Unemployment rates rose in 44 states in July

Facebook falls to half of public offering price; drops to $19.05

NEW YORK (AP) - Facebook's stock fell to $19 for the first time on Friday, losing half its market value since the company's initial public offering in May. The stock dipped 87 cents, or 4 percent, to briefly hit $19, just minutes before it closed the trading day at $19.05. Facebook's shares ended the week down nearly 13 percent. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

Apple stock hits new high of $648.11 after 4-month dip

S&P 500 creeps near four-year high; Cisco surges

Gap's 2nd quarter profit up 29 percent

Groupon stock hits another low after 2Q results

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Groupon's stock hit another low, days after the online deals company issued a lackluster quarterly report. Groupon Inc. fell 32 cents, or 6 percent, to close Thursday at $5. Earlier it hit $4.97, its lowest level since its initial public offering in November. The stock's IPO price was $20, so it has lost 75 percent of its value. ...

Facebook plunges to $19.69 per share

People affected by refinery fire sue Chevron

RICHMOND (AP) - Nine people have sued Chevron Corp. over a California refinery fire that sent thousands to hospitals with respiratory issues and contributed to higher gasoline prices on the West Coast. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Contra Costa County Superior Court claims Chevron was grossly negligent in its handling of refinery maintenance as well as emergency response to the blaze in ...

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps again graces Wheaties cereal boxes

NEW YORK (AP) - With another six Olympic medals around his neck, swimmer Michael Phelps is once again touting the breakfast of champions. General Mills Inc. on Thursday unveiled limited-edition boxes of its Wheaties cereal featuring Phelps, who now holds a record 22 Olympic medals. Phelps was last featured on the box after the 2004 Olympics. After the ...

Target raises profit outlook on solid 2Q sales

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Target Corp. raised its full-year profit projection Wednesday after the cheap-chic discounter reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue that showed healthy spending in food, beauty, fashion and other items.

Lacker: Fed's power to fix economy now limited

US economic recovery weakest since World War II

Cisco's 4Q earnings rise 56%

Shatner's Negotiator back in new Priceline spot

Facebook insiders can sell stock as 'lock-up' ends

Microsoft hypes next-gen Xbox One games at E3

Business Briefs

S&P BOOSTS OUTLOOK FOR US GOV'T'S LONG-TERM DEBT: WASHINGTON (AP) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded its outlook Monday for the U.S. government's long-term debt. S&P cited the government's strengthened finances, a recovering U.S. economy and some easing of Washington's political gridlock.

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Economy adds 175K jobs, jobless climbs to 7.6 %

Microsoft says used games will work on Xbox One

NEW YORK (AP) - Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One gaming console will be able to play used games, clearing up a worry among gamers and video game retailers such as GameStop, which trade in used games. That means video games discs users buy will not be limited to one Xbox One device, and players can share or trade in the games they have bought for other used games, just as they have been able to do ...

J.C. Penney launches new home department

Consumer borrow $11.1B in April

Bill to legalize web poker introduced

PG&E to pay $50.5 million because of wildfires

SACRAMENTO (AP) - PG&E and its contractors have agreed to pay $50.5 million to settle Department of Justice allegations that the utility was responsible for two wildfires that scorched 18,000 acres of national forest land in Northern California. The U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento announced the settlement Thursday. DOJ alleged in a lawsuit that a dropped cigarette lit by a work crew hired by a PG&E contractor ignited a 2004 fire that burned 13,000 acres ...

Did Whole Foods fire workers for speaking Spanish at work?

FDA favors easing safety limits on Avandia

Nestle Purina to purchase Petfinder

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Microsoft to add Outlook to Windows system on RT tablets

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft will add its popular Outlook email program to more tablets running on a lightweight version of its Windows operating system as part of a free software update this year. The Outlook 2013 app will be given to owners of Microsoft's Surface tablet and similar devices running Windows RT. That's a slimmed down version of Windows 8, a radical overhaul of the ubiquitous operating system used on most personal computers. Microsoft ...

Some morning-after OTC pill sales allowed

Long-awaited keyboard BlackBerrys hit stores