Amazon.com Makes Up to Customers After Backup Hits UPS

Amazon.com Inc., the largest online retailer, offered customers $20 gift cards and refunds on shipping charges after an avalanche of orders caused United Parcel Service Inc. to miss delivery of some packages by Christmas.
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Secret Handshakes Greet Frat Brothers on Wall Street

Conor Hails, head of the University of Pennsylvania’s Sigma Chi chapter, was in a Philadelphia hotel ballroom last month for a Barclays Plc recruiting reception. A friend pointed out a banker from their fraternity. Hails, ...
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Ford F-150 Seen Borrowing Military Armor to Shield Profit

There are beer cans, and then there are Humvees. Ford Motor Co. will take pains to show its new, aluminum F-150 pickup has more in common with combat vehicles.
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British Airways 747’s Wing Slices Into Johannesburg Building

A British Airways jumbo jet carrying 202 passengers and crew sliced into an office building at Johannesburg’s main airport after following the wrong taxiway prior to takeoff for London, injuring four people on the ground.
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Kanye Vuitton Jibe Shows Even Rich Balk at Luxury Prices

Kim Kardashian might as well be naughty this Christmas, because even if she’s nice her fiancé is unlikely to shell out for a Louis Vuitton handbag.
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Russia Crisis Haunts Deutsche Bank’s Smith Seeing China Bust

China’s push to open up its economy is winning praise from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Morgan Stanley and Jefferies Group LLC, which predicted last month a “massive” multiyear bull run for stocks.
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Apple Reaches Deal to Sell IPhones Through China Mobile

Apple Inc., ending six years of negotiations, struck a deal to sell the iPhone through China Mobile Ltd., giving both companies a means to fight declining share in the market of 1.2 billion wireless subscribers.
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Khodorkovsky Buries Putin Challenge at Berlin Cold War Relic

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former oil tycoon released after 10 years in Russian prisons, ruled out mounting a political challenge to President Vladimir Putin on his third day of freedom.
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Secret Currency Traders’ Club Devised Biggest Market’s Rates

It’s 20 minutes before 4 p.m. in London and currency traders’ screens are blinking red and green. Some dealers have as many as 50 chat rooms crowded onto four monitors arrayed in front of them like shields. Messages from ...
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Gold Climbs From Lowest Close Since 2010 as Goldman Sees Losses

Gold rose from the lowest close in more than three years to pare a weekly loss that was spurred by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to begin tapering stimulus. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said that bullion’s decline isn’t ...
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Facebook, Zuckerberg Plan to Sell $3.9 Billion of Shares

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg is selling shares to help pay taxes, joining the company and board member Marc Andreessen in an offering worth about $3.9 billion.
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At 61 She Lives in Basement While 87-Year-Old Dad Travels

Eighty-seven-year-old Lew Manchester has just returned from a three-week trip touring Buddhist temples in Laos and cruising the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. His 61-year-old daughter Lee lives year-round in the basement of her ...
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Fed Trims QE Pace to $75 Billion on Labor Market Outlook

The Federal Reserve is trimming its monthly bond purchases to $75 billion from $85 billion, taking the first step toward unwinding the unprecedented stimulus that Chairman Ben S. Bernanke put in place to help the economy ...
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U.S. Stocks Rise to Record After Fed Plans Stimulus Cuts

U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to all-time highs, after the Federal Reserve said it will reduce the pace of its monthly bond purchases and expressed confidence in the labor market recovery.
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Mom Can’t Visit Daughter as Airlines Shun Venezuela Cash

Gladys Varela is stuck in Venezuela this Christmas. After scanning travel agencies in Caracas for three months for a plane ticket to visit her daughter in Mexico, she found airlines want nothing to do with bolivars.
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U.S. Attorney Bharara Defends India Diplomat Strip-Search

The U.S. prosecutor who triggered an uproar with India over the arrest of diplomat Devyani Khobragade last week defended the charges and strip-search, saying she knowingly tried to evade U.S. law.
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Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion

Sheldon Adelson makes no secret of his disdain for the estate tax.
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Fed’s $4 Trillion in Assets Draw Lawmakers’ Scrutiny

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet is poised to exceed $4 trillion, prompting warnings its record easing is inflating asset-price bubbles and drawing renewed lawmaker scrutiny just as Janet Yellen prepares to take charge.
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Indian Diplomat’s Strip-Search Triggers Fight With U.S.

India scaled back security outside the U.S. embassy in New Delhi and revoked transit privileges for American diplomats as a row deepened over the arrest and strip- search of a consular official in New York.
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Wind Power Rivals Coal With $1 Billion Order From Buffett

The decision by Warren Buffett’s utility company to order about $1 billion of wind turbines for projects in Iowa shows how a drop in equipment costs is making renewable energy more competitive with power from fossil fuels.
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Deportations Drop as Obama Pushes for New Immigration Law

The Obama administration has cut back on deporting undocumented immigrants, with forced departures on track to drop more than 10 percent, the first annual decline in more than a decade.
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North America to Drown in Oil as Mexico Ends Monopoly

The flood of North American crude oil is set to become a deluge as Mexico dismantles a 75-year-old barrier to foreign investment in its oil fields.
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Secret Inside BofA Office of CEO Stymied Needy Homeowners

Isabel Santamaria thought she finally caught a break in her effort to save her Florida home from foreclosure after nine frustrating months: She reached Bank of America Corp.’s Office of the CEO and President.
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TIPS Wipeout Signals Fed Losing Fight Against Disinflation

Bond investors are signaling they expect the Federal Reserve to lose its battle against disinflation, even after inundating the U.S. economy with more than $3 trillion in the past five years.
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Fed Taper Message Succeeds as Bonds Adjust to Economic Data

After misleading investors with a time line for tapering its unprecedented stimulus, the Federal Reserve now is stressing that any reduction in bond purchases will depend on the economic outlook -- and the message is sinking ...
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Antibacterial Hand Soaps Must Prove Germ-Killing Claims

Antibacterial hand washes would have to be proven safe and more healthy than plain soap to remain on store shelves under a U.S. proposal that could affect about half of the $900 million in liquid soaps sold each year.
Read more: Bloomberg news

No One at Ford Is Laughing Anymore

Now tech design and software are the leading engines of economic growth, and a bumbling behemoth such as Microsoft can talk about taking Ford’s CEO without hearing gales of laughter ripple across the land.
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North Korean Officials Praise Leader Kim at Memorial After Purge

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un commanded pledges of loyalty from his party and military at a televised rally commemorating the death of his father, days after he executed his uncle and de facto deputy for treason.
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Gold Funds See Unprecedented 31% Slump With World Losing Faith

Investors are dumping gold-backed exchange-traded products at the fastest pace since the securities were created a decade ago, mirroring the steepest price drop in 32 years.
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Why Is Pope Francis Promoting Sin?

Pope Francis recently weighed in on the economics of inequality. As a professional in that field, I could respond by detailing his errors of fact and reasoning. Maybe some other time. For now, I think that if the pope can ...
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North Korea Executes Purged Uncle of Leader Kim Jong Un

North Korea said it executed leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek after a military trial convicted him of trying to overthrow the regime, the most senior figure to be purged since Kim took power nearly two years ago.
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South Africa Mandela Event Translator Wasn’t a Professional

The sign-language translator who stood near President Barack Obama and other world leaders at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service wasn’t a professional interpreter and told South African news organizations he suffers from schizophrenia.
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World Led by U.S. Poised for Fastest Growth Since 2010

The world economy is primed for its fastest expansion in four years, with the U.S. propelling the improvement in output.
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VIX Trader Buys $5.1 Million in Calls to Bet on 50% Increase

An investor bought $5.12 million in call options that will be profitable if the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumps at least 50 percent in the next four months.
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Asiana Pilot Set Throttles He Didn’t Understand to Idle

Pilot error was involved in the Asiana Airlines Inc. crash that killed three passengers July 6 in San Francisco after a captain inadvertently disabled a speed- control system and the plane crashed into a seawall, documents ...
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Budget Deal to Ease Spending Cuts Gets Republican Backing

Congressional negotiators selling a budget accord won Republican endorsements for the plan to ease automatic U.S. spending cuts for two years, remove the risk of a government shutdown and cut the deficit by $23 billion.
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Mandela Event Sign Language Translator Accused of Being Fake

An interpreter used to communicate with hearing-impaired people at a memorial service held for Nelson Mandela yesterday was a “fake,” according to the Deaf Federation of South Africa.
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Volcker Says He Didn’t Help Write Rule Bearing His Name

Paul Volcker said he wasn’t involved with writing the final version of the rule that bears his name, staying abreast of developments from a distance as regulators crafted details of his curbs on trading by banks.
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Obama Needs to Fire Some People

When the Barack Obama administration realized that its HealthCare.gov website was fundamentally broken rather than merely glitchy, aides called former management consultant Jeff Zients to fix it.
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Boehner Lashes Out at Anti-Spending Groups Fighting Deal

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner lashed out at groups that ally with Republicans on spending cuts for mounting a campaign against a budget agreement.
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GM Chooses Barra as First Female CEO of Global Automaker

General Motors Co. named Mary Barra to succeed Dan Akerson as chief executive officer, completing the GM insider’s rise from a factory-floor worker to the industry’s first female CEO after more than a century of global automaking.
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Planes Parked in Weeds in Kabul After $486 Million Spent

Sixteen broken-down transport planes that cost U.S. taxpayers at least $486 million are languishing among the weeds, wooden cargo boxes and old tires at Kabul International Airport, waiting to be destroyed without ever being ...
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Volcker Rule Ushers in Era of Increased Oversight of Trades

Wall Street faces more intensive government scrutiny of trading after U.S. regulators issued what they billed as a strict Volcker rule today, imposing new curbs designed to prevent financial blowups while leaving many details ...
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Hidden Obamacare Website Costs Show Lack of Transparency

President Barack Obama’s health agency said it has spent $319 million building an online health- insurance marketplace through October.
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Wealthy Go Frugal This Holiday Amid Uneven U.S. Recovery

Last holiday season, literary agent Linda Chester bought herself a sheared sable fur coat and red evening gown, both from Ralph Rucci, and designer suede leggings. This season, the bicoastal fashion lover settled for costume ...
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Singapore Warns on Violence After Riot in Indian District

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has ordered an inquiry into Singapore’s first riot in four decades as tensions rise over the reliance on foreign workers in the city state.
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Singapore to Charge Rioters After Little India Violence

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ordered an inquiry into Singapore’s first riot in more than four decades as tensions rise over the influx of foreign workers in the city state.
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Herbalife Turns Tables on Ackman Meeting Pershing Clients

Herbalife Ltd. is taking a page from Bill Ackman’s playbook.
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First China Default Seen as Record $427 Billion Debt Due

Chinese company debt twice the size of Ireland’s economy will come due in 2014, spurring concern the nation is on the cusp of its first corporate bond default.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Russia Backs Off Ukraine Union After Lenin Statue Falls

Russia cast doubt that Ukraine may soon join its customs bloc, a plan that has sparked the ex- Soviet republic’s biggest protests in almost a decade and fueled calls for President Viktor Yanukovych to resign.
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Sysco to Acquire US Foods for $3.5 Billion

Sysco Corp. agreed to acquire closely held US Foods for $3.5 billion, adding brands from Cattleman’s meat to Devonshire desserts, in the largest food-distribution deal in eight years in North America. The shares jumped the ...
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Emerging Stocks Rise on China as Rupee, Natural Gas Gain

Emerging-market stocks rose the most in three weeks as better-than-estimated Chinese exports added to optimism the global economy is strengthening. Indian shares climbed to a record, and U.S. natural gas jumped on the season’s coldest weather.
Read more: Bloomberg news

China Exports Rise More Than Estimated

China’s exports rose more than estimated in November, pushing the trade surplus to the highest in more than four years in a sign global demand is helping sustain a recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Read more: Bloomberg news

China Bans Financial Companies From Bitcoin Transactions

China’s central bank barred financial institutions from handling Bitcoin transactions, moving to regulate the virtual currency after an 89-fold jump in its value sparked a surge of investor interest in the country.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Ford’s Sleeker Mustang With Smaller Engine Goes Global

Ford Motor Co., taking its 50-year old Mustang global for the first time, today unveiled a revamped muscle car boasting a sleeker look and optional smaller engine that will target the widest set of buyers ever.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Angry Self-Insured Voters Dim Democratic Takeover Plans

To appreciate why U.S. Representative Scott Peters has twice broken with his Democratic colleagues and voted to roll back parts of Obamacare, it’s helpful to know that his San Diego-area district is teeming with voters who have reasons to be angry about the law.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Hidden U-Haul Billionaire Emerges With Storage Empire

Mark V. Shoen had to endure his father’s suicide, a sister-in-law’s murder and an internecine battle on his way to becoming the largest shareholder of Amerco, the parent of truck rental company U-Haul, North America’s biggest moving and storage business.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Ford Redesigns Camaro-Chasing Mustang for Global Buyers

Almost 50 years after Ford Motor Co.’s first Mustang introduced Americans to the fast and affordable pony car, the automaker is counting on a new design it unveils on four continents tomorrow to spur global sales.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Greenspan Says Bitcoin a Bubble Without Intrinsic Currency Value

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Bitcoin prices are unsustainably high after surging 89-fold in a year and that the virtual money isn’t currency.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Mercedes Rides $29,900 Coupe to Bigger U.S. Luxury Lead

Mercedes-Benz widened its U.S. luxury-vehicle lead over Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW in November as sales of the new entry-level CLA coupe contributed almost all of the Daimler AG unit’s gain.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Detroit Retirees Put on Notice in Bankruptcy Ruling

Detroit, once the symbol of U.S. manufacturing muscle, was given the authority to try to pare billions in debt and slash employee pensions in a federal court ruling that may have implications for distressed cities across the U.S.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Philippines’ Aquino Races the World’s Fastest Economies

Just after midnight one sultry Friday in August 1987, Manila became a battleground as rebel troops attempted a coup against Philippine President Corazon Aquino. Two blocks from the besieged presidential palace, insurgents opened fire on a car carrying Aquino’s only son, a bespectacled and soft-spoken 27-year-old junior insurance executive nicknamed Noynoy.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Amazon Tests Drones for Same-Day Parcel Delivery, Bezos Says

Amazon.com Inc. is testing drones to deliver goods as the world’s largest e-commerce company works to improve efficiency and speed in getting products to consumers.
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Obamacare Website Sign-Ups Said to Reach 100,000 in Month

About 100,000 people signed up for health insurance through the online federal exchange last month, a roughly four-fold increase from October even as a team of U.S. government and contractor programmers was fixing the troubled Affordable Care Act website, said a person familiar with program’s progress.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Amazon Rejected by U.S. High Court on New York Sales Tax

The U.S. Supreme Court stayed out of the multibillion-dollar fight over Internet sales taxes, leaving intact a New York law that forces Amazon.com Inc. to collect money from customers in that state.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Black Friday Weekend Spending Drop Pressures U.S. Stores

The first spending decline on a Black Friday weekend since 2009 reinforced projections for a lackluster holiday, increasing chances retailers will extend the deep discounts already hurting their profit margins.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Oman Oil Billionaire Building Moving Pools on Superyachts

From an office overlooking the Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam, the Netherlands, energy tycoon Mohammed al-Barwani watched workers putting the finishing touches on a yacht that’s longer than a football field.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Anti-Government Protests Roil Thai Capital Bangkok as 3 Killed

Protesters seeking to oust Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra vowed to incite more unrest this week after clashes left three dead in Bangkok at the weekend and the central bank warned the standoff was hurting the economy.
Read more: Bloomberg news

America’s Role as Consumer of Last Resort Goes Missing

Not long ago, before the financial crisis and the global recession it triggered, economists referred to Americans as the consumers of last resort. When the U.S. grew at a healthy pace, its citizens were buyers, fueling demand for the goods China and other nations produced. They kept the world economy humming.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Wal-Mart Uses Wristbands to Deter Holiday Shopper Melees

With an estimated 140 million Americans predicted to shop this weekend, retailers are bolstering security, deploying Segway patrols and putting on live music to distract shoppers and avoid the deal-hunting scrums that can foster Black Friday tramplings.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Microsoft Said to Lean to Mulally, Nadella in CEO Search

Microsoft Corp.’s board is focusing on Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally and internal executive Satya Nadella as part of a group of more likely candidates to become the next CEO of the world’s biggest software company, according to people familiar with the matter.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Fed Reveals New Concerns About Long-Term U.S. Slowdown

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues are suffering through their own form of cognitive dissonance: revealing new concerns about the economy’s long-term prospects even as they forecast faster growth in 2014.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Zeppelins Seen Hauling Caterpillars to Mine Siberia: Commodities

Robin Young of Amur Minerals Corp. wants to dig for nickel and copper in Siberia where forbidding winters and poor roads make it tough to haul in equipment. His best option: fly it in with zeppelins.
Read more: Bloomberg news

U.S. Sent B-52s Into China Air Zone, Official Says

The U.S. flew two unarmed B-52 bombers into a disputed air-defense zone claimed by China, the first test of China’s response amid escalating tensions in the region that have implications for international air travel.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Speed Traders Meet Nightmare on Elm Street With Nanex

The nemesis of Wall Street’s high- frequency traders operates out of an apartment-sized office above the Bliss Salon -- manicure/pedicure $45 -- on Elm Street in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka.
Read more: Bloomberg news

London Gold Fix Calls Draw Scrutiny Amid Heavy Trading

Every business day in London, five banks meet to set the price of gold in a ritual that dates back to 1919. Now, dealers and economists say knowledge gleaned on those calls could give some traders an unfair advantage when buying and selling the precious metal.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Knox Prosecutor Seeks 30-Year Jail Term in Murder Case

Amanda Knox should be sentenced to 30 years in jail for the 2007 killing of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, prosecutor Alessandro Crini told an appeals court in Florence today.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Russian Prison Stuns Captain of Greenpeace’s Bombed Ship

The captain of a Greenpeace ship released on bail after two months of detention in a Russian prison following an Arctic protest said he and his fellow activists remain in shock at their treatment.
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FDA Tells Google-Backed 23andMe to Halt DNA Test Service

23andMe Inc., the Google Inc.-backed DNA analysis company co-founded by Anne Wojcicki, was told by U.S. regulators to halt sales of its main product because it’s being sold without “marketing clearance or approval.”
Read more: Bloomberg news

Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Drop for Fifth Month

The number of contracts Americans signed to buy previously-owned homes unexpectedly fell in October for a fifth consecutive month amid higher borrowing costs that are denting the real-estate recovery.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Boeing 787 Engines’ Ice Risk Spurs FAA to Warn Airlines

U.S. regulators are poised to order airlines to avoid flying Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners and 747-8 jumbo jets with General Electric Co. engines near thunderstorms after some of the planes experienced ice buildup.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Wal-Mart Names Doug McMillon CEO to Succeed Mike Duke

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Doug McMillon, head of its international business, will replace Mike Duke as chief executive officer when he retires as the world’s largest retailer struggles to ignite growth at home and abroad.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Stocks Climb as Oil Declines on Iran Accord; Yen Weakens

Global stocks climbed to the highest level since 2008 and U.S. equity-index futures signaled shares will extend last week’s record while oil fell after Iran and world powers reached an initial deal on the nation’s nuclear program. Gold dropped and the yen weakened.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Iran Agrees to Deal With Powers to Curb Nuclear Work

Iran’s accord with world powers to limit its nuclear program in exchange for as much as $7 billion in relief from sanctions left Presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani the task of selling the deal to critics.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Apple Agrees to $350 Million Deal for Israel’s PrimeSense

Apple Inc. agreed to acquire PrimeSense Ltd., the maker of motion-tracking chip technology that was used in Microsoft Corp.’s Kinect game console.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Harvard University Students Win the Most Rhodes Scholarships

Students at Harvard University won six Rhodes Scholarships, the most of any school this year, as the 32 U.S. recipients of one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards were named today.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Atlas 747 Set for Takeoff After Landing at Wrong U.S. Airport

They were in Kansas. That’s about all they knew for sure.
Read more: Bloomberg news

GameStop Says 2.3 Million Waiting for New Game Consoles

GameStop Corp., the largest specialty retailer of video games, said its initial allocation of PlayStation 4 consoles sold out and that 2.3 million customers are waiting for new players from Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Obamacare’s Failings Undermine Republican Goals

On May 20, 2009, four Republicans -- Representatives Paul Ryan and Devin Nunes and Senators Richard Burr and Tom Coburn -- unveiled their alternative to the health- care plans then being considered by congressional Democrats. “We have introduced a comprehensive health care reform bill, the Patients’ Choice Act that, we believe, will bring us far closer to the goal of universal coverage than the Obama plan,” they wrote in a joint essay.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Goldman Sees at Least 15% Losses for Gold, Iron Ore

Gold, iron ore, soybeans and copper will probably drop at least 15 percent next year as commodities face increased downside risks even as economic growth in the U.S. accelerates, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Blame Rich, Overeducated Elites as Our Society Frays

Complex human societies, including our own, are fragile. They are held together by an invisible web of mutual trust and social cooperation. This web can fray easily, resulting in a wave of political instability, internal conflict and, sometimes, outright social collapse.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Porsche Macan Chases Land Rover as SUVs Dwarf 911 Demand

Starting next year, the chances are that the next Porsche you see will be a sport-utility vehicle.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Wal-Mart Touts $98 TV in Weakest Holiday Season Since ’09

U.S. retailers are discounting earlier than ever as they brace for the weakest holiday shopping season since 2009.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Junk Glistens Under ‘Bernankecare’ as Worst Stocks Win

Carl Giannone says he’s given up hunting for quality stocks. Now he’s simply riding the wave of upward momentum in the U.S. market.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Bitcoin Gaining Validity Fuels Rally in Virtual Currency: Tech

Bitcoin’s rally is accelerating as the U.S. Department of Justice’s description of the digital currency as a “legal means of exchange” bolsters the prospect of wider acceptance as an alternative payment system.
Read more: Bloomberg news

U.S. Agencies to Say Bitcoins Offer Legitimate Benefits

The Department of Justice said Bitcoins can be “legal means of exchange” at a U.S. Senate committee hearing, boosting prospects for wider acceptance of the virtual currency.
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Fed Largess Aids U.S. Financial Strength BofA Deems Unrivaled

Five years after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke dropped U.S. interest rates toward zero to end the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, America’s financial markets have become the envy of the world.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Oil's Future Draws Blood and Gore in Investment Portfolios

Al Gore seems to be having a sort of come-to-Wall-Street moment, and he’s not alone. If some analysts are right, fossil fuels are about to get sucker punched. Peak coal? Peak oil? Peak fossil fuels? It all depends on China. 
Read more: Bloomberg news

London Lures Billionaires as Mansions Seen as Safe Haven

“We’ve had offers of around 25 million pounds, but they aren’t quite high enough,” says Noel de Keyzer, a veteran broker for Savills Plc, a London-based real estate agency. We are standing in a surprisingly sunlit subterranean family room beneath the garden of 29 Brompton Square in Knightsbridge, on the market for 27.5 million pounds ($44.3 million). Damien Hirst butterfly prints hang on the earth-tone walls of the recently renovated, fully furnished 1820s house.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Sony Monitors PlayStation ‘Issues’ as Sales Top 1 Million

Sony Corp. sold more than 1 million PlayStation 4 consoles in North America during the first 24 hours of sales, though the company said some buyers reported glitches including the device suddenly turning itself off.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Gold-Laden Brides in India Defying Singh as Culture Wins

As the sound of traditional drums, trumpets and cymbals ushers Amrita Mannil into the wedding hall, she’s adorned by four finely crafted necklaces, rings, 16 bangles, a glistening belt, dangling chandelier earrings and a stone-encrusted head piece to match the silk borders of her dress. She’s wearing about 800 grams (1.8 pounds) of gold.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Amtrak Serving Free Wine to Steak Loses Millions on Food

Amtrak, the U.S. taxpayer-supported passenger railroad, is losing tens of millions of dollars a year on food and beverage service even after years of cost cutting, its inspector general said.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Woods Makes Caddie’s Beef Jerky Golf-Bag Accessory at $54-Pound

At last week’s U.S. PGA Tour event along the Georgia coast, players were treated to a Southern lunch of fried chicken, black-eyed peas and collard greens at Sea Island Resort.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Samsung Said to Plan Galaxy Phone Using Three-Sided Display

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release a Galaxy smartphone next year with a three-sided display that wraps around the edges so messages can be read from an angle, two people familiar with the plans said yesterday.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Auschwitz Survivor’s Daughter Becomes Billionaire

– Vera Guerin, whose late father Nathan Shapell survived two Nazi concentration camps and became one of California’s largest property developers, emerged as a billionaire last week after Toll Brothers Inc. agreed to buy her family’s Shapell Industries Inc.’s homebuilding business for $1.6 billion.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Apple’s $10.5B on Robots to Lasers Shores Up Supply Chain

Apple Inc. is putting a record $10.5 billion to work in new technology -- from assembly robots to milling machines -- that consumers will never see.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Yellen Says Economy Performing ‘Far Short’ of Potential

Janet Yellen, nominated to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, said the economy and labor market are performing “far short of their potential” and must improve before the Fed can begin reducing monetary stimulus.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Gluten Takes a Beating From Fad Dieters and Grain Giants

Grain sellers want to have their gluten-free cake and eat it, too.
Read more: Bloomberg news

NYC’s World Trade Tower Opens 40% Empty in Revival

The first skyscraper at lower Manhattan’s World Trade Center is set to open with two days of ceremonies to mark the renewal of the area after its destruction by terrorists. When the fanfare subsides, the task will be filling the 40 percent of the tower that’s empty.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Obamacare Web Users Invited by U.S. to Try Signup Again

About 275,000 people who tried and failed to sign up for Obamacare health plans are being asked by the U.S. government to return to the website as the software flaws that initially shut them out are being corrected.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Starbucks to Pay $2.76 Billion to Settle Grocery Dispute

Starbucks Corp. said it would pay Mondelez International Inc. $2.76 billion to settle a dispute over the coffee-shop chain’s bagged-coffee business.
Read more: Bloomberg news

U.S. Stocks Drop as Data, Profits Fuel Fed Taper Bets

U.S. stocks fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreating from a record, as corporate earnings and an improving economy fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus next month.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Apple Said Developing Curved IPhone Screens, New Sensors

Apple Inc. is developing new iPhone designs including bigger screens with curved glass and enhanced sensors that can detect different levels of pressure, said a person familiar with the plans.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Rescuers Race to Philippines as Typhoon Death Toll Climbs

Rescue workers from Japan to Singapore are rushing to the Philippines after the year’s most powerful typhoon flattened buildings and unleashed storm surges that may have killed as many as 10,000 people, and as a new storm approaches.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Gold Vault Opens in China as Bullion Goes From West to East

A gold vault that can store 2,000 metric tons, double China’s projected consumption this year, opened in Shanghai this month as owner Malca-Amit Global Ltd. seeks to benefit from rising demand in Asia’s largest economy.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Hong Kong Luxury Property Prices Choked by Tightening

Hong Kong businessman Raymond Chiu says he has perfect credit and is prepared to spend about HK$16 million ($2 million) on a 1,000-square-foot apartment in the city’s Mid-Levels residential area. There’s just one catch. The government requires a 50 percent down payment.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Pot-Smoking Quadriplegic’s Firing Shows Haze Over Rules

The marijuana that Brandon Coats smokes under a doctor’s supervision helps calm muscle spasms stemming from a car accident that left him a quadriplegic. It also cost him his job.
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Twitter Surges in Trading Debut After $1.82 Billion Share Sale

Twitter Inc. jumped 73 percent in its trading debut, as investors paid a premium for its promises of fast growth.
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Super Typhoon Haiyan Slams Philippines With Category-5 Power

Super Typhoon Haiyan, the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, slammed into the Philippines today after forcing thousands of people to evacuate.
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Emirates Presses Boeing on 777X Performance as Record Deal Looms

Emirates President Tim Clark is pushing Boeing Co. to ensure its newest twin-aisle aircraft meets the airline’s demands as it readies an order that stands to be the biggest in aviation history.
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Brent Crude Traders Claim Proof BFOE Boys Rigged Market

Four longtime traders in the global oil market claim in a lawsuit that the prices for buying and selling crude are fixed -- and that they can prove it.
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U.S. Stocks Advance Toward Records Amid Fed Stimulus Speculation

U.S. stocks advanced, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record close, as Federal Reserve officials said economic weakness warrants continued stimulus and investors await data this week on jobs and growth.
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Blockbuster Video-Rental Chain Will Shut All U.S. Stores

Blockbuster LLC, the video-rental company owned by Dish Network Corp., will close its remaining 300 U.S. stores, ending an era for a chain that was once a ubiquitous part of American shopping centers.
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Virginia, Alabama Voter Choices Show Tea Party Declining

In the closing days of his losing campaign for Virginia’s governorship, Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli called the contest a referendum on Obamacare. Virginia voter Lee Killen saw it instead as a referendum on the Tea Party -- and he voted no.
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E-Cigs Wafting Into Workplace 25 Years After Smoking Ban

When John Castellano feels like a smoke, he simply heads to the break room at Kraft Foods Group Inc.’s Garland, Texas, factory.
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NFL Player With Elite College Degree Became Bullying Target

A degree from an elite academic school can make a player a magnet for bullying from teammates in the National Football League, according to a former Harvard University linebacker who spent seven seasons in the NFL.
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Cohen’s Dream of Soros Status Dies as SAC Pleads Guilty

In the hedge fund record books, there will always be doubts about how Steven A. Cohen outperformed rivals for more than 20 years.
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Twitter IPO More Expensive Than Facebook Without Profits

Twitter Inc. is poised to price its initial public offering at a valuation that makes it more expensive than Facebook Inc., a profitable rival with five times as many users.
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Google’s 8th Ranked Lobbying Machine Takes on Spy Debate

Google Inc. is moving its Washington office closer to Capitol Hill after spending $18.2 million on lobbying, more than Northrop Grumman Corp. and enough to rank the technology company as the eighth-biggest advocacy spender.
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Bernanke Giving Homebuyers Second Chance With Pledge: Mortgages

This was supposed to be the year that Herb Harrison found a newer, bigger home to replace his current house in Framingham, Massachusetts. Then, in May, mortgage rates began to rise and he put his hunt on hold.
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Dirty Munich Home’s Nazi Loot Estimated at $1.35 Billion

Cornelius Gurlitt rarely visited the Munich apartment which German customs officials entered two years ago in the hopes of nailing a suspected tax evader.
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Gold Bug Schiff Counters Goldman on First Drop Since 2000

Peter Schiff lays an iPod-sized bar valued at about $40,000 on the sun room floor of his Connecticut mansion, and calculates it would cost about $250,000 for each floor tile to pave the room with gold.
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BlackBerry Takeover Bid Collapses; CEO Heins Ousted

BlackBerry Ltd., coping with the collapse of a $4.7 billion buyout by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., will raise $1 billion in convertible bonds and seek a new chief executive officer for the struggling company.
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Iran Burning Gas Worth Billions Set to Lead Exporters Group

Iran will lead a club of the world’s biggest natural gas exporters as its own shipments abroad are hampered by U.S. and European Union sanctions that force the country to burn off billions of dollars worth of the fuel.
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Southeast Asian Sites Hacked Before Global Anonymous Protest

The Anonymous hacker group stepped up cyber attacks across Southeast Asia, targeting websites in the Philippines and Singapore before a global protest today against censorship and government corruption.
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Americans’ Debt Hangover Seen Ending in Boost to Growth

Suffering from a debt hangover for the past four years, Americans will resort to a time-honored cure -- hair of the dog that bit them. A pickup in borrowing will give the world’s biggest economy a much-needed boost next year as federal government austerity pinches growth.
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SAC Agrees to Plead Guilty to End Insider-Trading Case

Billionaire Steven A. Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors LP, the hedge fund accused of fostering a culture of rampant insider trading, has agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud, pay a record $1.8 billion and shutter its investment advisory business.
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Google, Oracle Workers Enlisted for Obamacare 'Tech Surge'

Google Inc., Red Hat Inc., Oracle Corp. and other technology companies are contributing dozens of computer engineers and programmers to help the Obama administration fix the U.S. health-insurance exchange website.
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Insurers Oppose Obamacare Extension as Danger to Profits

Allowing Americans more time to enroll for health coverage under Obamacare may raise premiums and cut into profits, insurers are telling members of Congress in a bid to stop such a move.
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Boeing Said to Near 777X Order Haul of Up to $87 Billion

Boeing Co. is in talks with four airlines on orders for its redesigned 777X jetliner valued at as much as $87 billion ahead of next month’s Dubai Airshow, people familiar with the matter said.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Fed Keeps $85 Billion QE Pace Looking For Stronger Growth

The Federal Reserve decided to press on with $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, saying it needs to see more evidence that the economy will continue to improve.
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Doctors Use Euphemism for $2.4 Billion in Needless Stents

The American College of Cardiology is changing its guidelines for when implanting coronary stents is appropriate -- by banishing the term “inappropriate.”
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Health Policies Canceled in Latest Hurdle for Obamacare

The Obamacare rollout is leading to the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of health insurance plans nationwide, contradicting President Barack Obama’s repeated pledge that people who like their coverage can keep it.
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Christie Confounded as Padded Services Send New Jersey Taxes Soaring

At the height of tourist season, 150,000 people vacation on Long Beach Island, an 18-mile stretch of New Jersey shore. The crowds are gone by October, when the traffic signals blink amber along the main boulevard.
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Cuomo Casino Push Seeks to Return Catskills to Past Glory

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s push to amend New York’s constitution to allow Las Vegas-style casinos may end a 59-year wait for Jackie Horner, whose story of her student “Baby” inspired the 1987 movie “Dirty Dancing.”
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BlackRock’s Fink Says There Are ‘Bubble-Like Markets Again’

BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink, whose company is the world’s largest money manager with $4.1 trillion in assets, said Federal Reserve policy is contributing to “bubble-like markets.”
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Deutsche Bank Profit Falls 94% on 1.2 Billion Euro Charge

Deutsche Bank AG, Europe’s largest investment bank by revenue, said third-quarter profit slid 94 percent after it set aside 1.2 billion euros ($1.65 billion) to cover potential legal costs and income from debt trading fell.
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U.K. Storm Brings Power Cuts, Snarls Transport in South

Millions of U.K. commuters were advised to stay at home today as the worst storm for five years forced rail operators across southern Britain to cancel morning rush-hour services.
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King Urges Obama to Stop Apologizing for NSA Phone Taps

President Barack Obama should “stop apologizing” for the National Security Agency’s telephone- surveillance program that has “saved thousands of lives,” according to Republican U.S. Representative Peter King.
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China Signals ‘Unprecedented’ Policy Changes on Agenda at Plenum

Chinese Politburo member Yu Zhengsheng said reforms to be discussed at a Communist Party meeting next month will be unprecedented, adding to signs that leaders are resolved to spur far-reaching policy changes.
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Lou Reed, ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ Rocker, Dies at 71

Lou Reed, a New York-based rock musician who co-founded the Velvet Underground and wrote and sang “Walk on the Wild Side,” has died. He was 71.
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Republicans After Shutdown Seen Losing Again on Immigration

Shortly after the U.S. government shutdown ended, President Barack Obama declared that he wanted immigration legislation back on Congress’s agenda, with the goal of passage by year’s end. Some fellow Democrats are in no hurry.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Families Blocked by Investors From Buying U.S. Homes

Home purchases by institutional buyers reached a record high in September and all-cash buyers accounted for almost half of sales as investors responded to rising demand from renters.
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The Cardiologist Who Spread Heart Disease

Mehmood Patel still wakes up early, just as he did when he was a popular heart specialist seeing patients who waited hours for minutes of his time.
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Musk Scorns Hydrogen Vehicles Seen as Tesla Credit Threat

Elon Musk, the outspoken co-founder of electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc., is turning his sharp tongue toward a new target: hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
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Ending World’s Longest Nonstop Flight Adds Five Hours

The end of the world’s longest nonstop commercial flight, a 19-hour slog between Singapore and New York, is bad news for Chia Teck Fatt.
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Yankees Among 10 MLB Teams Valued at More Than $1 Billion

The average value of a Major League Baseball team is $1 billion, more than 35 percent higher than previous estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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Apple Bets on Fan Devotion in IPad Debut at Higher Price

Apple Inc. is responding to growing competition in tablet computers by holding firm to a strategy of selling iPads at a premium.
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Apple Preparing 65-Inch TV for Release in 2014, Analyst Says

Apple Inc. will probably start selling ultra-high definition televisions with 65- and 55-inch screens during the fourth quarter of next year, according to a Tokyo-based analyst at Advanced Research Japan Co.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Payrolls in U.S. Rise Less Than Forecast

Employers in the U.S. added fewer workers to payrolls than projected in September, indicating the world’s largest economy had little momentum leading up to the federal government shutdown.
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Top China Banks Triple Debt Write-Offs as Defaults Loom

China’s biggest banks tripled the amount of bad loans written off in the first half, cleaning up their books ahead of what may be a fresh wave of defaults.
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Magnetar Goes Long Ohio Town While Shorting Its Tax Base

Thousands of brick houses line the streets of Huber Heights, a leafy suburb of Dayton, Ohio, named for the builder who developed it in the 1950s and nurtured its growth. Until this year, his family was the town’s biggest landlord, with a third of all rental housing. Now the tenants’ payments are being routed to a $9 billion hedge fund.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Poor Sleep Linked to Alzheimer’s in Study of Brain Scans

Sleeping poorly or not getting enough rest may result in a type of brain abnormality associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a study showed.
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Apple to Refresh IPads Amid Challenges for Tablet Share

Apple Inc. is upgrading its iPad lineup to fend off a growing list of competitors, which are introducing their own tablets at lower prices with snazzier features.
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BIITS Replacing BRICs as Emerging Markets Not a Blanket Buy

Emerging markets risk shattering into BIITS.
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Shutdown Hit Boehner’s Favorite Diner as $24 Billion Lost

Gum Tong owns a diner in Washington, D.C., and Matt Bellinger charters fishing boats in the Florida Everglades. They have this in common: The shutdown of the U.S. government cost them money they will never get back.
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Jobs Right as Apple Customers Prefer 5s to Cheaper IPhone

Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, who emphasized high-end consumer gadgets over cheaper ones, may have been right all along.
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London’s Low Taxes Lure Foreign Companies as Banks Retrench

The Swiss town of Baar boasts clean air, easy access to ski slopes and some of Europe’s lowest personal taxes. London? Traffic and perpetual drizzle.
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Ryan Budget Plans Ignored as Lawmakers Craft Debt-Limit Deal

Representative Paul Ryan wanted big policy changes to lift the U.S. debt ceiling: a revamp of Social Security and Medicare, a framework for tax-code changes and approval of the $5.3 billion Keystone XL pipeline.
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Senate Leaders Reach Agreement to End Fiscal Impasse

The bipartisan leaders of the U.S. Senate reached an agreement to end the fiscal impasse and to increase U.S. borrowing authority. The Senate and House plan to vote on it later today, and the White House press secretary said President Barack Obama supports the deal.
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Congress Set to End Fiscal Impasse as Boehner Concedes

Congress is poised to end the 16-day government shutdown and raise the U.S. debt limit after the leaders of the Senate reached a bipartisan agreement to end the nation’s fiscal impasse.
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Senate Leaders Resume Fiscal Talks as House Scraps Vote

U.S. Senate leaders are rushing to lock up an agreement to end the fiscal impasse, stepping in after House Republicans’ last-minute plan to avert a U.S. government default collapsed.
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Bodies Double as Cash Machines With U.S. Income Lagging: Economy

Hair, breast milk and eggs are doubling as automated teller machines for some cash-strapped Americans such as April Hare.
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Putin Builds North Korea Rail to Circumvent Suez Canal

Vladimir Putin is inching closer to his goal of turning Russia into a major transit route for trade between eastern Asia and Europe by prying open North Korea, a nuclear-capable dictatorship isolated for half a century.
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Senate Debt-Limit Deal Emerging With Time Running Short

Senate leaders are poised to reach an agreement as early as today to bring a halt to the fiscal standoff, and now must race the clock to sell the plan to lawmakers before U.S. borrowing authority runs out this week.
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Fama, Shiller, Hansen Win Nobel Prize for Asset-Price Work

Eugene F. Fama, Robert J. Shiller and Lars Peter Hansen shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for at times conflicting research on how financial markets work and assets such as stocks are priced.
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Patients Pay Before Seeing Doctor as Deductibles Spread

When Barbara Retkowski went to a Cape Coral, Florida, health clinic in August to treat a blood condition, she figured the center would bill her insurance company. Instead, it demanded payment upfront.
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Lew’s Vow Not to Shift on Debt Limit Frustrates Republicans

When Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew told the Senate Finance Committee last week that the Obama administration would never bargain over raising the nation’s debt limit, it was a declaration the lawmakers had heard before.
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Central Banks Gaming Out U.S. Default as Deadline Nears

Central banks have begun making contingency plans on how they would keep financial markets working if the U.S. defaults on the world’s benchmark debt.
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Golfer McIlroy Sues Agent After Paying $6.8 Million Fees

Two-time golf major winner Rory McIlroy sued his former agent in a bid to end what he called an “unconscionable” contract which cost him $6.8 million in fees.
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U.S. May Join Germany of 1933 in Pantheon of Defaults

Reneging on its debt obligations would make the U.S. the first major Western government to default since Nazi Germany 80 years ago.
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London Wealthy Leave for Country Life as Prices Rise

It took more than a year for Mark Hudson to find his six-bedroom home in the English countryside. Within weeks of moving in, he got a bid that topped the 1.75 million pounds ($2.8 million) the property cost.
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Senators Struggle to End U.S. Shutdown as Default Looms

Senate leaders struggled to draft an accord that averts a U.S. default and restores full government operations, as the shutdown entered its 13th day with a lapse in borrowing authority four days away.
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Big Banks Can Be Dismantled, Say U.S. and U.K. Regulators

Even one of the largest global banks could be taken apart safely by U.S. government authorities if it were to fail today, according to banking regulators from the U.S. and U.K.
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Obama Hard-Line Debt Stance Rooted in Anger Over '11 Impasse

Shortly before President Barack Obama was re-elected, he confided to John Podesta, an informal adviser, a vow he was making for his second term: He would never again bargain with Republicans to extend the U.S. debt limit.
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U.S. Stocks Jump Most Since January on Debt-Deal Optimism

U.S. stocks jumped, with benchmark indexes rallying the most since January, as lawmakers moved toward an agreement to increase the debt ceiling and avoid a default.
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Jobless-Claims Jump Flashes U.S. Shutdown Warning: Economy

Claims for U.S. jobless benefits jumped last week to the highest level in six months, providing the first statistical warning that the damage from the partial federal shutdown is starting to ripple through the economy.
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Mother Dies Amid Abuses in $110 Billion U.S. Stent Assembly Line

Najam Azmat snaked a catheter on a guide wire into Judi Gary’s groin as he tried to insert a stent in an artery supplying blood to her pelvis and right leg.
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Recession Looms If Treasury Uses Tools to Prevent a Default

The U.S. Treasury has the means to avoid a debt default even if Congress fails to raise the government’s $16.7 trillion borrowing limit. The bad news is that it can’t prevent a recession.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Reid Urges Boehner to Act While Speaker Calls for Talks

In simultaneous challenges to one another, U.S. congressional leaders said the other party must move first to resolve the partial government shutdown and raise the U.S. debt ceiling.
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Apple Is Said to Debut New IPads at Oct. 22 Event

Apple Inc. will update its lineup of iPads at an Oct. 22 event, a person with knowledge of the plans said, as the company works to remain ahead of rivals in the increasingly crowded tablet market.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Robot Surgery Damaging Patients Rises With Marketing

Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver announced last year that Warren Kortz, a general surgeon on the medical staff, was the first in the Rocky Mountain region to use a technique known as robotic surgery to remove gall bladders through one incision in the belly button.
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Billionaire Cannibals Erase $4 Billion in Son-Mikitani Fight

Billionaire Masayoshi Son, Japan’s second-richest person, mounted an attack on the next wealthiest, Hiroshi Mikitani, wiping out a combined $4.3 billion in their companies’ market values.
Read more: Bloomberg news

A U.S. Default Seen as Catastrophe Dwarfing Lehman’s Fall

Anyone who remembers the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. little more than five years ago knows what a global financial disaster is. A U.S. government default, just weeks away if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling as it now threatens to do, will be an economic calamity like none the world has ever seen.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Obama Repeats No-Talks Stance as Democrats Plan Debt Bill

President Barack Obama reiterated that he won’t negotiate with Republicans over the partial government shutdown and the U.S. debt limit as Senate Democrats began preparing for a test vote on a clean debt-ceiling bill.
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Obamacare Seen Straining Clinics With Medicaid Expansion

They start showing up at the St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles at 5 a.m. By the time the doors open at 8 a.m., as many as 60 patients are queued up in a line that stretches down the street.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Congress Looks for Elusive Way Out of Government Shutdown

The way out of the political morass in Congress remains elusive as the U.S. enters the second week of a partial government shutdown and with a potential lapse in U.S. borrowing authority just 10 days away.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Boehner Says House Won’t Vote on Clean Debt Limit Bill

U.S. Speaker John Boehner said the House can’t pass an increase to the U.S. debt ceiling without packaging it with other provisions -- something President Barack Obama has labeled a nonstarter.
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Gold Befuddles Bernanke as Central Banks’ Losses at $545 Billion

Ben S. Bernanke, the world’s most- powerful central banker, says he doesn’t understand gold prices. If his peers had paid attention, they might have stopped expanding reserves that lost $545 billion in value since bullion peaked in 2011.
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U.S. to Default If Debt Ceiling Not Raised, Lew Says

Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said Congress needs to pass a debt-ceiling increase by Oct. 17 or the U.S. will be “dangerously low” on cash and risk defaulting on its payments.
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Supreme Owner Made a Billionaire Feeding U.S. War Machine

Chemical warfare and car bombings are just a few of the hazards working in war-torn countries such as Iraq and Syria. For Supreme Group BV, it’s the cost of doing business.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Some Tea Party-Backed Lawmakers Yield in Obamacare Fight

The first cracks are appearing in the Tea Party’s push to dismantle the nation’s health law as three House lawmakers with ties to the movement said they’d back a U.S. spending bill that doesn’t center on Obamacare.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Troops Forage for Food While Golfers Play On in Shutdown

Grocery stores on Army bases in the U.S. are closed. The golf course at Andrews Air Force base is open.
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Frustrated Republicans Pressure Boehner to End Shutdown

More than a dozen House Republicans who want to drop attempts to undermine the health-care law and reopen the government are meeting among themselves and with House Speaker John Boehner -- and he’s listening.
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FBI Snags Silk Road Boss With Own Methods

From an Internet café in San Francisco, a 29-year-old free-market evangelist who called himself “Dread Pirate Roberts” allegedly used untraceable web services, an international network of servers and anonymous digital currency to run a global online exchange of cocaine and heroin.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Boehner Debt Limit Option Said to Be Democratic Votes

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner has been telling fellow Republicans that he won’t allow the U.S. to default on its debt, even if that requires Democratic votes, according to two Republican congressional aides.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Bipartisan House Group Offers Compromise to End Shutdown Impasse

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is proposing to House Republican and Democratic leaders a compromise to end the government shutdown by repealing a medical device tax and maintaining across-the-board spending cuts.
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Obama Says He’s Exasperated With House Republican Faction

President Barack Obama, declaring himself “exasperated,” said he won’t negotiate with Republicans on the U.S. budget until they reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling without conditions.
Read more: Bloomberg news

U.S. Government Shut Down With No Quick Resolution Seen

The partial shutdown of the U.S. government showed no signs of ending quickly, as lawmakers stiffened their positions and sought to shift blame to the other side.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Alaska Hunts Oil as Arctic Damage Shows Most Change From Climate

When Jerry Otto started hunting for Alaskan oil in 1980, his tractor-trailers barreled along ice roads as much as 10 feet thick for 180 days every year.
Read more: Bloomberg news

House Offer to Blunt Impasse Criticized by Democrats

A Republican proposal to approve spending for a handful of federal agencies was swiftly criticized by Democrats, extending the impasse that forced the first partial U.S. government shutdown in 17 years.
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Government Shutdown Begins as Deadlocked Congress Flails

The U.S. government began its first partial shutdown in 17 years, idling as many as 800,000 federal employees, closing national parks and halting some services after Congress failed to break a partisan deadlock by a midnight deadline.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Debt Ceiling Wall of Worry Another Reason for Investing

The U.S. congressional standoff that shut down the government for the first time in 17 years is a buying opportunity for stock investors, if history is any guide.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Americans by 72% Oppose Shutdown Tied to Health Care Cuts

In a rejection of congressional Republicans’ strategy, Americans overwhelmingly oppose undermining President Barack Obama’s health-care law by shutting down the federal government or resisting an increase in the nation’s debt limit, according to a poll released today.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Netanyahu to Rebut Iran ‘Sweet-Talk’ in Speech to UN

Israel’s prime minister and his allies expressed concern that President Barack Obama’s phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may signal that efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear program will stall.
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Siemens CEO Kaeser Cuts 15,000 Jobs to Catch Up With GE

Siemens AG’s new Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser is widening job cuts from an initial plan after the failure to catch up in profitability with rivals General Electric Co. and ABB Ltd. cost his predecessor the job.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Government Shutdown Near as House Votes to Delay Obamacare

The U.S. government hurtled toward a partial shutdown for the first time in 17 years on Oct. 1 as Congress deadlocked over Republicans’ insistence on delaying the 2010 health-care law.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Government Shutdown 1 Day Away as Deal Evades Lawmakers

Congress is leaving itself just one day tomorrow to end a budget stalemate that raises the risk of the first government shutdown in 17 years as Republicans sought to shift blame for the gridlock to Democrats.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Arnault Pits Son Versus Daughter in LVMH Succession Test

Two years ago, Bernard Arnault asked his son Antoine to run shoemaker Berluti, then this month he installed his daughter, Delphine, as executive vice president of Louis Vuitton. While her brief is to revive the handbag maker and Antoine’s task is to transform Berluti into a menswear titan, Arnault is auditioning both for another job: his own.
Read more: Bloomberg news

‘White Widow’ at Large as Governments Bungle Cooperation

Kenyan investigators knew two years ago that they wanted to question Samantha Lewthwaite, the 29- year-old widow of one of the suicide bombers who struck the London transit system in 2005.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Obama’s $3,000 Health-Law Premiums Test Limits of Affordability

Health insurance under Obamacare will cost individuals at least $2,988 a year on average, a price that Republican opponents may target as out-of-reach for many Americans who don’t qualify for U.S. subsidies.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Wal-Mart Cutting Orders as Unsold Merchandise Piles Up

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is cutting orders it places with suppliers this quarter and next to address rising inventory the company flagged in last month’s earnings report.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Americans Turn on Washington, 68% Say Wrong Track in Poll

As the U.S. heads toward a potential government shutdown or default, the public is more alienated from Washington than at any time since the aftermath of the 2011 downgrade of the nation’s credit rating.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Pimco Sees Buffett’s India Dream Cut to Junk as Vote Looms

Little more than two years after Warren Buffett labeled India a “dream market,” the economy is expanding at the slowest pace in a decade and the nation’s debt ratings are at risk of being cut to junk.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Senate Vote Set on Spending Bill After Cruz Ends Speech

The U.S. Senate advanced a stopgap spending measure after Republican Ted Cruz defied party leaders by staging a speech that lasted more than 21 hours, as a government shutdown looms.
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Death Dinners at Baby Boomers’ Tables Take on Dying Taboo

At a Manhattan dinner party, former Citigroup Inc. executive Steffen Landauer gathered an eclectic mix of guests at his apartment off Fifth Avenue to sip pinot noir, dine on seared salmon -- and talk about death.
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At 77 He Prepares Burgers Earning in Week His Former Hourly Wage

It seems like another life. At the height of his corporate career, Tom Palome was pulling in a salary in the low six-figures and flying first class on business trips to Europe.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Doctors Brace for Health Law’s Surge of Ailing Patients

Holy Cross Hospital’s health center in Aspen Hill, Maryland, is bracing for more business.
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Obama Endorses Fellow Democrat De Blasio for New York Mayor

Bill de Blasio, the Democratic nominee for New York mayor, won the backing of President Barack Obama, who praised the candidate’s pledge to close the growing gap between rich and poor in the most populous U.S. city.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Wal-Mart Hires Workers for Holidays Amid Shelf Complaints

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is hiring 55,000 seasonal workers and adding another 70,000 part-time and full-time workers as it gears up for the holiday season and reverses workforce reductions that have made it hard to keep store shelves stocked.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Apple Sells 9 Million IPhones in Debut Weekend

Apple Inc. sold a record 9 million iPhones in the weekend debut of two new models, as the company included China in the rollout and consumers snapped up handsets with more colorful options and a fingerprint reader.
Read more: Bloomberg news

South Korea to Hold New Fighter Tender After Rejecting Boeing

South Korea said it would hold a new tender for 60 fighter jets after rejecting Boeing Co.’s bid for the 8.3 trillion-won ($7.7 billion) contract over concerns the F-15SE wasn’t advanced enough to counter North Korea’s nuclear threat.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Merkel Gets Biggest Victory Since Kohl’s Reunification Vote

Angela Merkel won an overwhelming endorsement from German voters, putting the country’s first female chancellor on course for the biggest election tally since Helmut Kohl’s post-reunification victory of 1990.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Hong Kong Maintains Storm Signal as Usagi Reaches China

Hong Kong maintained its third- highest storm signal, with the city braced for floods and hundreds of flights canceled, after Usagi made landfall as a severe typhoon in southern China.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Kenya Police Begin Assault to End Mall Seige After 68 Die

Kenyan police began an assault to end a siege by as many as 15 al-Qaeda-linked gunmen at a shopping mall in Kenya’s capital after an attack yesterday in which 68 people died and an unknown number were taken hostage.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Pope Says Church Should Stop Obsessing Over Gays, Abortion

Pope Francis said the Catholic Church shouldn’t be “obsessed” with preaching about abortion, gay marriage and contraception and should instead try to reach out to a broader congregation.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Apple's New IPhones Poised for Record Debut as Sales Begin

Apple Inc. attracted long lines of shoppers today for the global debut of its latest iPhones, the company’s biggest product introduction this year.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Women Waiting Tables Provide Most of Female Gains in U.S.

It’s almost 6 p.m. on a Friday and the tables near the bar at The Hamilton in downtown Washington are getting crowded. That means waitress Victoria Honard is busy.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Walgreen Joins in Exodus of Workers to Private Exchanges

Walgreen Co., the biggest U.S. drugstore chain, will move its workers into a private health insurance exchange to buy company-subsidized coverage, the latest sign of how the debate over Obamacare is accelerating a historic shift in corporate health-care coverage.
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Fed Refrains From QE Taper, Keeps Bond Buying at $85 Bln

The Federal Reserve unexpectedly refrained from reducing the $85 billion pace of monthly bond buying, saying it needs more evidence of lasting improvement in the economy and warning that an increase in interest rates threatened to curb the expansion.
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Berkshire Billionaire Found With More Shares Than Gates

Stewart Horejsi’s business was in a funk. It was 1980, and Brown Welding Supply LLC, his family’s third-generation distributor of hydrogen and oxygen tanks, was battling competitors that were intent on expanding into the corner of Kansas he controlled.
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Costa Concordia Raised Off Rocks After 19-Hour Salvage Operation

The wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship was successfully righted today after an unprecedented 19- hour operation off the Italian island of Giglio, where the cruise liner has been lying on its side since it capsized 20 months ago, killing 32 passengers.
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Less Tapering Becomes Tighter Credit No Matter What Fed Says

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke sent bond yields a percentage point higher just by talking about adding stimulus at a slower pace. The rout serves as a warning to monetary policy makers that their exit from record accommodation won’t be easy to control.
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Summers’s Withdrawal Said to Make Yellen Fed Front-Runner

Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen is the leading candidate to replace Ben S. Bernanke following the withdrawal of Lawrence Summers from consideration, a person familiar with the process said.
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Texas Man Suspect in Navy Yard Shootings Leaving 13 Dead

A 34-year-old Navy veteran from Texas was identified by the FBI as the suspected gunman in shootings at the Washington Navy Yard that left at least 12 others dead.
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Apple Seen Seeding Future Wearable Products in IPhone

Apple Inc.’s new high-end iPhone gives a glimpse of future products that may be in store from the world’s most-valuable company.
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Ex-Soviet Programmers Take On India in $48 Billion Market

When Arkadiy Dobkin emigrated to the U.S. two decades ago, his first job was washing dishes. Now he employs 10,000 programmers in his native Belarus and elsewhere in eastern Europe, developing software for clients such as Barclays Plc and Expedia Inc.
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Veggie-Heavy Stress Reduction Regimen Shown to Modify Cell Aging

The fountain of youth may simply be a healthy diet and reduced stress after all, not a magic pill or expensive cosmetics.
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How Wal-Mart’s Waltons Maintain Their Billionaire Fortune

Visitors to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, leave appreciative notes on a glass wall near the entrance.
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Initial Jobless Claims Slump as Two States Underreport

Jobless claims in the U.S. declined last week to the lowest level since April 2006 as work on computer systems in two states caused those employment agencies to report fewer applications.
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New $53,000 Chevy Corvette Stingray Worthy of ’60s Glory

The Chevrolet Corvette has long been America’s almost-great sports car.
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Syria Vows Chemical-Weapons Ban Amid U.S.-Russia Talks

Syria said it would abide by an international treaty banning chemical weapons, even as President Bashar al-Assad set conditions that the U.S. lift its threat of military strikes and stop arming Syrian rebels.
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Microsoft's Concept Videos From 2000 Were Spot-On. So Why Didn't Ballmer Build Any of It?

(Corrects spelling of Microsoft spokesman's name in 6th paragraph.)
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Apple Drops as IPhone Models Reflect Shift From Pioneer

Apple Inc. fell the most in almost five months after unveiling two iPhones that were criticized by analysts as lacking enough new features or a sufficiently low price to attract a broad range of new customers.
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The IPhone's Secret Flights From China to Your Local Apple Store

As Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled new iPhones yesterday, a complex operation had already kicked into gear behind the scenes to send millions of the handsets to store shelves worldwide.
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Apple Unveils New IPhones at Cheaper Price

Apple Inc. unveiled two new iPhones, including a cheaper $99 version in bright colors and an updated high-end device, in a strategy shift by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to reach a broader range of customers around the world.
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Putin Sets New Condition on Syrian Chemical Weapons Plan

Russian President Vladimir Putin set a condition that endangers the diplomatic initiative to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons, saying it depends on the U.S. and other nations renouncing the use of force against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
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One in Four Men Surveyed in Asian Study Say They Raped

Almost one in four men surveyed in Asia said they committed rape at least once, in a study that may encourage renewed steps to prevent sexual violence.
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Banks Seen at Risk Five Years After Lehman Collapse

Ruth Porat didn’t see it coming.
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Obama Shrinking Second-Term Hastened by Syria Opposition

As Barack Obama seeks approval for a military strike in Syria, he finds the footprint of his historic presidency shrinking.
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