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Wall Street marks best month in a year in July (Reuters) (Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:45:12 GMT) 

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 28, 2010. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidReuters - U.S. stocks closed little changed on Friday, but Wall Street wrapped up its best month in a year after the earnings season rounded the final turn with a group of strong results that offset the impact of poor economic data.


UK's Osborne urges banks to lend, restrain bonuses (Reuters) (Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:40:37 GMT) New!
Reuters - British finance minister George Osborne urged the country's banks to use strong first-half profits to boost business lending rather than pay large bonuses, in an interview published late on Saturday.
Eurazeo in exclusive B&B Hotels talks with Carlyle (Reuters) (Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:38:22 GMT) 
Reuters - French financial holding firm Eurazeo said on Saturday it is in exclusive talks to sell its B&B Hotels chain to U.S. private equity firm the Carlyle Group.
BP may sell German gas stations for $2.6 billion: report (Reuters) (Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:35:24 GMT) 
Reuters - BP Plc is seeking to sell its German petrol station chain Aral for around 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), German magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported on Saturday, citing investment bankers familiar with BP's plans.
Jobs data, earnings latest test for stocks (Reuters) (Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:46:17 GMT) 
Reuters - U.S. stocks are unlikely to break above a key technical level next week unless monthly jobs data and consumer company results paint a more promising picture of the recovery.
Citigroup paying $75M to settle civil charges (AP) (Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:50:15 GMT) 

A man pictured at a branch of Citibank at the US banking giant Citigroup's world headquarters on Park Avenue, New York, in 2008. Citigroup on Friday said it made a 2.7 billion dollar profit in the second quarter of this year, down nearly 40 percent from the same period last year.(AFP/File/Emmanuel Dunand)AP - Banking titan Citigroup Inc. is paying $75 million to settle civil charges that it misled investors about its potential losses from subprime mortgages as the housing bust hit in 2007.


Bleak outlook for economy as growth slows (AP) (Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:53:39 GMT) 

In this photograph taken July 22, 2010, employees sort garlic cloves at the Christopher Ranch, in Gilroy, Calif. The recovery lost momentum in the second quarter as growth slowed to a 2.4 percent pace, its most sluggish showing in nearly a year and too weak to drive down unemployment. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)AP - The economy is still growing, just not by much. And until that changes, don't look for the jobs to come back.


ICICI Bank profit up 17 percent on better loans (AP) (Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:18:37 GMT) 
AP - ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank, said quarterly profit rose 17 percent as it cut costs and eliminated bad loans amid revived credit demand in India's growing economy.
Greece turns to military to restore fuel supplies (AP) (Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:36:30 GMT) 

Protesting truck drivers hold a Greek flag as they protest in central Athens on Friday, July 30, 2010. Defying an emergency government order, Greek truck drivers vowed Friday to press ahead with a protest that has halted fuel supplies across the country and is hurting tourism at peak season.The protesters rejected a compromise offer by the government to offset the financial impact of liberalizing their closed-shop profession.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)AP - Greece said Friday it will use military trucks, navy vessels and commandeered fuel tankers to restore gasoline supplies cut by a strike that has hurt the country's industry and vital tourism trade at the height of vacation season.


Cuomo widens insurer probe with 6 more subpoenas (Reuters) (Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:32:25 GMT) 

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo attends a news conference in New York in this June 30, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Mike SegarReuters - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed six more insurers as the state widens a probe into whether life insurance companies have defrauded families of deceased members of the military.


Champagne corks popping again in luxury business (AFP) (Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:05:13 GMT) New!

File photo shows a woman walking past a store of sportsgear maker Puma. Champagne corks are popping again in the luxury business as AFP - Champagne corks are popping again in the luxury business as "It" bags and expensive watches this year sell like hotcakes from Beijing to New York, signalling the turning of a page after the global financial crisis.


Soaring e-book sales speak volumes (AFP) (Sun, 01 Aug 2010 05:54:43 GMT) New!

File photo shows online retail giant Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos unveiling the Kindle DX in New York. Amazon, by slashing the price of the Kindle at the end of July 2010, is hoping to turn the electronic book reader into a device with mass market appeal, one for AFP - After years of lurking in the literary wilderness, the e-book market has exploded with online retailer Amazon.com's digital volumes recently overtaking sales of their hardcover counterparts.


Michigan voters search for economic savior (AP) (Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:23:57 GMT) 

President Barack Obama addresses employees at the Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)AP - Michigan voters frustrated over lost jobs, home foreclosures and budget deficits will vote in Tuesday's primary election for leaders they hope can move the state out of its economic morass.


Coast Guard allows toxic chemical use on Gulf oil (AP) (Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:05:40 GMT) New!

Oil containment boom is seen with fresh oil near Comfort Island, in Yscloskey, La. Saturday, July 31, 2010. On shore, BP, Halliburton and Transocean are engaging in a billion-dollar blame game over the blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. At sea, they're depending on each other to finally plug up the environmental disaster. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni)AP - The U.S. Coast Guard has routinely approved BP requests to use thousands of gallons of toxic chemical a day to break up oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico despite a federal directive that the chemicals be used only rarely on surface waters, congressional investigators said Saturday after examining BP and government documents.


Debate on death and taxes heats up as billionaires fall (AFP) (Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:01:47 GMT) New!

A scoreboard displays a photo of George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees during his memorial ceremony on July 16, 2010 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. The question of death and taxes has risen to the fore in Washington as the demise of prominent billionaires has underscored a fluke which allows big estates to escape taxes, but only for this year.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Al Bello)AFP - The question of death and taxes has risen to the fore in Washington as the demise of prominent billionaires has underscored a fluke which allows big estates to escape taxes, but only for this year.


Fiat boss shakes up Italian labour (AFP) (Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:46:08 GMT) New!

Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne is shaking up labour relations in Italy by strong-arming unions as he aims to create a global megagroup with US automaker Chrysler.(AFP/File/Alberto Pizzoli)AFP - Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne is shaking up labour relations in Italy by strong-arming unions as he aims to create a global megagroup with US automaker Chrysler.


The Rebirth of Prague's Vltava River (BusinessWeek) (Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:08:41 GMT) 
BusinessWeek - When Petr Vojak was deciding where to settle down with his family last year, his aim was clear. He wanted somewhere peaceful yet central. Eventually, they decided on a new flat in a northern district along the Vltava river, which flows through Prague.