National Business News
RSSPenney tries on new price plan, takes loss
NEW YORK — J.C. Penney on Tuesday reported a larger-than-expected firstquarter loss that missed Wall Street’s already low expectations largely because customers were turned off by the retailer’s new plan to get rid of heavy discounting periodically throughout the year in favor of everyday low pricing. Continue reading...
Ad-skip feature irks big players
NBC exec calls Dish move insult
NEW YORK — Satellite broadcaster Dish Network Corp.’s new Auto Hop feature, which makes it easier for viewers to avoid watching commercials, is not winning the company fans in the television business. Continue reading...
Sales up a bit as gas price declines
WASHINGTON — Americans are starting to see some relief from higher gasoline prices, a change that many economists say could revive the economy in the months ahead. Continue reading...
JPMorgan gain offsets Dow loss
LITTLE ROCK — Europe’s latest political impasse cast a gloom over financial markets Tuesday — the euro plunged, and the Dow Jones industrial average extended a slide that has wiped out nearly 5 percent of its value in two weeks. Continue reading...
USDA studying data-release times
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is studying procedures for releasing crop reports as exchanges add trading hours for corn, soybeans, wheat, soybean meal, soybean oil, oats and rough rice, Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday. Continue reading...
Big-bank exec out over loss
LITTLE ROCK — The executive responsible for trading strategy at JPMorgan Chase on Monday became the first casualty of the bank’s $2 billion trading mistake. Continue reading...
CEO: Fine if Icahn aboard
All calm, hints Chesapeake
NEW YORK — Chesapeake Energy Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon said Monday he’d welcome activist investor Carl Icahn as a shareholder. Continue reading...
Automobile sales spur growth
Industry’s resurgence felt throughout U.S. economy
LITTLE ROCK — Automobile sales that are running at the fastest pace in four years are poised to reverberate through the U.S. economy with a spillover into production, profits and jobs. Continue reading...
Greek deadlock sinks euro, stocks
NEW YORK — The ongoing political stalemate in Greece rattled financial markets worldwide on Monday, driving U.S. stocks lower. Continue reading...
Sen. McCain: US slow to seek trade pacts in Asia
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John McCain wants the Obama administration to ramp up its free trade agenda in Asia and suspend U.S. economic sanctions on Myanmar. Continue reading...
Ports scramble to deepen harbors
States banking on bigger ships through Panama Canal
WASHINGTON — A wider, deeper Panama Canal will open in 2014, meaning bigger cargo ships filled with more containers of consumer goods can move directly to the population centers of the East Coast instead of stopping on the West Coast and sending the goods across the country. Continue reading...
At Chicago, trains move like molasses
Cross-country freight hits rail bog
CHICAGO — When it comes to rail traffic, Chicago is America’s speed bump. Continue reading...
USDA forecasts record corn crop
Consumers are likely to see some relief from higher food prices by late fall, if the latest government crop forecast holds up. Continue reading...
Scientists fear airline seats endanger heavy fliers
More than six decades ago, when the federal standards on the strength of airplane seats and seat belts were written, government regulations specified that seats be designed for a passenger weight of 170 pounds. But now, statistics show the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds and the average woman 165. Continue reading...
Toyota’s electric RAV4 price double gas model’s
Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest maker of hybrid autos, said its electric RAV4 sport utility vehicle with batteries and motor from Tesla Motors Inc. will cost more than twice as much as the gasoline version of the compact crossover. Continue reading...
