Apple trumps expectations, sells 35M iPhones in 2Q

CUPERTINO (AP) - Apple Inc., the world's most valuable company, trumped skeptics once again by reporting blowout iPhone sales.

Monthly smartphone bills down at AT&T

NEW YORK (AP) - Hidden in AT&T Inc.'s financial statements is a story that runs counter to its optimistic profit projections: The company is generating less revenue from each new smartphone subscriber.

Apple's squeeze hits phone companies, other competitors

CUPERTINO (AP) - Apple is set to report another record quarterly profit on Tuesday, continuing the relentless string of results that's made it the world's most valuable company. Those profits don't come out of thin air: A range of businesses -from the company's wireless carrier friends to its PC-making foes- are seeing their profits melt away and flow to Apple's bottom line.

Facebook’s 1st quarter net income falls

MENLO PARK (AP) - Facebook's first-quarter net income fell 12 percent, weighed down by higher expenses even as its revenue soared, the social networking company said Monday, just a few weeks ahead of its expected initial public offering in May.

Social Security heading for insolvency even faster

WASHINGTON (AP) - Social Security is rushing even faster toward insolvency, driven by retiring baby boomers, a weak economy and politicians' reluctance to take painful action to fix the huge retirement and disability program.

Netflix's 1Q tops forecasts, stock still plummets

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Netflix's comeback from a customer backlash accelerated during the first quarter, but the recovery wasn't impressive enough to ease more pressing concerns about the Internet video subscription service's ability to cope with tougher competition.

Intel launches first chips of new generation

SANTA CLARA (AP) - Intel Corp. said Monday that PCs with chips from its new generation of processors, featuring a revolutionary design, will be available this week.

Baseball scores big with At Bat mobile app

ATLANTA (AP) - Baseball is back, which means die-hard fans like me are hungry for updates and highlights when we're not near our televisions or computers.

After 4-month surge, gas prices falling

NEW YORK (AP) - The worst appears to be over. Gasoline prices are going down.

PG&E tops nation in solar installations

Benefits for little ones cause big stink

Sometimes I am just blown away by the reaction I get to a column. I write what I think is the most innocuous and non-controversial answer to someone's question about Social Security benefits - and then, out of the blue, my email inbox is flooded with letters. Some of them have an inquisitive "this can't possibly be true" tone, while others are downright angry.

Google's ex-CEO gets $101M pay package in new job

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Shifting from Google's CEO to executive chairman proved to be lucrative career move for Eric Schmidt.

Disney studio chief quits after 'John Carter' bomb

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Disney movie studio boss Rich Ross stepped down on Friday, taking the fall for at least a couple of over-budgeted bombs as Hollywood shies away from taking risks on big blockbusters.

Crises make automakers rethink lean parts supplies

DETROIT (AP) - For the first time in more than 20 years, U.S. automakers are questioning a pillar of manufacturing: The practice of bringing parts to assembly lines right before they're used.

UP net income up 35 percent in 1st quarter

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Strong earnings reports from two of the nation's biggest freight railroads show that the U.S. economy is continuing its long, slow recovery.

FTC: Operators of jerk.com site misled consumers

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Trade Commission says the operators of a website called Jerk.com are the ones behaving badly.

Medicare Advantage pay hike seen

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government has raised its payment estimate for Medicare Advantage plans months ahead of a busy election season during which cuts to the program promise to be a key focus for politicians and voters.

Yum tests new chicken restaurant

NEW YORK (AP) - As KFC struggles in the U.S., parent company Yum Brands is testing a new chicken restaurant called Super Chix.

Google’s unorthodox stock split

MOUNTAIN VIEW (AP) - Google is poised to split its stock using an unusual method aimed at keeping co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in control of the Internet's most powerful company.

13 GM traffic deaths are tied to 57-cent part

WASHINGTON (AP) - The fix for a faulty ignition switch linked to 13 traffic deaths would have cost just 57 cents, members of Congress said Tuesday as they demanded answers from General Motors' new CEO on why the automaker took 10 years to recall cars with the defect.

Temporary Medicare fees fix gets OK

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama Tuesday signed into law legislation to give doctors temporary relief from a flawed Medicare payment formula that threatened them with a 24 percent cut in their fees.

Senates laud Caterpillar tax strategy

WASHINGTON (AP) - Caterpillar Inc. executives defended a tax strategy Tuesday that has saved the manufacturing giant billions in U.S. taxes. They got support from Republican senators, including one who said the company deserves an award.

Riders wowed by view from 550-foot Vegas Ferris wheel

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Tourists began taking in the view Monday from a skyline-changing observation wheel that offers a unique overview of sparkling Las Vegas Strip resorts, wide skies and craggy brown mountains in the distance.

GM recall: Many victims were young motorists

DETROIT (AP) - As the deaths are tallied from General Motors' delayed recall of compact cars, one thing is becoming clear: Of those killed, the majority were young.

NHTSA requiring rearview cameras

WASHINGTON (AP) - Years late, the Transportation Department issued a rule Monday that will require rearview technology in all new cars and many light trucks - an effort to reduce deaths and serious injuries caused by backup accidents.

Dating site protests anti- gay-marriage contributor

SAN JOSE (AP) - An online dating service is encouraging its users to stop using the Firefox web browser because the new CEO of the company that makes it supported California's former gay marriage ban.

Office apps for iPad ushers in new era

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft has released an iPad version of its popular Office software suite, a breakthrough heralding a new era under a CEO who promises to focus more on the devices that people are using instead of trying to protect the company's lucrative Windows franchise.

$1 trillion student loan debt widens US wealth gap

NEW YORK (AP) - Every month that Gregory Zbylut pays $1,300 toward his law school loans is another month of not qualifying for a decent mortgage.

Judge won’t dismiss ‘pink slime’ suit

ELK POINT, S.D. (AP) - A South Dakota judge on Thursday refused to throw out a defamation lawsuit against ABC related to its coverage of a meat product called lean, finely textured beef, which critics have dubbed "pink slime."

Taco Bell’s ads star real-life Ronald McDonalds

NEW YORK (AP) - Taco Bell is name-dropping an unlikely clown to promote its new breakfast menu - Ronald McDonald.