Top Business Stories from the AP

• Castro says he was misinterpreted on Cuban economy Sept. 10, 2010, 12:59 p.m. CDT

  HAVANA (AP) — Fidel Castro says his comments about Cuba's communist economic model were misinterpreted by a visiting American journalist. Appearing at the University of Havana on Friday, the 84-year-old ex-president says he meant "exactly the opposite" of the quote contained in a blog by Atlantic magazine reporter Jeffrey Goldberg ...

• Feds: Drilling moratorium depends on industry Sept. 10, 2010, 11:53 a.m. CDT

  BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — A key U.S. government official said Friday the moratorium on deepwater oil drilling likely won't be extended past Nov. 30, but whether it is cut short will be entirely up to the industry. Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and ...

• Congo suspends mining in volatile area Sept. 10, 2010, 11:04 a.m. CDT

  KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo's president has ordered a mining suspension in volatile eastern Congo. President Joseph Kabila ordered the indefinite suspension Wednesday near the mining hub of Walikale, where more than 240 people were treated for rape last month. Kabila says authorities want to weed out what he says ...

• Obama: Not yet ready to name consumer bureau head Sept. 10, 2010, 10:55 a.m. CDT

  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama praises consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren as a "dear friend" and says he has discussed a new Consumer Protection Bureau with her. But he says he's not ready to announce a new director for the agency. Warren, a Harvard law professor, is popular with liberals ...

• Shrek in Spain? Paramount backs theme park plan Sept. 10, 2010, 10:48 a.m. CDT

  MADRID (AP) — U.S. film company Paramount says it is teaming up with officials to develop a branded theme park in the Murcia region on Spain's Mediterranean coast. Paramount Licensing, which issues permits for the use of Paramount's intellectual property rights, says the company will not invest money ...

• Obama says OK to call his new plan a stimulus bill Sept. 10, 2010, 10:35 a.m. CDT

  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says his entire economic agenda is designed to stimulate growth and create jobs, despite his administration's reluctance to call his new proposals a "stimulus plan." Obama unveiled a series of infrastructure investments and tax incentives for businesses this week. Democrats want to show action ...

• APNewsBreak: Gay group counters Target money Sept. 10, 2010, 10:07 a.m. CDT

  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A leading gay rights group will split a $150,000 donation to Minnesota campaigns between a Democratic-backed political fund, a gay rights group and political candidates. The money from the Human Rights Campaign is a response to an equal amount given by Target Corp. to a ...

• BC-ATL STOCKS LIST 3zyyc Sept. 10, 2010, 9:39 a.m. CDT

  OlinCorp19.2918.8519.29+.55PenneyJC20.9820.6920.98+.25PepsiCo66.2165.8666.01—.09Praxair86.8686.4186.65+.08ProctGamb60.6360.3160.50+.21ProgressEngy43.8743.5343.79—.07RockwellAuto57 ...

• Wholesale inventories increase in July by largest amount in 2 years while sales post rebound Sept. 10, 2010, 9:02 a.m. CDT

  WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale inventories increase in July by largest amount in 2 years while sales post rebound.

• Bartiromo feels government 'needed' Lehman to fail Sept. 10, 2010, 8:55 a.m. CDT

  CHICAGO (AP) — As Wall Street began crumbling two years ago, Maria Bartiromo knew she had to write a book about it. The financial world's titans were huddled to make a decision that ended up igniting the 2008 meltdown — letting Lehman Brothers fail rather than rescuing the multibillion-dollar investment bank ...

• Smithfield to sell its half of Butterball Sept. 10, 2010, 8:47 a.m. CDT

  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Pork producer Smithfield Foods is selling its stake in the Butterball turkey joint venture, becoming a pure-play pork producer as it continues focusing on its more profitable packaged meat business. Butterball, a major name in the turkey world, annually sells 1 billion pounds of turkey — 20 percent ...

• BCE to take full control of CTV Sept. 10, 2010, 8:37 a.m. CDT

  TORONTO (AP) — BCE Inc., Canada's largest telecom company, said Friday it agreed to acquire full ownership of the largest private broadcaster in Canada while the Thomson family said it is regaining majority ownership of the country's national newspaper. BCE said it obtained 100 percent ownership of CTV television ...

• New rules would mean fewer hours for sleepy pilots Sept. 10, 2010, 8:26 a.m. CDT

  WASHINGTON (AP) — Some airline pilots would fly fewer hours and others would fly longer under a government proposal Friday to help prevent dangerous fatigue. The Federal Aviation Administration plan, months away from becoming final, would set different requirements based on the time of day, number of scheduled flight segments, flight ...

• EU sees SKorea trade deal despite Italian worries Sept. 10, 2010, 6:32 a.m. CDT

  BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has offered Italy assurances for its embattled auto industry in an attempt to clear the way for a multibillion dollar free trade deal with South Korea, Belgium's foreign minister said Friday. The deal that would wipe out billions of dollars in industrial and agricultural ...

• Study tracks concerns about 3-D TV sets Sept. 10, 2010, 5:52 a.m. CDT

  NEW YORK (AP) — A study about consumer attitudes toward 3-D television found many who were less interested in the technology after they actually experienced it. Still, 52 percent of consumers who tried out 3-D televisions said it was a better experience than they had expected, according to a study conducted ...

• Stocks edge higher, continue September rally Sept. 10, 2010, 5:50 a.m. CDT

  NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks inched higher Friday as investors held on to their newfound optimism about the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30 points in very light trading, but pared its earlier gains. Broader indexes were mixed, and Treasury prices eased as traders became more willing to take ...

• Greece pledges to overhaul loss-making state rail Sept. 10, 2010, 4:46 a.m. CDT

  THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — The Greek government pledged Friday to radically overhaul loss-making state rail company OSE, as official data showed efforts to reduce the country's bloated budget deficit are slowing though still on track. Prime Minister George Papandreou said OSE was a major liability, bleeding cash and offering substandard ...

• Oil price surges after Midwest pipeline shuts down Sept. 10, 2010, 3:05 a.m. CDT

  Oil prices surged Friday after a pipeline that delivered oil to Midwest refineries was shut down, raising questions about how long the supply may be disrupted. Benchmark oil for October delivery rose $1.89 to $76.14 a barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Enbridge Energy ...

• Dubai World wins over most creditors to debt plan Sept. 10, 2010, 2:49 a.m. CDT

  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai World said Friday it has won over nearly all its creditors to a $24.9 billion debt restructuring plan, bringing the struggling conglomerate a key step closer to resolving a financial crisis that has dragged on for months. By winning broad support for the ...

• Obama says voters may blame him for economy Sept. 10, 2010, 2:17 a.m. CDT

  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama insisted Friday that the U.S. economy is digging itself out of the deepest recession in decades but conceded that "progress has been painfully slow" and many voters in November's elections may blame him. Facing a rising jobless rate, Obama told a White House ...

• Experts say big egg farms can mean big problems Sept. 10, 2010, 2:14 a.m. CDT

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — From the first days of the recent recall of 550 million eggs from two Iowa farms, one issue about large-scale agriculture has been clear: When something goes wrong on a big farm, it's going to be a big problem. It's a point even some supporters ...

• India's July industrial output surges 13.8 percent Sept. 10, 2010, 1:45 a.m. CDT

  MUMBAI, India (AP) — India's industrial output grew 13.8 percent in July — far more than expected — rebounding from a 13-month low in June and adding to pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates to curb inflation. Manufacturing, which has the greatest weight in India's index of ...

• Nokia dumps CEO, turns to Microsoft exec Sept. 10, 2010, 1:15 a.m. CDT

  HELSINKI (AP) — Nokia Corp. is replacing CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo with Microsoft executive Stephen Elop as the world's top maker of mobile phones aims to regain lost ground in the fiercely competitive smart phone market. The choice of a North American executive to lead a Finnish company reflects the increasing ...

• Regulator opposes Virgin Blue, Air NZ alliance Sept. 10, 2010, 12:12 a.m. CDT

  SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's competition regulator on Friday gave a thumbs down to a proposed airline alliance on flights between Australia and New Zealand. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's preliminary decision said a link between Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand was likely to reduce competition in the ...

• AP source: Obama to name Goolsbee to head council Sept. 9, 2010, 11:01 p.m. CDT

  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has chosen one of his longtime economic advisers, Austan Goolsbee, to be the chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers, a White House official said. Obama was expected to announce the appointment at the beginning of his news conference on Friday. The official spoke Thursday ...