News and Finance

American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag, cut domestic flights and lay off possibly thousands of workers as it grapples with record-high fuel prices.
American plans to cut domestic flight capacity by 11% to 12% in the fourth quarter, after the peak summer season is over. That’s more than double American’s […]

Profits dropped almost 8% at Target Corp. on softer-than-expected sales and higher costs, but the discount retailer still beat Wall Street earnings estimates for its first quarter.
The nation’s second-largest discount retailer on Tuesday reported a profit of $602 million, or 74 cents per share, in the three months ended May 3, down from $651 […]

Warren Buffett, whose business and investment acumen has made him one of the world’s wealthiest men, embarked on a European tour Monday looking for possible acquisitions for his Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Starting in Frankfurt, continental Europe’s financial hub, the 77-year-old chairman and chief executive of Berkshire said he wanted to put his company "on the […]

European exports declined in March as the euro's advance to a record against the dollar made the region's products less competitive abroad.
Euro-area exports fell 2.9 percent from February, when they gained 0.6 percent, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said today using seasonally adjusted data. Imports were unchanged in March, giving the […]

First came the booming economies. Then came the rush of investors. Now the so-called BRIC nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — are talking about forming a political alliance.
The four largest emerging economies are sending their foreign ministers to Yekaterinburg, Russia, to meet on May 16 for the first time outside the […]

The U.S. budget surplus narrowed in April from a year ago, reflecting increases in spending on defense and programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
Revenue last month rose 5.2 percent, while spending increased 18.7 percent, leaving a surplus of $159.3 billion, the Treasury said today in Washington. The excess was down from a […]

New filings for unemployment claims fell more than expected in the latest week, according to a government report released Thursday.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits fell by 18,000 to 365,000 in the week ended May 3, the Labor Department said.
The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was a drop to 375,000.
The […]

Hard as management may try, Nissan Motor Co’s shares are unlikely to get a lift from a new business plan to be unveiled next week, as Japan’s No.3 automaker struggles to narrow the gap on its bigger rivals.
Top ranked Toyota Motor Corp and No. 2 Honda Motor Co have already warned they see tough […]

Americans are already paying through the nose for gasoline, and they think it’s only going to get worse.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 94% of respondents expect they will have to pay $4 a gallon sometime this year - and 78% said they figure it will hit $5.
The national average for gasoline was […]

After a 17-day run of record gas prices, the pinch at the pump is easing - by as little as possible.
According to motorist group AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline retreated to $3.622, down one tenth of a cent from the previous day’s price.
Gas prices reached […]