Top Business News

Reuters - A key U.S. banking regulator raised concern on Wednesday about the risk of "exposure" the government is taking on in the mortgage market and urged more stringent standards for underwriting mortgages.

Reuters - Lloyds Banking Group is to sell its stake in bank-owned housebuilder Crest Nicholson for 150 million pounds ($232 million), the Financial Times said on Thursday.

Reuters - BP Plc and its Gulf of Mexico oil well partners traded blame on Wednesday after an internal BP investigation tried to downplay the company's role in the world's biggest offshore spill.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, fighting to keep Democrats in charge of Congress, said on Wednesday the United States could not afford to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the rich and accused Republicans of being fiscally irresponsible.

AP - North Dakota regulators on Wednesday endorsed most of an Xcel Energy Inc. plan for selling its renewable energy credits and sharing the money with its electric customers in the state.

AFP - President Barack Obama admitted Wednesday if US voters in the upcoming midterm elections make their choices based on their opinion of the economy, his Democratic Party could be in big trouble.

Reuters - Google Inc's search engine now displays results before users finish typing.

AP - Plastic sheet and packaging maker Spartech Corp. reported a net loss for its fiscal third quarter on Wednesday and said that despite higher revenue, the overall market recover is slower than expected.

Investor's Business Daily - The 2010 elections took a turn toward austerity on Wednesday, with President Obama calling for tax hikes on high earners and Republicans backing spending cuts.

AP - Politically weakened but refusing to bend, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that Bush-era tax cuts be cut off for the wealthiest Americans, joining battle with Republicans — and some fellow Democrats — just two months before bruising midterm elections.

Reuters - BP Plc and its Gulf of Mexico oil well partners traded blame on Wednesday after an internal BP investigation tried to downplay the company's role in the world's biggest offshore spill.

Reuters - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday the United States needed more incentives to stimulate job growth and bolster a slow recovery from a "savage" recession.

AP - ECONOMY LOSES SPEED: A Federal Reserve survey found "widespread signs" that economic growth had slowed in the late summer.

AP - Stronger demand is helping Smithfield Foods emerge from a long period of weak prices with historically high ingredient costs. The company said stronger demand, coupled with $125 million in annual cost savings from a restructuring plan, should make 2011 profitable.

AP - Highlights from the Federal Reserve's survey of economic conditions nationwide. The survey, released Wednesday and known as the Beige Book, is based on information collected from the Fed's 12 regional bank districts.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors latched onto positive news out of Europe in the latest in a string of low-volume sessions suggesting little confidence in market direction.

AFP - The US economic recovery is showing "widespread" signs of slowing, the US Federal Reserve warned Wednesday, as it gears up for a key policy meeting later this month.

AP - Coffee prices hit a 13-year high Wednesday, extending a rally that has sent prices up about 43 percent in the past three months.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, fighting to keep Democrats in charge of Congress, said on Wednesday the United States could not afford to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the rich and accused Republicans of being fiscally irresponsible.

AP - General Motors' new CEO told employees that the automaker needs to make cars and trucks that are better than those of competitors such as BMW.