Tooth Fairy inflation: Price of a tooth nears $4

NEW YORK — Days of finding a quarter under your pillow are long gone. The Tooth Fairy no longer leaves loose change. Kids this year are getting an average of $3.70 per lost tooth, a 23 percent jump over last year's rate of $3 a tooth, according to a...

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Weighing Yellen vs. Summers for Federal Reserve

WASHINGTON — Lawrence Summers is the White House insider with a direct line to President Barack Obama. Janet Yellen is the Federal Reserve veteran with a long list of congressional patrons. The two Ivy League-trained economists have emerged as leading...

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Report: GE to spin off consumer finance business

General Electric Co. plans to spin off the U.S. consumer lending business of its finance arm with an initial public offering of stock that could come early next year, according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper also said Friday that the Fairfield,...

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US consumer spending up weak 0.1 percent in July

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumers barely increased their spending in July as their income grew more slowly, held back in part by steep government spending cuts that reduced federal workers' salaries. The tepid gains suggest economic growth is off to a weak...

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Dunkin' Donuts criticized for 'racist' ad campaign

BANGKOK — A leading human rights group has called on Dunkin' Donuts to withdraw a "bizarre and racist" advertisement for chocolate doughnuts in Thailand that shows a smiling woman with bright pink lips in blackface makeup. The Dunkin' Donuts franchise...

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Perez: Fast food strikes show need for wage hike

WASHINGTON — The recent spate of fast-food worker strikes is another sign of the need to raise the minimum wage for all workers, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's important to hear that voice," he said...

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Markets rebound as Syria jitters ease

LONDON — Indications that a U.S.-led military intervention in Syria may not be happening imminently allowed investors to regroup Thursday, helping to shore up stock markets. Commodities, such as oil and gold, drifted lower after racing ahead in the first...

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US banks earn record $42.2B in 2nd quarter

WASHINGTON — U.S. banks earned more from April through June than during any quarter on record, aided by a steep drop in losses from bad loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says the banking industry earned $42.2 billion in the second quarter,...

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Applications for US unemployment aid fall to 331K

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits remained near the lowest level in more than five years last week, a sign that companies are cutting few jobs. First-time applications for benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted...

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Stocks edge higher following economic data

NEW YORK — Stocks moved higher Thursday as investors weighed a pair of positive economic reports against worries about Syria. The Dow Jones industrial average added 28 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,851 in the first half-hour of trading. The Standard...

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Bombardier in talks with Russia on aircraft deal

TORONTO — Canada's Bombardier has signed a preliminary agreement with a Russian state corporation for the purchase of as many as 100 Q400 NextGen aircraft in a deal that could be worth up to $3.39 billion. The Montreal-based plane and train manufacturer...

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Pending sales of US homes slip but remain solid

WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy U.S. homes in July, but the level stayed close to a 6 ½-year high. The modest decline suggests higher mortgage rates have yet to sharply slow sales. The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally...

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Argentine high court considers media monopoly law

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The future of broadcast television and other news media in Argentina is at stake as the Supreme Court hears arguments on the constitutionality of a law designed to break up privately held media monopolies. The 2009 law's stiff...

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Man, dog join forces for new breed of philanthropy

LOS ANGELES — When Charlie Annenberg adopted an abandoned golden retriever named Lucky, a new breed of philanthropy was born. Lucky was 4 in 2001 when he teamed up with Annenberg, scion to a wealthy family known for giving money away. The 46-year-old...

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Judge refuses to suspend BP settlement payments

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has rejected BP's latest request to suspend settlement payments to Gulf Coast residents and businesses while a former FBI director leads an independent investigation of the program, which compensates victims of the company's...

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United Airlines makes emergency landing in Idaho

POCATELLO, Idaho — A United Airlines 737 flying from Seattle to Houston made an emergency landing in Idaho after an engine shut down. Police say the airplane landed safely at the Pocatello Regional Airport just after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. KPVI-TV reports...

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US consumer confidence rises in August

WASHINGTON — Americans' confidence in the economy inched closer to a 5 ½-year high on growing optimism that hiring and wages could pick up in coming months. The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said Tuesday that its consumer...

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Facebook: Governments demanded data on 38K users

WASHINGTON — Government agents in 74 countries demanded information on about 38,000 Facebook users in the first half of this year, with about half the orders coming from authorities in the United States, the company said Tuesday. The social-networking...

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Grain futures mixed on the CBOT

CHICAGO — Grains futures were mixed Tuesday in early trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for December delivery was 1.25 cents higher at 6.68 a bushel; December corn was 7.50 cents lower at $4.93 a bushel; December oats were unchanged at $3.4475...

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Mexico farm linked to illnesses resumes operations

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration says a Mexico farm linked to an outbreak of severe stomach illnesses in two states can resume operations because no food safety violations have been found there. The number of people sickened around the country...

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New Mass. sales tax angers, confuses tech firms

BOSTON — A new Massachusetts sales tax on software and computer services, part of a massive transportation financing plan that became law last month, has been met with anger and confusion in the state's technology sector, prompting calls for its repeal....

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German magazine: NSA spied on United Nations

BERLIN — The German magazine Der Spiegel says the U.S. National Security Agency secretly monitored the U.N.'s internal video conferencing system by decrypting it last year. The weekly said Sunday that documents it obtained from American leaker Edward...

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States that allow private lobbyists in pension

At least 20 states allow some private lobbying groups to tap into often lucrative and safe state pension systems, according to a review by Associated Press reporters across the nation. Legislatures granted such groups access decades ago on the premise...

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Private lobbyists get public pensions in 20 states

ALBANY, N.Y. — As a lobbyist in New York's statehouse, Stephen Acquario is doing pretty well. He pulls down $204,000 a year, more than the governor makes, gets a Ford Explorer as his company car and is afforded another special perk: Even though he's...

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Small farmers: Rules could halt local food trend

CONCORD, N.H. — Federal officials say they appreciated hearing from northern New England farmers about proposed food safety rules, but some of the farmers didn't find the experience very valuable. Hundreds of farmers from Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire...

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