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Oil prices fell nearly a dollar to below $109 a barrel Wednesday, weighed down by slowing demand in the United States and other consuming nations and signs the U.S. oil sector would recover quickly from Hurricane Gustav.
U.S. crude traded down 96 cents at $108.75 a barrel by 1:00 p.m. EDT, after settling on Tuesday […]

German exports rose more than economists expected in June, defying a stronger euro and pushing the trade surplus to a record.
Sales abroad, adjusted for working days and seasonal changes, increased 4.2 percent from May, when they fell 3.4 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. That's the biggest increase since September […]

The U.S. and China agreed to start negotiations for an investment treaty that would guarantee access for the nations' companies to buy assets in the other country, two American government officials said.
The treaty will take at least a year to complete, the officials told reporters on a conference call today, on condition of […]

Japan has followed the U.S. into every recession in the past three decades. This time may be different.
Since 1970, when the U.S. accounted for 30 percent of Japanese exports, each of its five recessions triggered a decline in Japan's shipments abroad. Now, that figure is only 20 percent, reflecting the success of companies […]

Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer offered a glimmer of hope on Thursday to fans of the company’s XP operating system, saying the company may reconsider its decision to stop selling XP soon.
But Ballmer was adamant that "most people who buy PCs today buy them with Vista."
"That’s the statistical truth," he told reporters at a […]

American Airlines said it would cancel nearly 500 flights Tuesday as it again performs detailed inspections of a key aircraft model.
A statement from American said that the inspections pertain to questions raised by the Federal Aviation Administration and American safety officials about how a certain bundle of wires is secured to the MD-80 aircraft. […]

Ford-owned Volvo Cars said Saturday it was recalling 82,000 cars because of a rust problem that could lead to the vehicle’s engine stalling.
The recall concerns the car-maker’s S40 and V50 models, made between 2004 and 2006, with five-cylinder petrol engines.
Volvo Cars spokeswoman Maria Bohlin said recalls were being made in the company’s "corrosion markets," […]

Fitch Ratings slashed FGIC Corp.’s financial strength rating on Wednesday, harming the bond insurer’s chances of winning new business and potentially reducing the value of hundreds of billions of dollars in bonds.
Fitch Ratings cut the bond insurer’s rating to "AA" from "AAA." A bond insurer with a rating below the top-notch "AAA" designation will […]