Wikipedia, Google protest Internet bills

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Wikipedia went dark, Google blotted out its logo and other popular websites planned protests on Wednesday to voice concern over legislation in the U.S. Congress intended to crack down on online piracy.Wikipedia shut down the English version of its online encyclopedia for 24 hours to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate version, the Protect IP Act.Google placed a black redaction box over the logo on its much-visited U.S. h

Jan. 19, 2012

U.S. factory output gives economy a lift

Industrial output rises 0.4 percent; producer  prices fall in December, but core prices increaseWASHINGTON (AP) ― U.S. factories are roaring back from the depths of the recession, cranking out more machinery, vehicles and energy.Factory production has surged 15 percent above its lows of 2 and half years ago and is helping drive the economy’s recovery.A jump in manufacturing output last month coincided with other data suggesting that the economy began 2012 with renewed vigor. Wholesale prices are

Jan. 19, 2012

Greece heads into talks as German growth falters

ATHENS (AFP) ― Greece launched fresh talks Wednesday with private creditors amid hopes for a deal to give the beleaguered eurozone a much-needed boost, as powerhouse Germany cut its 2012 growth forecast.“Our estimation is that we might have an agreement before the end of the week,” a finance ministry official told journalists after Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Prime Minister Lucas Papademos resumed talks with Charles Dallara, head of the Institute of International Finance and lead ne

Jan. 19, 2012

Average age of U.S. vehicles hits record 10.8 years

DETROIT (AP) ― That clunker in America’s driveway has reached a record old age, but there are signs that people may be growing confident enough in the economy to get a whiff of that fresh new car scent very soon. The average age of a car or truck in the U.S. hit a record 10.8 years last year as job security and other economic worries kept many people from making big-ticket purchases such as a new car. That’s up from the old record of 10.6 years in 2010, and it and continues a trend that dates to

Jan. 18, 2012

Airbus takes record orders in 2011, beating Boeing

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) ― Airbus took in a record number of orders for new commercial aircraft last year as strong demand for its revamped single-aisle plane helped it best U.S. rival Boeing Co. in the race for orders for the fourth year running. The European jet maker said Tuesday that it took in 1,419 net new orders in 2011, worth $140 billion, well above Boeing’s total of 805 aircraft. That topped the previous record of 1,413 net orders recorded by Boeing in 2007. Airbus also delivered 534 airc

Jan. 18, 2012

World Bank warns global growth will likely slow

Bank forecasts global economy will expand 2.5%, developing countries will grow 5.4% this yearWASHINGTON (AP) ― A recession in Europe and weaker growth in India, Brazil and other developing countries will likely slow global economic growth, the World Bank said Tuesday.In its annual report, the bank substantially cut its forecasts for growth in both developed and poorer nations. It now projects that the global economy will expand 2.5 percent this year and 3.1 percent in 2013. That’s down from a Ju

Jan. 18, 2012

Electronics frenzy tops $1 trillion

Sales of consumer electronics from smartphones to digital cameras will exceed $1 trillion for the first time this year, driving tin consumption higher just as stockpiles of the metal slump to a 33-month low. Demand will outpace supply for a third consecutive year, with the 9,400-metric-ton shortage seen by ITRI Ltd., a St. Albans, England-based industry group, enough to make about 9 billion mobile phones. London Metal Exchange inventories fell 52 percent since August to the lowest since April 20

Jan. 17, 2012

U.S. retail group forecasts growth for 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― The nation’s largest retail trade group expects a solid 3.4 percent increase in sales this year, below last year’s 4.7 percent increase as job woes weigh on shoppers. Sales should reach $2.53 trillion in 2012, up from last year’s $2.45 trillion, boosted in part by higher prices across all goods, according to a report today from the National Retail Federation. The 3.4 percent bump would still outpace the 10-year annual average increase of almost 3.1 percent and would also mark a t

Jan. 17, 2012

Feisty Sarkozy shrugs off French credit downgrade

MADRID (AP) _ French President Nicolas Sarkozy has bluntly declared that a harsh downgrade by Standard & Poor's of France's formerly top-rung debt rating ``changes nothing'' for the eurozone's No. 2 economy. Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, speaks during a news conference with Mariano Rajoy

Jan. 17, 2012

European retailers rise on glimmers of stabilization

European consumer-discretionary companies such as Marks & Spencer Group Plc are outperforming consumer-staple businesses including Nestle SA, indicating investors’ forecasts for the region’s economy were too pessimistic. Investors have pushed shares of the discretionary group higher in recent weeks as concerns about another prolonged recession have moderated, according to Robert Griffiths, a London-based pan-European equity strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. These stocks historicall

Jan. 16, 2012

Japan’s machinery orders jump 14.8%

Japan’s machinery orders rebounded in November, signaling that companies are willing to invest even as the yen remains strong and the global economy slows. Bookings, an indicator of future capital spending, rose 15 percent in November from a month earlier, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo Monday. The median estimate of 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 5.1 percent increase. Weak overseas demand and gains in the yen have cut profits at Japanese exporters from Nippon Steel Corp. t

Jan. 16, 2012

Iran warns Gulf Arabs on oil supply

Raising new concerns, Iran warns Gulf Arab producers to not ramp up productionCAIRO (AP) ― Iran warned Gulf Arab oil producers against boosting production to offset any potential drop in Tehran’s crude exports in the event of an embargo affecting its oil sales, the latest salvo in the dispute between the West and the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program. The comments by Iran’s OPEC governor, published Sunday, came as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister was quoted the same day denying that his count

Jan. 16, 2012

‘French Steve Jobs’ shakes up mobile phone market

PARIS (AFP) ― Hailed as the French Steve Jobs, entrepreneur Xavier Niel is shaking up the country’s mobile phone market with a maverick style far removed from France’s traditionally conservative business practices.A rare business heavyweight not to emerge from the country’s elite universities, Niel started his career in the 1980s operating adult chat services on a French forerunner to the Internet called Minitel.In 2002 he launched Freeview, a pioneering set-top box that offered combined Interne

Jan. 15, 2012