News and Finance

American International Group looked to be at risk of becoming the latest victim of the biggest financial shake-up since the Great Depression as the insurer’s shares plunged as much as 71 percent on fears of credit losses.
AIG’s struggles followed the failure of frantic attempts to find a rescuer for investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings […]

With the fate of beleaguered Lehman Brothers in the balance, some of Wall Street’s most powerful executives and regulators huddled on Saturday to try to resolve the crisis facing Lehman and rocking the financial markets.
The Wall Street Journal reported that hopes of a deal being worked out by Saturday faded but that talks between […]

Oil prices fell to a 5 1/2 month low Thursday, testing the $100-a-barrel mark, as the market remained focused on slumping demand and the stronger dollar while watching the threat Hurricane Ike poses to the Texas Gulf Coast.
U.S. crude for October delivery settled down $1.71 to $100.87 a barrel as floor trading ended […]

World equities dropped to their lowest level in more than two years and the U.S. dollar hit a one-year high against the euro on Thursday, as investors fretted over global growth and took refuge in safer assets.
A strong dollar and concerns that the slowing global economy would dampen demand weighed on oil and commodity […]

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Seong Tae said inflation will probably remain elevated for a significant period, an indication he may keep interest rates at an eight-year high this year.
The central bank left the seven-day repurchase rate at 5.25 percent in Seoul earlier today, as forecast by all 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg […]

The threat of another round of major U.S. airline bankruptcies seems to have diminished, but it’s not just because of tumbling fuel prices and sweeping downsizing.
For most of the top airlines, Chapter 11 simply isn’t feasible considering the high cost of bankruptcy and the relatively small savings to be wrung.
“It’s too expensive […]

A pair of potential real estate transactions could help an Amherst church expand to a larger sanctuary while opening the door for a new, commercial development along Maple Road.
The Evangel Assembly Church of God’s desire for a larger sanctuary and campus triggered the real estate deals.
The church wants to move from its longtime home at […]

Unilever named company outsider Paul Polman, a veteran of its two biggest consumer goods rivals, as chief executive on Thursday in a surprise choice to revive its sluggish performance that sent its shares surging.
Polman, who missed out on the top job at the world’s biggest food group Nestle SA (NESN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock […]

Oil fell below $109 a barrel on Wednesday, weighed down by slowing demand in the United States and other consuming nations and signs the U.S. oil sector would recover quickly from Hurricane Gustav.
U.S. crude traded down $1.40 to $108.31 a barrel by 10:25 a.m. EDT after settling below its 200-day moving average, a key […]

Hurricane Gustav slammed into the Gulf coast Monday morning, but oil prices fell as the world market expected that the storm’s impact on the energy infrastructure would not be as serious as previously believed.f
Gustav, a Category 3 hurricane before it hit Louisiana mid-morning, was downgraded to a Category 2 storm prior to making landfall.
With […]