Business: Industries

A logo of General Motors. Battered by weak sales, declining market share and miserable credit ratings, Detroit's Big Three automakers are now turning to the US government for help.(AFP/File/Stan Honda)

Detroit's sputtering Big Three turn to Washington for help

AFP - Sun Sep 7, 12:14 AM ET

DETROIT (AFP) - Battered by weak sales, declining market share and miserable credit ratings, Detroit's Big Three automakers are now turning to the US government for help.

  • A Trinamool Congress supporter looks on as she attends a demonstration at the Tata Motors factory at Singur, some 40 Kms north of Kolkata, eastern India, September 3. Talks to end violent protests over a factory in eastern India to manufacture the world's cheapest car ended Saturday with no breakthrough.(AFP/File/Deshakalyan Chowdhury)
    'Fruitful' talks but no deal to save India's cheap-car plant AFP - Sat Sep 6, 11:52 AM ET

    KOLKATA, India (AFP) - Talks to end violent protests over a factory in eastern India to manufacture the world's cheapest car ended Saturday with no breakthrough.

  • FDA posts list of potential problem drugs AP - Fri Sep 5, 4:59 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - The government on Friday began posting a list of prescription drugs under investigation for potential safety problems in an effort to better inform doctors and patients.

  • A pharmacist in a file photo. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
    Expensive ads sell few prescription drugs: study Reuters - Mon Sep 1, 7:07 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Expensive advertising of prescription drugs directly to consumers may do little to encourage sales, U.S. and Canadian researchers reported on Monday.

  • Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, pictured here in February, 2008, may launch legal proceedings against Telenor to force the Norwegian telecom operator to honor a deal concerning their joint subsidiary in Bangladesh, GrameenPhone.(AFP/File/Eric Piermont)
    Nobel laureate threatens lawsuit against telecom operator AFP - Fri Sep 5, 2:37 PM ET

    OSLO (AFP) - Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is threatening legal proceedings against Norwegian telecom operator Telenor to force it to transform their joint Bangladeshi subsidiary into a "social business" aimed at helping the poor.

  • Vodafone To Resell Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook NewsFactor - Fri Sep 5, 12:14 PM ET

    Just one day after Dell announced it was moving into the market of netbooks by introducing its new Inspiron Mini 9, which weighs less than 2.3 pounds and has an 8.9-inch LED display, the company said it is partnering with Vodafone to resell the Mini 9 in Europe.

  • DSG sought bid from Media Markt, but rebuffed: report Reuters - Sat Sep 6, 5:32 AM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - Germany's Media Markt, Europe's biggest electrical goods retailer, has rejected a request from DSG International Plc to consider a bid for its closest rival, the Financial Times said on its Web site.

  • Wal-Mart customer checks out at Walmart in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, sales of groceries and back-to-school products helped its August same-store sales rise 3 percent, beating expectations. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
    Slow August sales signal more weakness in retail AP - Thu Sep 4, 4:19 PM ET

    NEW YORK - When it came to buying their children new jeans and trendy tops, parents held the line: They focused on basics at discounters and waited for the best deals, resulting in weak August sales at many stores. That's a bad sign for the holiday season as families may be just as cautious with their gift-giving.

  • Silver State Bank in Nevada is shut AP - Sat Sep 6, 1:29 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Regulators on Friday shut down Silver State Bank, saying the Nevada bank failed because of losses on soured loans, mainly in commercial real estate and land development.

  • Bank of America ready to settle securities probes AP - Fri Sep 5, 3:48 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Bank of America Corp. said Friday it is ready to settle federal and state investigations into sales of risky auction-rate securities, joining eight other big investment banks that have agreed to buy back a total of more than $50 billion of the securities.

  • Canadian actor Michael J. Fox (2nd L) poses with his star, along with his mother Phyllis Fox, during Canada's Walk of Fame induction ceremonies in Toronto September 6, 2008. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
    Michael J. Fox, James Cameron on Canada's Walk of Fame Reuters - Sat Sep 6, 8:00 PM ET

    TORONTO (Reuters) - Step aside Tinsletown. Toronto, dubbed "Hollywood North" for its active film industry, has its own star-studded "Walk of Fame," and its biggest red carpet yet was rolled out on Saturday for this year's Canadian inductees.

  • Spain's Prisa invites offers for Digital+: report Reuters - Sat Sep 6, 5:38 AM ET

    MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish media group Prisa has invited companies interested in bidding for its pay-TV unit Digital+ to submit non-binding offers from September 15, Expansion said on Saturday, citing financial sources.