Business News

WASHINGTON - U.S. factories saw a surprisingly hefty increase in their orders for big-ticket products in July, reflecting continued strength in export sales and a boost to business investment from the government's tax stimulus package.

WASHINGTON - The number of people lacking health insurance dropped by more than 1 million in 2007, the first annual decline since the Bush administration took office, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Sales of new homes rose in July, but still fell short of economists' expectations, and home prices continued to sink.

NEW YORK - Wall Street posted a sizable advance Wednesday after the government reported a larger-than-expected increase in orders for big-ticket manufactured goods that indicated the economy could be stronger than some investors thought.

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators on Wednesday proposed a plan to allow public companies to begin using international accounting standards for reporting financial results in two years, and may require them to do so starting in 2014.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday as surprisingly strong data on durable goods orders soothed some concern about the sluggish economy while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac led a rally in financial shares.

NEW YORK - TiVo Inc. managed consecutive quarters of profitability for the first time ever despite eroding subscriptions, demonstrating that the pioneer in digital video recorders is on track in reducing marketing expenses and subsidies.

SHANGHAI, China - Earnings results announced Wednesday by major Chinese oil companies were in line with expectations, with industry leader PetroChina's first-half net profit falling 34.5 percent amid rising losses in its refining business.

LONDON - Taylor Wimpey PLC, Britain's largest homebuilder by volume, reported a $2.6 billion loss for the first half of the year on Wednesday, reflecting a nearly $2.8 billion write-down in the value of its assets.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - General Motors Corp on Thursday said it would invest more than $200 million initially in a powertrain plant in India, as the troubled carmaker aims to double its share of a fast-growing but increasingly competitive market.

TOKYO - Toyota lowered its global sales target for 2009 to 9.7 million vehicles on Thursday, down from an earlier 10.4 million vehicles, blaming "tough times," caused by rising material costs, a slowing U.S. market and soaring gas prices.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Belgian pharmaceuticals group UCB plans to cut its headcount by 2,000 -- 17 percent of its worldwide staff -- as part of a restructuring, the company said Thursday.

After the publication of one of my recent articles (BusinessWeek, 8/14/08 ), I received many passionate e-mails from parents and educators thanking me for writing the piece and sharing their beliefs in the importance of instilling the entrepreneurial spirit in young people.

Each night during a recent sales trip to Rio de Janeiro, Black & Veatch Senior Vice-President Michael Perry would review the day's progress over dinner with several junior staffers accompanying him. After watching Perry in action, they had plenty of questions: Why had he worked toward a compromise when the Brazilian client clearly wasn't going to budge? How was he accounting for the different cultural perspectives of the British, Japanese, and South Korean businessmen who were potential partners in the deal?

David Giantomasi says he vigilantly paid his credit-card bills each month. Even if he could only make the minimum payment, he made sure to get all his monthly payments squared away. So he was shocked when the interest rate on his Chase credit card suddenly jumped to 19.99% from 7.99%. When Giantomasi called the card issuer to demand an explanation, he was enraged. He was told that overall turmoil in the credit markets meant higher rates for a number of customers.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae , the biggest U.S. mortgage finance company, on Wednesday announced a shake-up of top executives, including the exit of its chief financial officer, in an effort to better implement a plan to preserve capital and cut losses.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the world's most profitable carmaker, cut its 2009 vehicle sales forecast by nearly 7 percent due to a severe downturn in Western markets driven by high fuel prices and a credit crunch.

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators on Wednesday proposed a plan to allow public companies to begin using international accounting standards for reporting financial results in two years, and may require them to do so starting in 2014.