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A plan to distribute $13 million to consumers cheated by Wentzville-based US Fidelis could be tossed aside if a lawsuit against the bankrupt company’s largest creditor is successful, according to a memo filed with the bankruptcy court Friday by the creditor, Chicago-based Mepco Finance Corp.
The memo accompanies a motion to dismiss a suit filed Sept. […]

Bargain hunters helped push the Dow back above 11,000 Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 196 points, or 1.8 percent, to 11,005 in midday trading. On Monday, the Dow had its worst day since 2008, plunging 634.76 points as fear coursed through global markets.
“We’ve got no information that makes us feel any better or worse” […]

WASHINGTON

Asian stock markets rose Wednesday, boosted by healthy earnings reports from U.S. companies.
Crude oil climbed above $98 while the dollar weakened slightly against the euro and yen.
Investors took heart after big U.S. companies such as Coca-Cola Co., IBM and Apple reported better quarterly earnings. Coca-Cola said income rose 18 percent on strong overseas sales while […]

The lawyer for Rupert Murdoch’s former British chief, Rebekah Brooks, says she is not guilty of any criminal offense, and police face serious questions about why she was arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and bribery.
Lawyer Stephen Parkinson says Brooks was held and questioned for nine hours on Sunday, but detectives did not accuse her […]

A late rally Friday is helping the stock market avoid its worst weekly losses in nearly a year.
Concerns about Europe and weak U.S. factory output weighed on stocks on Friday. Those factors largely overshadowed a jump of nearly 13 percent for Internet-search giant Google after the company said its revenue hit an all-time high last […]

Businesses requested more airplanes, autos, and oil drilling equipment in May, suggesting supply disruptions stemming from the Japan crisis are fading.
The Commerce Department says factory orders rose 0.8 percent in May. That followed a downwardly revised drop of 0.9 percent in April.
Much of the increase was driven by orders for aircraft, a volatile category, which […]

Chinese manufacturing slipped to its slowest pace in 28 months in June, sapped by inflation-fighting curbs on credit and weaker overseas demand, according to surveys released Friday.
The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its monthly purchasing managers index fell to 50.9 in June from 52 in May, 52.9 in April and 53.4 in March. […]

Greece fended off a bankruptcy that would have roiled global markets and threatened the future of the euro when lawmakers on Wednesday backed controversial austerity measures in the face of violent protests. More than 100 people were injured.
Investors cheered the bill _ which aims to cut spending and raise taxes by euro28 billion ($40 billion) […]

The United Mine Workers labor union says members would get a $6 an hour raise over the duration of a tentative 5 1/2-year contract with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association.
President Cecil Roberts says the increase would be the largest in the union’s 121-year history. Miners would average about $30 an hour by 2016.
The Bituminous Coal […]