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AP - Protesters clashed with riot police as more than 10,000 people marched through central Athens Thursday during a nationwide general strike against the government's harsh new austerity measures.
AP - German carmaker BMW AG says its 2009 net income fell 36 percent to euro210 million ($286 million) because of lower demand for its cars during the economic downturn as well as a higher tax rate.
AP - Information on 15,000 HSBC customers with Swiss accounts has been stolen, the British bank said Thursday, potentially exposing foreign clients to prosecution by tax authorities in their home countries.
AP - Toyota's massive recalls are bringing new scrutiny to the government's auto safety agency, prompting Congress to look at how federal safety officials have lived up to their mission of protecting motorists.
Reuters - The Senate on Wednesday passed a $149 billion package of jobless aid and tax breaks, as Democrats continued efforts to lower the 9.7 percent unemployment rate before congressional elections in November.
AP - The foreclosure crisis isn't over, but the pace of growth may finally be slowing down.
AFP - Europe's leading stock markets nudged higher on Wednesday as traders awaited key US economic data and assessed the latest batch of company results.
AP - Businesses trimmed inventories at the wholesale level again in January even though sales rose for a 10th consecutive month. The dip in inventories underscored that businesses remain cautious about restocking their depleted shelves.
AP - Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen AG says its 2009 net income declined 80 percent to euro960 million ($1.3 billion), confirming its preliminary estimate released in February.
Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has written to the European Commission warning that plans to regulate hedge funds and private equity firms could cause tensions with Washington, the Financial Times reported.
AP - Calling himself a realist, Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday scaled back his proposal to raise income taxes, shifting to a call for an increase of just one percentage point to be used solely for preventing deep cuts to education.
AFP - Japan vowed Thursday to fight a global trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna, the pricey mainstay of sushi and sashimi, as Europe and the United States step up moves to protect the species.
AP - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, spent nearly $1.78 million lobbying in the fourth quarter on a wide range of issues from health care reform to organized crime and food safety issues, according to a recent disclosure report.
Reuters - U.S. mortgage applications nudged higher last week, reflecting increased demand for home purchase loans even as interest rates trekked higher, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
AFP - Oil prices slipped under 82 dollars on Thursday as investors took profits on gains made followed data that showed stronger US energy demand, analysts said.
AFP - Daihatsu Motor Co., a subsidiary of embattled Toyota, said Thursday it was recalling almost 275,000 vehicles due to possible defects, the latest in a raft of problems hitting Japanese carmakers.
BusinessWeek - It's no secret that small businesses in the U.S. face difficulties accessing credit. According to a survey of a random sample of 751 small businesses conducted by Gallup at the end of 2009 for the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, 44% of small businesses seeking credit in 2009 received only some or none of the money they sought. This level of credit access compares poorly with mid-2000, when nine of every 10 companies seeking credit received it. While there is broad agreement that a small business credit problem exists, there is less consensus about its causes. ...