, even if it spurred you to reform spendthrift ways and cut up your credit cards. For many, the drops have come at the same time that lenders have tightened their standards and demanded higher scores to get the best interest rates.
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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Even by the standards of a city that celebrates extravagance, it was a spectacular shopping spree: In just two weeks early last year, an 11-year-old boy from Azerbaijan became the owner of nine waterfront mansions.
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The U.S. economy showed continued signs of recovery early this year, according to data released Thursday, with retail sales rising sharply and manufacturing posting its fifth straight monthly gain.
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The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has issued a strong warning to the Defense Department over plans to award $1 billion in new contracts to the firm formerly known as Blackwater, accusing managers of the private security company of lying to win lucrative jobs in Afghanistan.
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The Treasury Department said Thursday that it sold its warrants to buy Bank of America stock for $1.54 billion, fetching a much higher price than what market analysts and federal officials expected.
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As climate change legislation stalled in the Senate, the Obama administration noted that it had a workable -- although admittedly unwieldy -- Plan B. If Congress wouldn't cap U.S. emissions, officials said, the Environmental Protection Agency would do it instead.
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Dulles-based Orbital Sciences said Thursday that it will pay $55 million in cash to buy a satellite subsidiary of Falls Church-based General Dynamics.
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HBO plans to make a television movie about the 2008 financial meltdown, based on the book "Too Big to Fail" by a New York Times journalist, the cable network said on Thursday.
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Thousands of types of processed foods -- including many varieties of soups, chips, hot dogs and salad dressings -- may pose a health threat because they contain a flavor enhancer that could be contaminated with salmonella, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
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CONCEPCION, CHILE -- In a country considered safe, democratic and increasingly egalitarian, the stores were sacked.
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The Obama administration is pushing to carve out an exemption for China and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council from legislation pending in the Senate and the House that would tighten sanctions on companies doing business in Iran, administration and congressional sources said.
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ATHENS -- With creditors demanding solutions to the Greek debt crisis and the financial world increasingly on edge, Athens on Wednesday moved to freeze pensions, cut civil service salaries and slap new taxes on everything from cigarettes and alcohol to fuel and precious gems.
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During the national furor that erupted last year after American International Group paid more than $165 million in bonuses, the voices of those vilified for receiving the payments remained silent, at least in public.
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BEIJING -- Officially, the trial of American geologist Xue Feng is about state secrets. He's accused of exporting sensitive information abroad for helping his Colorado-based employer buy a database about China's oil industry.
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Just when you thought the mess from the February snowstorms was over, it has started to obscure a clear understanding of how the economy is doing.
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The Federal Reserve proposed restrictions Wednesday on penalty fees that credit card issuers can charge consumers, including limiting the amount of late fees.
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Obama's health reform won't break the bank.
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Thousands of types of processed foods -- including many varieties of soups, chips, frozen dinners, hot dogs and salad dressings -- may pose a health threat because they contain a flavor enhancer that could be contaminated with salmonella, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
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Beginning April 1, when you go online to view your federally mandated free annual credit reports, you'll get exactly what you came for. Hopefully.
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In an unusually broad crackdown, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notified 17 food companies, including major brands such as Gerber and Nestle, that they have violated federal laws by making false or misleading claims on their product packaging.
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A group of Democratic senators called Wednesday for the government to halt a federal stimulus program aimed at building wind farms and other clean-energy projects, arguing that too much of the money spent so far has gone to create jobs overseas.
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President Obama's endorsement Wednesday of a risky legislative maneuver to complete health-care legislation sent Democratic leaders scrambling to settle policy disputes and assemble the votes necessary for passage in the coming weeks.
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As Democrats on Capitol Hill prepared a risky effort to muscle sweeping health-care legislation to final passage, President Obama on Tuesday made a last gambit to split Republicans on the issue, proposing to incorporate a handful of GOP ideas into his signature domestic initiative.
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Like a scorekeeper for the world, a tiny unit within the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks globalization's winners and losers, and the results are not always pretty for the United States. Manufacturing jobs here, for example, have fallen faster since 1979 than in Canada, Germany or Japan....
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Apple, increasingly facing tougher competition in the market for smartphones, sued the Taiwanese phonemaker HTC, accusing it of violating patents related to the iPhone.
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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley called Tuesday for more training efforts to prepare the workforce to meet an expected surge in jobs requiring certification beyond a high school diploma but less than a bachelor's degree.
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The federal government may recommend that automakers include "brake-override" systems in all new vehicles to avert the sort of runaway acceleration that has been reported in several popular Toyota models and linked to a growing number of fatal accidents.
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It's an unlikely twist after all the beatings that Democrats and Republicans have laid on the Federal Reserve over the past year.
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SAVANNAH, GA. -- President Obama on Tuesday detailed his plan to offer government rebates for home retrofitting, saying the measure would boost employment and save energy.
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Internet service providers are stepping up their campaign to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from regulating them like telephone companies and questioning the limits of the agency's power over the Internet.
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LONDON -- Seeking to quell fears of a debt default that could rattle world markets, the Greek government is set to unveil a new round of austerity measures Wednesday, a move aimed at shoring up its finances and winning support for aid from its European neighbors.
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The Carlyle Group is part of an investment group that has purchased a $550 million stake in Bermuda-based Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son, the private equity firm announced Tuesday.
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Rockville-based Human Genome Sciences reported net income of $5.7 million for 2009, compared with a net loss of $268.9 million for the previous year, thanks largely to U.S. government demand for the firm's anthrax drug, raxibacumab.
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General Motors said Tuesday that it is overhauling its North American sales operation by putting new executives in top positions.
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The chairman of the Senate banking committee is seeking Democratic support for a Republican proposal to house a new consumer-protection regulator inside the Federal Reserve, a compromise that could clear the way for bipartisan legislation on financial reform, according to sources familiar with th...
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Like a scorekeeper for the world, a tiny unit within the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks globalization's winners and losers, and the results are not always pretty for the United States. Manufacturing jobs here, for example, have fallen faster since 1979 than in Canada, Germany or Japan. Compens...
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SAN FRANCISCO -- The Obama administration Tuesday declassified an outline of a major government effort to protect its computer networks.
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Perhaps the lessons of the Great Recession are not so deep-seated after all.
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Hopes for a nuclear revival, fanned by fears of global warming and a changing political climate in Washington, are running into new obstacles over a key element -- money.
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