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Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono faces one of the biggest public protests of his seven- year leadership as a government plan to raise fuel prices stirs public anger, threatening efforts to contain the budget gap and strengthen Southeast Asia

Witnesses close to MF Global’s collapse will offer details Wednesday about customer money that vanished days before the firm failed. Their testimony could challenge statements by former CEO Jon Corzine.
A JPMorgan Chase executive will testify at a congressional hearing that the bank asked Corzine if an Oct. 28 transfer of $200 million from a customer […]

Kraft Foods Inc. gave its CEO a pay package worth $15.7 million in 2011, which represents a 17 percent raise from the previous year.
The compensation for Irene Rosenfeld included a salary of $1.5 million, stock and option awards worth $9.7 million and incentive-based compensation of $4.2 million.
All other compensation came to $276,000 and covered costs […]

Iraq’s oil ministry says oil exports in January have declined by nearly 4.5 percent compared to the previous month.
Sunday’s statement says last month’s oil exports averaged 2.0137 million barrels per day, down from an average of 2.107 million barrels per day in January.
The sales grossed $6.595 billion based on an average price of $112.928 per […]

Purchases of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in February for a second month, a sign the recovery in the housing market may be uneven.
Sales dropped 1.6 percent to a 313,000 annual pace, the slowest since October, from a 318,000 rate in January that was weaker than previously reported, figures from the Commerce […]

Britain

Under a new deal between Metro transit and a mobile farmers market, riders can now shop for locally grown fruit, veggies, eggs and cheese at bus and train stops.
The roving farmers market will set up today at the Delmar Loop MetroLink station. Later in the week, it will move to Metro’s transit center at Riverview […]

Call it spring fever. For the third year in a row, optimism is spreading that growth in the United States could be poised to accelerate and drive the economy into sunnier pastures.
Claims for first-time jobless benefits dipped to a four-year low last week as layoffs slow. Factory output is steadily expanding. Retail sales have […]

The Center for Emerging Technologies named John McAlister to lead its Bio Entrepreneur Development Program.
The program is designed for first-time bioscience entrepreneurs in the St. Louis area, and it provides participants with 10 weeks of training and individualized mentoring and professional business services.
McAlister is a former president and CEO of Tripos Inc. He has worked […]

Stocks recorded small gains Thursday after a pair of positive economic reports. The Dow Jones industrial average tried to extend its longest winning streak in a year.
Just after 10:30 a.m. EDT, the Dow was up 17 points at 13,210. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up four at 1,398. The Nasdaq composite average was […]