APEC econ mins vow to offset EU woes with growth

Asia-Pacific finance ministers agreed to push ahead with efforts to boost growth and trade, and to fend off financial crisis through reforms, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday.
The government debt crisis in Europe remains the central challenge to global growth, Geithner said ahead of a Pacific rim summit this weekend that encompasses economic giants […]

Collectibles market has been hit hard

The economic downturn hit the collectibles market hard.
Prices tumbled and many collectible items were not even put up for sale because owners who had purchased them during the price run-up feared offers would be too low. Many potential buyers were too shell-shocked to make any financial moves of any kind.
Only now, as investors thrash about […]

APNewsBreak: Party member urges Greek PM to resign

A senior Greek governing party lawmaker says he will not support the government in a critical confidence vote unless Prime Minister George Papandreou pledges to resign over the weekend and start talks on a caretaker government.
The lawmaker made the comment to The Associated Press hours before the Friday confidence vote, speaking on condition of anonymity […]

Sarkozy scrambles to salvage Cannes summit

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will hold emergency talks Wednesday with European leaders in a last-ditch bid to salvage his Group of 20 meeting of world leaders this week after the shock decision by Greece’s prime minister to put his country’s financial rescue to a popular vote.
Sarkozy’s summit in the sun on the Cote d’Azur now […]

Putin praises himself as ‘most hardworking’ leader

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has praised himself as Russia’s “most hardworking” leader since World War II.
In his first lengthy interview since last month’s announcement that he will seek a third presidential term, the 59-year-old prime minister said that Communist-era leaders were not physically capable and did not have “the will” to run the country […]

Dollar cost averaging smooths out volatility

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could smooth out all the rough spots in your personal investments?
Many investors have wondered just that during this frenetic market year that is constantly being buffeted by world events. Too often, they boldly invest when stock prices are high, then fearfully halt their investing or sell their holdings altogether […]

Dexia shares plummet after partial nationalization

Shares in embattled bank Dexia plummeted 33 percent when they resumed trading Monday after the lender became the first major victim of a worsening credit squeeze in Europe.
Shares slid to 0.57 euro Monday afternoon in Brussels. They had been suspended Thursday as governments in Belgium, Luxembourg and France were figuring out how to save the […]

Chemical makers say BPA no longer used in bottles

Makers of the controversial chemical bisphenol-A have asked federal regulators to phase out rules that allow its use in baby bottles and sippy cups, saying those products haven’t contained the plastic-hardening ingredient for two years.
The unusual request from the American Chemistry Council may help quash years of negative publicity from consumer groups and head off […]

Apple unveils new iPhone 4S

CUPERTINO, CALIF.

Ford’s success stirs UAW resentment in labor talks

Ford’s turnaround over the last five years has resulted in big profits and won its CEO a reputation for brilliant management.
But those same achievements are stirring resentment among many of its factory workers. And that is complicating contract talks between the company and its union employees.
At The Rouge, Ford’s massive, 94-year-old factory complex in Dearborn, […]