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This edition was generated on Thu Jul 16 08:45:01 EDT 2009
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted a second quarter profit of $2.72 billion, a 36 percent jump that easily surpassed expectations as strength in its core consumer and investment banking businesses offset a jump in credit losses. Full Story »
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. has shut down one of the most compelling features on Palm Inc.'s rival Pre smart phone, crippling the Pre's ability to act like an iPod. Full Story »
NEW YORK - Us Weekly magazine has obtained video it says shows never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson's head catching on fire during filming of his 1984 Pepsi commercial. Full Story »
MANCHESTER, N.H. - A New Hampshire man says he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and was charged over 23 quadrillion dollars. Full Story »
TURNBERRY, Scotland - Last year, Greg Norman. This time, Tom Watson. Twenty-two years after his epic "Duel in the Sun" with Jack Nicklaus, Watson took advantage of pristine conditions at the British Open to shoot a stunning 5-under 65 on Thursday. Full Story »
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co said investment banking and trading drove a larger-than-expected 36 percent jump in quarterly profit despite a surge in credit card and loan losses that could worsen. Full Story »
Jim Christie
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers failed on Wednesday night to agree to balance the state's budget by closing a $26.3 billion deficit, but officials said talks would continue. Full Story »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers stepped up pressure on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday, hoping to paint her as judicial activist who will stamp the court with President Barack Obama's liberal agenda. Full Story »
PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday there was a "very encouraging" improvement in confidence in the financial system. Full Story »
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home foreclosure activity galloped to a record in the first half of the year, overwhelming broad efforts to remedy failing loans while job losses escalated. Full Story »
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - India and Pakistan agreed on Thursday that continuing dialogue was the only way forward for the two rival nations, the two prime ministers said in a joint statement after a meeting. Full Story »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saying it was "time to get this done," President Barack Obama pressed on Wednesday for swift congressional action on healthcare after a Senate panel approved a bill to overhaul the $2.5 trillion industry. Full Story »
KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A Taliban commander in southeastern Afghanistan said on Thursday that a missing U.S. soldier was being held unharmed by insurgents, but warned he would be killed if efforts were made to find him. Full Story »
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AFP) - Pakistan and India vowed to cooperate in the fight against terror in the wake of the devastating Mumbai attacks, leaders of the rival nations said after rare talks on Thursday. Full Story »
TURNBERRY, Scotland – Last year, Greg Norman. This time, Tom Watson. Twenty-two years after his epic "Duel in the Sun" with Jack Nicklaus, Watson took advantage of pristine conditions at the British Open to shoot a stunning 5-under 65 on Thursday. Full Story »
PHOENIX - Karlos Dansby will be the Arizona Cardinals franchise player for the second straight season. Full Story »
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers have withdrawn an offer to free agent Lamar Odom after the 10th-year forward did not respond to the proposal, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. Full Story »
SEATTLE - Thanks to unexpected winning, Jarrod Washburn and his Mariners have turned this season's rebuilding project into a summer game show. Full Story »
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Manchester United have handed promising Republic of Ireland international Darron Gibson a three-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2012. Full Story »
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Lakers have retracted an offer to Lamar Odom, saying that talks to re-sign the free agent have stalled. Full Story »
OXFORD, Miss. - Mississippi defensive end Greg Hardy won't have his injured right foot evaluated by a doctor until next week. Full Story »
PARIS (AFP) - France's Richard Gasquet, who tested positive for cocaine during the Miami Masters in March, was cleared to resume his career immediately on Wednesday despite being handed a two-and-a-half month ban. Full Story »
MILWAUKEE - Mike Van Sickle got his first chance to play a PGA tour event last week and the former Marquette standout who plans to turn pro later this year learned his first big lesson. Full Story »
KOBE, Japan - WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa of Japan has kept his title by stopping Nestor Rocha of the United States in the first round. Full Story »
PARIS - Former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt will join the race to succeed Max Mosley as president of Formula One's governing body. Full Story »
Nicole Bobek's face was splashed across newspapers and TV screens from London to Los Angeles, the figure skater's latest doings making her tabloid fodder once again. Full Story »
WASHINGTON – The number of newly laid-off Americans signing up for unemployment benefits last week, and those using this safety net over a longer period, both plunged. But the government figures released Thursday were clouded by difficulties adjusting for temporary shutdowns at auto plants. Full Story »
NEW YORK (AFP) - Bailout talks between the US Treasury and major business lender CIT Group have collapsed, potentially driving the company into bankruptcy. Full Story »
STOCKHOLM - The world's top cell phone maker, Nokia Corp., on Thursday said second-quarter earnings fell 66 percent as the global recession sapped demand. The company scrapped its target to gain market share this year and its stock sagged. Full Story »
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Iceland's buccaneering Viking spirit took a battering last year when the country's banking sector and currency collapsed and the volcanic island became an early casualty of the global economic crisis. Full Story »
WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes soared by nearly 15 percent in the first half of the year as more people lost their jobs and were unable to pay their monthly mortgage bills. Full Story »
NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, plans to demand that all its suppliers measure the environmental cost of making their products so Wal-Mart can calculate and post an eco-rating for each item. Full Story »
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home foreclosure activity galloped to a record in the first half of the year, overwhelming broad efforts to remedy failing loans while job losses escalated. Full Story »
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil dipped below $61 a barrel on Thursday after gaining more than 3 percent in the previous session, as investors remained cautious about the pace of economic recovery despite strong growth numbers from China. Full Story »
NEW YORK - American International Group Inc. is speeding up plans to spin off its American Life Insurance Co. unit as an independent public company, the company said Wednesday. Full Story »
Amid all the pomposity surrounding discussions of the credit crisis ("capitalism is over!", "hang anyone with a pinstriped suit!") it is easy to forget what truly triggered the malaise. Simply put: A tiny bunch of guys (some gals, too) inside a handful of financial institutions made hugely leveraged, often complex, massively sized bets on the health of the (mostly U.S.) subprime housing market. As the latter inevitably turned sour, those bets inevitably sank the punters, and as these behemoths floundered, so did the financial system and thus the economy at large. Full Story »
China has been blamed for a raft of dangerous exports to the U.S. -- lead-tainted toys, melamine-spiked pet food, and contaminated blood thinners. Now one of the biggest homebuilders in the U.S. says defective drywall from China is the culprit for fumes that have damaged 400 houses in Florida. Full Story »