IMS: US medicine spending shows rare dip in 2012

TRENTON, N.J. — Spending on prescription medicines in the U.S. fell for the first time in decades last year, slipping as cash-strapped consumers continued to cut back on use of health care services. Patients also benefited from a surge of new, inexpensive...

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Detroit adds watches to the list of stuff it makes

DETROIT — Detroit has a long history of manufacturing — cars, steel, even popcorn. Now, the city is home to a facility devoted to the production of an item not made at this scale in the U.S. for decades: the wristwatch. The Dallas-based Shinola Company...

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China's April auto sales rise 13 percent

BEIJING — China's auto sales rose 13 percent in April despite concern about a weak economic recovery and Japanese brands suffered less severe declines, an industry group reported Thursday. Customers in the world's biggest auto market bought 1.4 million...

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US jobless aid applications fall to 5-year low

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, a fresh five-year low. Layoffs have returned to pre-recession levels, a trend that could lead to more hiring. The Labor...

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Drugmakers, health groups bring poor girls vaccine

TRENTON, N.J. — Two multinational drugmakers are teaming up with top global health groups to protect millions of girls in the world's poorest countries from deadly cervical cancer. Starting with pilot programs in eight Asian and African nations, the...

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New Zealand's central bank intervenes in currency

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand's central bank has intervened in the currency market for the first time in five years to try to curb the local dollar's rise. The rising Kiwi dollar, as the New Zealand currency is known, has been hurting the country's...

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Oil rises toward $96 as China trade improves

BANGKOK — Oil prices rose Wednesday after an upswing in China's trade for April restored hopes that the world's second-largest economy was strengthening. Benchmark crude for June delivery was up 10 cents to $95.72 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in...

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House set to OK bill to change overtime pay law

WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House is poised to approve a bill that would give private sector workers the option of choosing paid time off instead of cash wages for working overtime. The measure would allow employees who work more than 40 hours a...

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China reports stronger April trade growth

BEIJING — China reported stronger April trade but analysts said export data were inflated and its shaky recovery might be weaker than it looks. Exports rose 14.7 percent over a year earlier, up from March's 10 percent growth, customs data showed Wednesday....

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Subaru invests $400 million in Indiana plant

TOKYO — Subaru said Wednesday it is investing $400 million to expand its Indiana factory and will add 900 workers to build the Impreza small car there in 2016. The plant now employs about 3,600 people and builds the Legacy and Outback cars and the Tribeca...

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Internet sales tax bill faces tough sell in House

WASHINGTON — Traditional retailers and cash-strapped states face a tough sell in the House as they lobby Congress to limit tax-free shopping on the Internet. The Senate voted 69 to 27 Monday to pass a bill that empowers states to collect sales taxes...

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Microsoft touching up Windows 8 to address gripes

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft is retooling the latest version of its Windows operating system to address complaints and confusion that have been blamed for deepening a slump in personal computer sales. The tune up announced Tuesday won't be released to...

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Disney teams with EA on 'Star Wars' video games

LOS ANGELES — Disney is not giving up on "Star Wars" video games after all. A month after shutting down game production at Lucasfilm subsidiary LucasArts, The Walt Disney Co. said Monday that it had entered multi-year deal with Electronic Arts Inc....

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US safety agency watches Ford vans for rust signs

DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators are monitoring about 100,000 Ford and Mercury minivans that were not covered by a recall issued earlier this year for rust problems. Ford recalled about 230,000 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans in March...

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China's struggling automakers jump on SUV boom

SHANGHAI — BYD is known for electric cars but this year's flagship model is the S7, a gasoline-powered SUV. It comes with an air purifier, radar to help with backing and digital TV. An onboard hard drive can hold 1,000 films. This is China's Year of...

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US futures see little movement after record highs

NEW YORK — U.S. stock market futures are barely budging, as traders seem ready to pause after sending major indexes record highs following a positive jobs report last week. With few major companies posting earnings and no significant economic data due...

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Bashful? Buy the little blue pill online

TRENTON, N.J. — Men who are bashful about needing help in the bedroom no longer have to go to the drugstore to buy that little blue pill. In a first for the drug industry, Pfizer Inc. told The Associated Press that the drugmaker will begin selling its...

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Buffett defends structure of $23B Heinz deal

OMAHA, Neb. — Investor Warren Buffett says he expects Berkshire Hathaway to own a stake in ketchup-maker H.J. Heinz Co. forever, and he doesn't see a problem in taking a partner — the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital — in the $23.3 billion deal....

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Buffett says bonds are terrible investments today

OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett says he doesn't like owning bonds right now, and he doesn't think average investors should either. Buffett said on CNBC on Monday that bonds are a terrible investment at the moment and owners of long-term bonds...

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GOP seeks alternative to overtime pay

WASHINGTON — It seems like a simple proposition: give employees who work more than 40 hours a week the option of taking paid time off instead of overtime pay. The choice already exists in the public sector. Federal and state workers can save earned...

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Airport app lands just in time

Local entrepreneur Wayne Chen wants his new app to take off with harried air travelers — literally. The 67-year-old has created Connect On Time, a free app for iPhones and iPads that provides customized maps of 42 global airports and calculates how...

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Leaders laud contest to grant $ to struggling communities

Community leaders from the Hub's more economically hard-hit cities hailed a competition launched by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston last week as a necessary tool to spur cross-sector partnerships and improve the health and well-being of lower-income...

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Cities: deal us in big time

Host cities and towns negotiating with proposed resort casino operators shouldn't get too greedy, according to one gaming expert. "It does not help you to encourage massive promises — the politicians may like it, the lawyers may like it, but it doesn't...

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New jobs and energy gains helping lift US economy

WASHINGTON — A stronger-than-expected April rebound in job creation and recent dramatic discoveries of vast U.S. oil and gas reserves are helping to lift the American economy out its long funk. The economic advances also are drawing attention to the...

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Navy, NASA credit unions offering zero-down mortgages

WASHINGTON —
Who says lenders need to charge you a cash down payment when you take out a mortgage in this era of hyper-strict underwriting? Just about everybody: The biggest sources of home loan money — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — won't fund a loan...

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