AP - The luxury apartment buildings Yang Xuhua passes on her way to work are a daily reminder of her own frustrated efforts to buy a home. Prices for even modest apartments in Shanghai have soared, putting home purchases out of reach for white collar workers and professionals.
AP - The government sent investigators Tuesday to examine a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway, and Toyota said it wanted to interview the driver as the besieged automaker dealt with a high-profile new headache that raised questions about the safety of its beloved hybrid.
AP - Asian stock markets were little changed Wednesday even as surging Chinese exports pointed to a pickup in global trade.
Kan. mulling new soda tax, raising other levies (AP)
AP - Kansas would impose a new tax on soda — a penny for every teaspoon of sugar — under a proposal that a key legislator outlined Tuesday while lawmakers considered raising taxes to erase a projected budget shortfall.
AFP - Cisco Systems on Tuesday unveiled super-fast Internet hardware that promises to boost US competitiveness and bolster economic recovery by moving mountains of data at astounding speeds.
ICF International's 4Q net ticks higher (AP)
AP - ICF International Inc.'s quarterly profit ticked higher as the company benefited from a lower tax rate and higher revenue from its consulting and technology services.
AFP - Talk of a European version of the International Monetary Fund to rescue errant EU states is little more than a distracting sideshow, analysts and a key central banker say.
One Congressman's Solution for Boosting Small Businesses Loans (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - The first Friday of every month brings the all-important employment report. February's numbers were better than anticipated. The United States lost only 36,000 jobs, versus the 68,000 that experts expected. This compares with 651,000 jobs lost in February 2009. Still, the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, with the unofficial rate stuck around a whopping 16%.
EU urges US to join in action against speculators (AP)
AP - European officials urged the U.S. to join in a crackdown on speculators who bet against Europe's currency union, warning they might ban some credit default swaps — opaque financial instruments blamed for worsening the world financial crisis.
Dollar General sues rival chain over colors (AP)
AP - Dollar General Corp. has filed a federal lawsuit against rival discount chain Fred's Inc., claiming the smaller company is using its trademark yellow and black colors.
Commercial delinquency lower than other mortgages (AP)
AP - Commercial mortgages were among the best-performing loans and leases held by banks and thrifts in the fourth quarter of last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday.
Reuters - Oil reversed earlier losses to gain a few cents toward $82 on Wednesday after China said imports jumped in February, boosting evidence that emerging Asian economies will lead global demand back into growth this year.
AFP - GM Daewoo, the South Korean unit of struggling US auto giant General Motors, said Wednesday it intends to return to profit this year and currently needs no further financial support from creditors.
Chat Transcript: Undergraduate Ranking (BusinessWeek)
BusinessWeek - Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business (Mendoza Undergraduate Profile) took the top spot in the Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranking of undergraduate business programs for the first time this year. Students praised the program for its values and strong alumni network. And there were many other surprises for undergraduate business programs in 2010. Bloomberg BusinessWeek editors Louis Lavelle and Geoff Gloeckler recently revealed the top 50 programs and answered questions about the ranking from reporter Francesca Di Meglio (FrancescaBW) and readers during a live chat event. ...
