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Consumer confidence rose in May to the highest level in four years, led by gains among upper-income Americans that may contribute to a pickup in spending on expensive items like furniture and appliances.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index for May climbed to 77.8, the highest since January 2008, from 76.4 the prior […]

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A bad European week for Chancellor Angela Merkel looks likely to end with more electoral woes _ this time, the likely re-election of a center-left government in Germany’s most populous state, which Merkel has sought to portray as irresponsibly addicted to debt.
But despite the prospect of an embarrassing loss for her conservatives, Merkel still looks […]

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Chesapeake Energy’s CEO is about to lose a controversial perk that allowed him to take personal stakes in wells drilled by the company.
Chesapeake’s board said Thursday Aubrey McClendon agreed to negotiate an early termination of the program, which was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders in 2005 for a 10-year term.

The board is also reviewing […]

Romania’s government fell Friday in a no-confidence vote, as opposition parties seized on widespread public anger over biting austerity measures, cronyism and corruption.
Some 235 lawmakers voted against the government of Prime Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, four more votes than needed.
Opposition leader Victor Ponta said the vote represented the end “of an abusive system that uses […]

The long legal saga of Francine Katz took another small step forward Wednesday.
Lawyers for Katz and Anheuser-Busch - which Katz sued in 2009 claiming gender discrimination - wrangled in a St. Louis courtroom over how much information in the case will be deemed confidential.
In December, A-B asked Judge Joan Moriarty to grant a protective order […]

McKendree University has acquired the 18-hole Locust Hills Golf Course in Lebanon for $1.4 million, nearly doubling the size of the school’s campus. 
McKendree bought the public golf course for its future development needs but plans to keep the course open for now, the school said in a statement. The golf course is located at 1015 […]

Isle of Capri Casinos’ board of directors have elected the gaming company’s Chief Executive Virginia McDowell to the board.
The election, which was effective on April 12, was the result of a decision to increase the board by one member.
McDowell took the helm of the Creve Coeur-based casino operator in April 2011 free business cards.
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking to the biggest rally of his re-election bid, said the European Central Bank should do more to promote economic growth, reviving an issue he raised in his 2007 campaign.

The Federal Reserve took steps to encourage banks to turn more of their foreclosed homes into rental properties in new policy guidelines issued on Thursday that could help lessen the flood of distressed property sales that is depressing prices.
“Banking organizations should make good-faith efforts to dispose of foreclosed properties,” the Fed said in a […]

Stocks were mixed in midday trading, closing out a tumultuous week in which the Dow Jones industrial average had its biggest plunge in a month.
The Dow was down 3 points at 13,071 at midday Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up less than a point at 1,399. The Nasdaq composite rose 10 points […]