Apple Inc. is preparing a new lineup of thinner MacBook laptops running on more powerful chips made by Intel Corp., people with knowledge of the plans said. The MacBook Pro machines, to be unveiled at Apple’s annual developers conference starting June 11, also will feature high- definition screens like those on the iPhone and iPad, as well as flash memory to cut startup times and extend battery life, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Appl

May 15, 2012

Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak said he will buy shares in Facebook Inc. when the social networking company sells stock to the public in what may be a record initial public offering for an Internet business. Wozniak, who built the first Apple computer with Steve Jobs and co-founded the company with him in 1976, said he would buy Facebook’s stock regardless of its valuation.  Facebook plans to raise as much as $11.8 billion in an IPO scheduled for May 17 in what would be the biggest in histor

May 14, 2012

3 execs may depart after $2 billion trading loss, source saysNEW YORK (AP) ― JPMorgan Chase is expected to accept the resignation of one of the highest-ranking women on Wall Street after the bank lost $2 billion in a trading blunder, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday. The bank will accept the resignation of Ina Drew, its chief investment officer, the person told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the decision pub

May 14, 2012

BERLIN (AP) ― Germany’s finance minister has made it clear that he is prepared to become chairman of the so-called eurogroup, a position that involves chairing eurozone finance ministers’ regular meetings.Wolfgang Schaeuble has frequently been linked to the job, and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker ― who says he won’t seek another term leading the eurogroup ― has described him as an “ideal candidate.”Schaeuble has told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper that national leaders must d

May 14, 2012

Greece’s possible exit from the euro area moved to the center of Europe’s debt-crisis debate, with officials beginning to weigh the fallout of a withdrawal even as authorities in Athens struggled to form a government. Meetings brokered by Greek President Karolos Papoulias are set to continue Monday after Syriza, the largest anti-bailout party, rejected a unity government following last week’s inconclusive elections. The country where the 2 1/2-year-old crisis began moved closer to a new vote, an

May 14, 2012

The biggest rally in three years for luxury-goods makers in Europe is fizzling on concern slower economic growth in China and renewed euro-area political turmoil after Greece’s inconclusive election will choke off demand. The nine-company Bloomberg European Luxury Goods Index, whose clothiers and watchmakers get 34 percent of sales from Asia, tumbled 5.5 percent over the past five days, the largest decline since Nov. 24, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated 2.5 p

May 13, 2012

BEIJING (AP) ― China’s central bank announced Saturday a reduction in the amount of reserves that banks must hold in an effort to spur lending and revive a sharply flagging economy. The 0.5 percentage point cut in the banks’ required reserve by the People’s Bank of China starting May 18 frees up billions of dollars for lending. It follows the release of statistics in the past week that showed the economy slowing more rapidly than economists ― and perhaps the government ― expected. A slowdown in

May 13, 2012

MADRID (AP) ― At least 100,000 Spaniards angered by grim economic prospects and the political handling of the international financial crisis turned out for street demonstrations in the country’s cities Saturday, marking the one-year anniversary of a movement that inspired similar pressure groups in other countries.Tens of thousands of protesters in Madrid flooded into the central Puerta del Sol plaza in the evening and aimed to stay for three days. But authorities warned they wouldn’t allow anyo

May 13, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services each downgraded their assessment of America’s biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., on Friday. The rating agencies’ move comes a day after JPMorgan disclosed a surprise $2 billion trading loss in a portfolio designed to hedge against risks the company takes with its own money. Fitch said the size of the loss is manageable but the risk it brings is not. The magnitude of the loss and JPMorgan’s hedging position imply a lack of liqu

May 13, 2012

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker from 2008 to 2010, sold the most cars and trucks in the world in the first three months of the year as it made up for production lost to natural disasters in Asia. Sales of Toyota, Lexus, Scion, Hino and Daihatsu models rose 18 percent to 2.49 million in the quarter, the company said in a U.S. regulatory filing. That puts the Toyota City, Japan-based automaker ahead of Detroit-based General Motors Co.’s 2.28 million and Volkswagen AG’s 2.16 milli

May 11, 2012