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Stocks churned Friday, at the end of a mixed week on Wall Street, that nonetheless left the Dow industrials in positive territory for the year for the first time since January.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 28 points, or 0.3%, ending above its 2008 close of 8,776.39.
The Dow has now risen in 12 […]

Gas prices are creeping towards $3 a gallon and consumers are getting squeezed. That has many analysts worried that another painful summer driving season will stifle an economic recovery.
Retail gas prices have risen daily since April 29, and are nearly $1 higher since the beginning of 2009, according to motorist group AAA. The […]

The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week, but ongoing claims ticked higher, according to government data released Thursday.
There were 601,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended June 6, down 24,000 from 625,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said.
Economists expected 615,000 new […]

DETROIT — Chrysler was reborn Wednesday under a new Italian parent, but it can’t shake the shadows of its past: It’s not selling enough cars, its fleet is tilted to trucks and SUVs, and help is more than a year away.
A 42-day stay in bankruptcy court cleansed the company of much of […]

A federal bankruptcy judge Tuesday approved automaker Chrysler LLC’s plan to terminate 789 dealer franchises, calling it an "appropriate and necessary" step by the company.
Effective immediately, the dealers are no longer authorized Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers, Judge Arthur Gonzalez said in his order issued Tuesday afternoon. The decision to cut the dealerships "constitutes […]

The U.S. trade deficit likely widened for a second straight month in April, driven by rising energy costs, according to a Reuters poll.
The survey of 68 economists forecast the trade gap swelled to $29 billion from $27.6 billion in March, when the shortfall increased for the first time in eight months. Analysts said this […]

Italian automaker Fiat SpA will not abandon its purchase of ailing U.S. peer Chrysler even if the deal is not completed by a June 15 deadline, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
He said Fiat would have no comment on the U.S. Supreme Court order blocking the sale until it had more information about it same […]

With buyers scarce and financing tight, some home sellers are offering rent-to-buy options to potential buyers. In fact, there’s been enough of a spike in interest that ForSaleByOwner.com added it as a search option on the site, says spokesman Eric Mangan.
These deals, also called rent-to-own and lease-option, usually require buyers to pay extra […]

The Bank of England may keep up the pace of bond purchases today as officials weigh whether they are already printing enough money to revive the British economy.
Governor Mervyn King’s forecasts last month showed it needs to spend 125 billion pounds ($207 billion) of newly printed money in U.K. debt markets to fight […]

Amid General Motors Corp.’s bankruptcy filing, a sense of relief came from local politicians and auto workers.
Analysts hadn’t expected the Wentzville plant — GM’s only facility that builds full-size vans — to be on the closure list released Monday.
Still, recent upheavals in the auto industry left workers nervous about any […]