U.S. ‘top 40’ DJ Casey Kasem dies

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Casey Kasem, an American disc jockey and radio personality who hosted “top 40” countdown shows broadcast across the country for nearly 40 years, died on Sunday. He was 82.Kasem ― also the distinctive voice of “Shaggy” in the television hit cartoon “Scooby-Doo” ― began his popular “American Top 40” radio broadcast in 1970, counting down Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart of top hits.Stations across the country quickly picked up the up-beat show, in which top hits were played al

June 16, 2014

More car recalls from GM

The General Motors Co. headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. (Bloomberg)NEW YORK (AFP) ― General Motors announced more car recalls Friday as the total number of recalls of problematic vehicles this year neared 16.5 million.GM said the ignition keys and key fobs needed to be replace on 511,000 2011-2014 Camaros because drivers’ knees could bump the fob and cause the key to move out of the “run” position and cause the car to lose power.The issue, which has caused three crashes with four minor injurie

June 15, 2014

China housing slump sparks concerns

BEIJING (AP) ― Six months ago, China’s housing market was so red-hot that Feng Xiaowei, a sales manager at a real estate agency in the eastern city of Hangzhou, rarely took a day off.Then lending and sales curbs imposed by the government to cool soaring housing costs started to bite and business evaporated. Now Feng and the seven salespeople he supervises spend the day playing cards.“There are no buyers,” said Feng, 24. “We take three days off a week. We go out for barbecue and play poker.”China

June 15, 2014

EU takes on Apple, Starbucks

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The European Union launched a probe Wednesday into sweetheart tax deals negotiated by Apple, Starbucks and Fiat with three member states.The investigation will attempt to determine whether such arrangements offered by Ireland, Netherlands and Luxembourg give the companies an unfair competitive advantage and thus amount to illegal state aid.“In the current context of tight public budgets, it is particularly important that large multinationals pay their fair share of taxes,” EU Co

June 12, 2014

U.S. still faces challenges: Lew

WASHINGTON (AP) ― U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Wednesday that the economy should grow at much stronger rates the rest of this year as the country overcomes the impact of a harsh winter. But Lew said millions of Americans continue to struggle as unemployment remains too high and economic growth is too slow.“Evidence continues to mount that our economy is gaining traction,” Lew said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. “Nevertheless, we cannot escape the fact that millions of Am

June 12, 2014

OPEC keeps oil output ceiling on ice

VIENNA (AFP) ― OPEC, the oil exporters’ cartel, opted Wednesday to keep its output ceiling unchanged, expressing confidence in the market despite global supply strains that have kept prices high this year.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps one third of the world’s oil, said that member nations had decided to hold their collective production target at 30 million barrels per day, where it has stood since late 2011.Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s most influential player and b

June 12, 2014

‘Fragile Five’ getting stronger

NEW YORK (AP) ― Soccer fans will focus on Brazil and the start of the World Cup Thursday, but investors have been entranced by that nation’s stock market for months.Brazil has company. From Sao Paulo to Mumbai, investors are regaining their faith in emerging markets this year.It’s a big shift from 2013, when investment in those markets dried up because of worries about their slowing economic growth. It got so tough that five big developing markets ― Brazil, South Africa, India, Indonesia and Tur

June 12, 2014

U.S. OKs BP drone flights over land

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it has granted the first permission for commercial drone flights over U.S. land to the BP energy corporation, the latest effort by the agency to show it is loosening restrictions on commercial uses of the unmanned aircraft.Drone maker AeroVironment of California and BP energy corporation have been given permission to use a Puma drone to survey pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, the agency said. The first fli

June 11, 2014

World Bank cuts economic forecast on Ukraine woes

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The World Bank downgraded its forecast for the global economy this year, citing a bitter American winter and the political crisis in Ukraine. In an outlook released Tuesday, the bank still expects the world economy to grow faster ― 2.8 percent this year versus 2.4 percent in 2013. But its new estimate is weaker than the 3.2 percent expansion it had predicted in January.  Passengers on a ferry look at buildings in Lujiazui district at dusk in Shanghai. (Bloomberg)The U.S. econom

June 11, 2014

Tyson wins battle to buy Hillshire

NEW YORK (AP) ― Tyson Foods Inc. has won a bidding war to gobble up Hillshire Brands, the maker of Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park hot dogs. Tyson had been vying with rival poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride to acquire Hillshire, which wrapped up its bidding process Sunday. Tyson’s final offer ended up at $63 per share, about two weeks after Pilgrim’s Pride made an initial bid of $45 per share. Pilgrim’s Pride, which is owned by Brazilian meat giant JBS, said Monday that it was bowing out of the

June 10, 2014