May 22, 2013

Business News

US Treasury Reports $113B Surplus in April

Posted: 05/10/13 - The U.S. Treasury says it took in a surplus of $113 billion in April, the largest in five years. That lowered the federal deficit through the first seven months of the budget year and kept it on pace to be the smallest since 2008. Read More

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Economic News

  • Bernanke, Defending 'Easy Money,' Warns of Fiscal-Policy Drag
    Bernanke defended the Fed's easy-money policies in testimony before Congress, saying it has yielded "significant benefits" for the economy but warned that it can't offset the drag on growth presented by federal budget belt-tightening.
  • Recession Spurs Grass-Roots Push in Europe
    Rather than tune out a political system plagued by allegations of cronyism and wasteful spending, Spaniards are turning to grass-roots activism.
  • Court to Question Lagarde
    IMF chief Christine Lagarde is set to appear for questioning at a special court in Paris on Thursday as part of a criminal probe into whether public funds were misused when she served previously as France's finance minister.
  • Clegg Urges U.K. Coalition to Stop Infighting
    The U.K. deputy prime minister risks irking Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition partners in a speech Wednesday by saying infighting over EU membership and same-sex marriage legislation is an unwelcome distraction from fixing the economy.
  • Swiss Franc Falls as SNB Chief Holds Firm
    The Swiss franc sank to a two-year low after Thomas Jordan, president of the country's central bank, said that he was open to the idea of weakening the currency further and would consider negative interest rates.
  • Italy Considers Job 'Handoffs' to Young
    Italy is considering allowing older workers to reduce their work hours while mentoring younger employees as a way to bring down youth unemployment.
  • Bundesbank Sounds Upbeat Note
    The German economy is due to recover at a stronger clip this quarter, but the euro-zone debt crisis remains a significant risk, Germany's central bank wrote.
  • U.K. Inflation Cools
    U.K. inflation slowed in April, but with prices still rising much faster than wages, there are fears that a continued squeeze on consumers' spending power could hold back an economic recovery.
  • Ireland Defends Corporate Tax System
    The Irish government denied it is sheltering some of the world's largest corporations from paying taxes, saying the country's long-standing low corporation tax regime is transparent and doesn't make it a tax haven.
  • Developed Economies Post Slight Growth
    Developed economies returned to growth in the first three months of the year, although the euro zone continued to lag behind the U.S. and Japan, according to figures released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

US Business News

  • Apple CEO Calls for Corporate Tax Reform
    Tim Cook challenged Senate investigators who reported Apple paid no corporate income tax on tens of billions of dollars in overseas income over the past four years and urged reforms.
  • Target's Quarter Lacks Spring
    Target posted a 29% drop in quarterly earnings and lowered its outlook, citing weak sales in seasonal and weather-related categories.
  • Cooler Weather Hurts Lowe's
    Lowe's net profit rose 2.5% as the home-improvement retailer reported slightly lower expenses, but revenue was almost flat and results missed Street estimates.
  • CEO of Popular Seeks IOC Presidency
    The chairman and CEO of Puerto Rico's Popular declared his candidacy to become president of the International Olympic Committee.
  • Broad Reshuffle at HTC
    Several senior executives at HTC have left the company in recent weeks, signaling a broader management shake-up at the struggling smartphone maker and putting a spotlight on CEO Peter Chou.
  • Lower Sales Hit Staples Profit
    Staples said quarterly profit fell 9.2% as the office-supplies retailer's North American and European same-store sales continued to weaken.
  • Clearwire Backs New Sprint Offer
    Clearwire said a special board committee approved Sprint Nextel's latest offer for the wireless broadband provider and recommended shareholders vote for the deal.
  • Utility CEOs Slam EU Energy Policy
    The chief executives of eight leading energy utilities criticized the European Union's political leaders for the bloc's fragmented energy policy, calling for a more favorable market environment to encourage investment in energy infrastructure.
  • Dimon Strengthens Grip at J.P. Morgan
    J.P. Morgan shareholders rejected a proposal to split James Dimon's dual roles as chief executive and chairman, and re-elected all the members of the bank's board.
  • Ford to Increase North American Output
    Ford plans to increase its North American manufacturing capacity by 200,000 vehicles through a series of production-line expansions and a shortening of its summer shutdowns.