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Closing of San Onofre seen as setback for nuclear power

 June 16, 2013; Updated: 12:59 am

Washington - Edison International's decision to abandon its San Onofre nuclear plant in California is the latest blow for an industry facing questions about its long-term survival.

Want more time off? Some employers will let you buy it

 June 16, 2013; Updated: 12:59 am

Washington - Want more time off work to hang out at the beach? Need a little cash and have vacation days to spare?
Some companies allow their workers to buy and sell vacation time, a perk that gives...

Maiden flight

 June 15, 2013; Updated: 11:28 pm

Flight test-crew members Peter Chandler, Patrick Du-Che, Guy Magrin, Emanuele Costanzo, Fernando Alonso and Pacal Verneau wave to onlookers Friday after the maiden flight of the Airbus A350 at Blagnac airport near Toulouse, southwestern France. The...

EUROPE LOOKS TO EASE UNEMPLOYMENT

 June 15, 2013; Updated: 11:03 pm

Economic and labor ministers from France, Germany, Italy and Spain are meeting in Rome to find a way to reduce record youth unemployment. Italian Premier Enrico Letta has made finding jobs for the young one of the battle cries of his new...

KODAK ENDING PRODUCTION OF ACETATE FILM BASE

 June 15, 2013; Updated: 11:03 pm

Eastman Kodak Co. says it's ending in-house production of one of the key components of camera film and cutting 61 jobs. The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester reports that Kodak plans to shut down its acetate base manufacturing operations next...

Authorities will seek to crack down on the theft of smartphones

 June 15, 2013; Updated: 11:03 pm

Seeking to curb a nationwide increase in smartphone thefts, New York's attorney general and San Francisco's district attorney on Thursday announced an initiative to push the industry to develop technologies that will discourage theft and dry up...

Flight of fancy

 June 13, 2013; Updated: 11:35 pm

Two men watch a remote-controlled flying bike with a test dummy during its presentation in Prague on Wednesday. Three Czech companies have teamed up to make a prototype of an electric bicycle that can fly. Controlled remotely, the bike carrying a...

Human Genome Project paid off in $966 billion life sciences boom

 June 13, 2013; Updated: 10:24 pm

The $14.5 billion U.S. investment in the Human Genome Project, completed a decade ago, has paid off more than 60-fold in new jobs, drugs and a rapidly expanding genetics industry, an analysis has found.

The endeavor to map human DNA in its...

Executives more optimistic about hiring

 June 13, 2013; Updated: 10:24 pm

Washington - Chief executives for the largest U.S. companies are more optimistic about sales over the next six months and plan to add more workers.

The Business Roundtable said Wednesday that its April-June quarterly survey...

H&R Block fourth-quarter profit rises

 June 13, 2013; Updated: 11:33 pm

H&R Block Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter net income jumped 13 percent as cost cutting helped offset a difficult tax season, but the results missed market expectations. The tax preparation company says it faced new hurdles with...

Facebook decides to introduce hashtags

 June 13, 2013; Updated: 11:33 pm

Facebook is introducing hashtags, the number signs used on Twitter, Instagram and other services to identify topics being discussed and allow users to search for them.
Facebook Inc. said in a blog post...

Royal infant may help U.K. economy

 June 13, 2013; Updated: 11:37 pm

SPECIAL DELIVERY: British officials are hoping that the impending royal birth will produce a bouncing baby buoy for the economy. The Duchess of Cambridge is due to give birth to an heir to the throne next month.

P&G plans to inundate New York with samples

 June 13, 2013; Updated: 11:35 pm

Procter & Gamble is planning to blanket Manhattan on June 19, giving away thousands of its trial-size products as the world's largest consumer product makers aims to build awareness about its brands.

More quitting jobs, a sign of confidence

 June 12, 2013; Updated: 11:16 pm

Washington - More Americans are quitting their jobs, suggesting many are growing more confident in the job market.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that the number of people who quit their jobs in April jumped 7.2 percent to...

Opting for overdrafts means higher fees, consumer panel says

 June 12, 2013; Updated: 11:16 pm

Washington - A U.S. agency says consumers who opt for overdraft coverage on their checking accounts pay higher fees and are more likely to have their accounts closed than those who decline it.

A report by the Consumer Financial...

Comcast's new X2 platform saves TV shows online

 June 12, 2013; Updated: 11:16 pm

Washington - Worried about filling up your DVR? The nation's largest cable TV provider, Comcast Corp., is unveiling a new, compact set-top box that does away with the hard drive and saves your TV shows online.

The as-yet-unnamed box,...

Dole Food gets offer from CEO

 June 12, 2013; Updated: 11:16 pm

Dole Food Co. Chairman and CEO David Murdock and his family are offering to buy the business with a bid that values the entire company at more than $1 billion. Murdock and other family members are offering $12 per share for the stock...

Things are looking up

 June 11, 2013; Updated: 11:45 pm

A man glances upward Monday next to the day's chart of Tokyo's Nikkei 225, the regional heavyweight, that soared 636.67 points, or 4.94 percent, to 13,514.20 in front of a securities firm in Tokyo. Asian markets rose after U.S. jobs data helped...

McDonald's says cheap eats helped lift sales

 June 11, 2013; Updated: 11:16 pm

New York (AP) - Cheap eats and new menu items helped McDonald's boost a key sales figure in May, bouncing back from a decline the previous month.

The world's biggest hamburger chain said Monday that global sales rose 2.6 percent at...

Long Island airport going international?

 June 11, 2013; Updated: 11:34 pm

A politician is urging the federal government to allow a customs facility at Long Island's MacArthur Airport so it could provide international flights.
Sen. Charles Schumer says airport officials...

Honda Odyssey air bags investigated

 June 11, 2013; Updated: 11:35 pm

U.S. safety regulators have added about 320,000 older model Honda Odyssey minivans to a widening probe of faulty air bags that affects at least three automakers and more than 2 million vehicles. Front air bags on the Honda Motor Co.

AT&T push-to-talk service for iPhone launched

 June 11, 2013; Updated: 11:33 pm

AT&T is adding a walkie-talkie-like application to the iPhone for its corporate customers, replicating a hallmark feature of the Nextel network, which is being shut down this summer.
AT&T has...

Offering a softer landing for retirees

 June 9, 2013; Updated: 1:00 am

Muscatine, Iowa - There is an oft-told story about what happens when a worker at the Stanley Consultants engineering firm decides to retire.

"They say you have the retirement party one day and you come back to work the next," said...

Wal-Mart plans $15B more in stock buybacks

 June 8, 2013; Updated: 11:42 pm

Fayetteville, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced a $15 billion share buyback program at its annual meeting on Friday, as the world's largest retailer faces increasing scrutiny from investors over how it has handled allegations of...

Most new jobs pay less-than-average wages

 June 8, 2013; Updated: 11:42 pm

Washington - Occupations paying below-average wages accounted for more than half of last month's U.S. payroll increase, a dynamic that may restrain consumer spending and the economic recovery.

Retailers, the hospitality...

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