BUSINESS NEWS

• Kroger reports $875M 3Q loss on charge at CA chain

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 4:57 pm ET
  AP

  CINCINNATI - The Kroger Co. is hurting from California's ailing economy and the overall bite of a dollar-by-dollar battle under way nationwide for recession-pinched households' grocery spending. Full Story »

• Home Lenders Face Sanctions Over Failed Modifications

  BusinessWeek – Wed Dec 2, 8:08 am ET

  (Bloomberg) The U.S. Treasury Dept. will begin taking action against lenders that aren't doing enough to ease mortgage payments for troubled homeowners as part of the Obama Administration's $75 billion pledge to curb foreclosures. Lenders> The> The> "We> Seriously>The> The> Eligible> Mortgage> The> A>Robert> One> The> Bank> "As> The> Full Story »

• Dubai "needs more time"; investor confidence hit

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 6:40 am ET

  DUBAI (Reuters) - Investor confidence in Dubai took a fresh knock on Tuesday as its leaders dithered over a rescue for debt-laden company Dubai World and ratings agency Moody's slapped a downgrade on government-related debt. Full Story »

• United Airlines orders Boeing 787 and Airbus A350

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 5:20 pm ET
  AP

  United Airlines is ordering 50 new airplanes the way some people ease into a cold lake. Toes first, and very slowly. Full Story »

• Few borrowers getting permanent mortgage relief

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 5:45 pm ET

  WASHINGTON - Executives at two of the nation's largest banks say they are struggling to get homeowners to complete the necessary paperwork for the Obama administration's mortgage relief plan, and only a fraction of homeowners have finished the process. Full Story »

• Stock market drops as dollar strengthens

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 6:06 pm ET
  AP

  NEW YORK - Investors sought safety Tuesday as concerns about spiraling debt loads and disappointing corporate reports tarnished hopes for an economic recovery. Full Story »

• H&R Block reports smaller 2nd-quarter loss

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 11:45 am ET

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - H&R Block Inc. reported a smaller fiscal second-quarter loss than a year ago on Tuesday as the nation's largest tax preparer trimmed expenses and saw its tax services business improve. Full Story »

• EPA says greenhouse gases endanger human health

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 4:41 pm ET
  AP

  WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency took a major step Monday toward regulating greenhouses gases, concluding that climate changing pollution threatens the public health and the environment. Full Story »

• UN: 2000-2009 could be Earth's warmest decade ever

  AP – 2 hrs 32 mins ago
  AP

  COPENHAGEN - A leaked Danish document at the U.N. climate conference provoked angry criticism Tuesday from developing countries and activists who feared it would shift more of the burden to curb greenhouse gases on poorer countries. Full Story »

• Bernanke says economy improving

  Reuters – Mon Dec 7, 7:31 pm ET
  Reuters

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday said the U.S. economy's recovery remained fragile and unemployment may be high for some time, cooling anticipation of an early increase in U.S. interest rates. Full Story »

• Stocks fall on economy, deficit fears

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 12:16 pm ET
  Reuters

  LONDON - European and U.S. stock markets fell sharply Tuesday after worse than expected German industrial production data and a warning from a leading credit ratings agency that the U.S. government needs to get its public finances in shape soon. Full Story »

• SEC accuses 3 ex-New Century execs of fraud

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 7:26 pm ET

  WASHINGTON - Federal regulators on Monday accused three former top executives of collapsed mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. of fraud, saying they misled investors and inflated profits as the company's subprime loan business was failing in 2006. Full Story »

• US Govt: Zhu Zhu Pets don't violate toy safety law

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 9:18 pm ET
  AP

  LOS ANGELES - Zhu Zhu Pets — one of the holiday season's hottest toy crazes — do not violate safety standards, federal toy regulators said Monday after a consumer group raised concerns over the presence of a heavy metal on one model. Full Story »

• Bank of America CEO candidate under scrutiny: report

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 8:41 am ET

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp's Chief Risk Officer Greg Curl is under scrutiny by New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo's office in connection with the probe of the bank's merger with Merrill Lynch, the New York Times reported. Full Story »

• GM in talks on partial Saab sale to BAIC: sources

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 12:54 am ET
  Reuters

  NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co is talking to BAIC, China's fifth largest car maker, about a partial sale of assets associated with its Saab brand, including tooling and technology, two people with direct knowledge of the discussions said. Full Story »

• European stocks drop in morning trade

  AFP – Tue Dec 8, 7:00 am ET
  AFP/File

  LONDON (AFP) - Europe's main stock markets fell on Tuesday as the strength of US recovery was downplayed and after Tokyo's benchmark shares index closes lower for the first time in seven sessions. Full Story »

• China auto sales, production surpass 1 mln in Nov

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 6:49 am ET
  AP

  SHANGHAI - China extended its lead over the U.S. as the world's biggest auto market in November, with production and sales more than doubling from a year earlier to both surpass 1 million vehicles. Full Story »

• Ebay exec emails: Feign surprise to Craigslist

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 6:48 pm ET

  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Emails from a top eBay Inc executive showed the Internet giant was aware that a competing online classifieds site it launched while sitting on the board of Craigslist was a sensitive issue to be handled delicately, according to court testimony on Tuesday.