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A U.N. report forecasts a return to growth in Asian economies and trade in 2010. But U.N. economists recommend Asian governments increase trade within the region and become less dependent on markets such as the United States and Europe. The report by the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific says Asia’s […]

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Newspaper sales moved sharply lower this year, falling about 10 percent in the six months ended Sept. 30 compared to the same period last year, according to figures released on Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulation.
Circulation has been sliding since the early 1990s, but in the last few years, the pace of the decline […]

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LOS ANGELES — Hugh Hefner leaned back on a red loveseat, the saggy one in the study of his infamous mansion here, and interlocked his fingers behind his head. A visitor had asked — more like shouted, since he has trouble hearing — a question about mortality.
At 83, does he think about it?
In a word, […]

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Shares on Wall Street began the day trading higher Wednesday as third-quarter earnings reports once again set the tone for the market.
Investors continue to look for clues about consumers’ habits and the economy’s health.
Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Company and US Bancorp all reported better results for the third quarter. However, the three financial firms […]

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NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc reported higher third-quarter profit as aggressive cost-cutting helped offset unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates and declining sales of drugs, including those facing competition from cheaper generics.
The world’s biggest drugmaker, which completed its $67.3 billion acquisition of Wyeth last week, posted a net profit of $2.88 billion, or […]

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian shares rose to 14-month highs on Thursday as upbeat retail sales and surprisingly bullish earnings reports in the United States buoyed risk appetite, pushing the U.S. dollar to a 14-month low.
Shares in Japan jumped more than 2 percent as investors bought exporters who might benefit from rising U.S. demand […]

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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Gold received a lukewarm reception a day after racing to a record high, with consumers in Asia more likely to be cashing in than panic buying.
Profit taking — read selling — replaced gold purchases that in New York and across Europe on Tuesday had swept spot bullion through the March 2008 […]

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LAW enforcement policy in the United States rests implicitly on the “rational actor” model of traditional economics, which holds that people take only those actions whose benefits exceed their costs.
This model says that crime will be deterred if the expected punishment is strong enough — a prediction that has not been borne out in […]

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Orders for manufactured goods like airplanes and machinery fell unexpectedly in August, the government reported on Friday, providing another sign that the recovery could be long and uneven.
New orders of durable goods slid by a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent from July, reflecting a 40 percent monthly decrease in orders of civilian aircraft. Orders of computers, […]

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NEW YORK — Last Tuesday, Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader of the U.S. Senate, was asked by a reporter to appraise the odds that Congress, in the throes of debating health care changes, would manage to pass climate legislation in 2009 — including provisions for an emissions cap-and-trade plan.
“So, you know, […]

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World trade and climate change are the two most prominent issues at the summit talks in Pittsburgh Thursday and Friday of the G-20, the influential group that brings together key members of the developing world and the big economic powers. Agreements on trade and global warming have been out of reach so far, at least […]

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European leaders are set to endorse a call for more government control over bankers’ pay ahead of the Group of 20 summit meeting next week in Pittsburgh.
In a statement expected to be adopted at a European Union meeting in Brussels on Thursday evening, the leaders called on G-20 members to stand by commitments made […]

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Workers at Opel, German politicians and customers of Canada's Magna expressed concern on Friday about whether General Motors' decision to sell a majority of Opel to Magna and Russia's Sberbank will turn out to be a favorable deal.
Many of their questions about state aid and possible plant closures remained unanswered, however, […]

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PARIS — A feud between public broadcasters in Europe and their private-sector rivals is getting nastier.
The European Commission said last week that it was investigating hundreds of millions of euros worth of state aid to the French public broadcaster, France Télévisions.
The move follows complaints from commercial TV companies about a new tax to help […]

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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) — The number of people hitting the road for Labor Day weekend is expected to be sharply down from last year, the Automobile Club of Southern California said on Tuesday.
On most roadways, traffic is expected to be lighter this holiday weekend, due to a combination of the sluggish economy […]

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As it did for most of the week, Wall Street spent Thursday searching for direction.
The main indexes spent Thursday morning in the red but climbed into positive territory after an afternoon rebound in oil prices and the energy sector.
Encouraging pieces of economic data on employment and gross domestic product failed to impress investors, as they […]

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil rose nearly $1 toward $74 a barrel on Friday, after earlier hitting 2009 highs, as data in the United States promised economic recovery and a potential revival in energy demand.
Home sales data for July showed recovery in the U.S. housing market, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that […]

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Wall Street rose on Thursday, even as signs of continuing weakness in the job market sapped some of the momentum from big gains in overseas trading.
Financial shares led the way higher on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 70.89 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 9,350.05, and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock […]

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Filed at 10:06 a.m. ET
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Sears Holding Corp <SHLD.O> reported a surprise quarterly loss that dimmed investors’ hopes that Chairman Eddie Lampert could succeed in turning around the struggling retailer.
The company’s cost cuts, its main focus, failed to keep pace with declining revenue, sending it to a loss of 17 cents per […]

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Consumers, the cornerstone of U.S. economic activity, are still in disarray, data and central bank measures signaled on Monday, as households struggle amid the worst recession since the Great Depression.
The Federal Reserve announced the extension of programs to boost consumer lending, while credit-card issuers showed that people are increasingly having […]

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