KATU - News - Business

Illegal ads a sticky situation for many towns

From the boardwalks of the New Jersey shore to the desert metropolises of Arizona and West Texas and the drizzle of Oregon, street signs, utility poles and even private property are often covered with advertising stickers.

Texas brewer, once near defeat, shines again

By all accounts, Shiner beer shouldn't have made it this long. The Spoetzl Brewery ferments its brew in a one-stoplight town that's not on the way to anywhere, and much larger regional brewers long ago succumbed to consolidation and the muscle of national brewers.

GM Europe: Talks on selling Opel near completion

Negotiations for the sale of General Motors Corp.'s unit Adam Opel GmbH to Canadian autoparts maker Magna are progressing well and should soon be complete, the head of GM Europe said in remarks released Saturday.

Downturn dating: Hearts flutter as markets stutter

Credit the recession for staycations and bringing us more game-night parties at home. But also give it a shout for spurring more first dates. Some singles are now hunting for dates with the same fervor others are showing hunting for jobs.

British Airways to cut capacity, delay new planes

British Airways PLC announced Friday it will ground aircraft, slash seat numbers and postpone taking delivery of a dozen new Airbus A380 superjumbos as it faces a recession-driven decline in passengers.

Fire hits Fisher complex in Seattle

The small fire broke out around 11 p.m. Thursday in the basement of Fisher Plaza at an electrical vault — the section of the building where city power lines meet the building's transformers, said Seattle City Light spokesman Scott Thomsen.

Mountain of debt: Rising debt may be next crisis

The national debt stands today at a staggering $11.5 trillion - equivalent to over $37,000 for each and every American. And it's expanding by over $1 trillion a year. The mountain of debt easily could become the next full-fledged economic crisis without firm action from Washington.

European markets take breather with US on holiday

European stock markets steadied themselves Friday after big losses the previous day, when weak U.S. jobs data reinforced doubts about recovery in the world's biggest economy. Wall Street was closed for the Independence Day holiday.

Judge OKs continued freezing of financier's assets

A federal judge has granted the Securities and Exchange Commission's request to continue freezing the assets of a California financier charged in a fraud case involving hundreds of millions of dollars.

States set to ring in Independence Day sans budget

Several states are facing the prospect of government shutdowns and program cuts as they enter the first weekend of the fiscal year and July Fourth holiday without a budget in place.