Refusing bailout for CIT, gov't draws line in sand

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Obama administration drew a line in the sand on financial bailouts Wednesday by denying emergency aid to CIT Group Inc., a struggling commercial lender on the brink of bankruptcy. After days of round-the-clock talks with regulators about a possible government bailout, CIT said those negotiations had ceased. The company said its management and directors were "evaluating alternatives."

Foreclosures rise 15 percent in first half of 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes soared by nearly 15 percent in the first half of the year as more people lost their jobs and were unable to pay their monthly mortgage bills. The mushrooming foreclosure crisis affected more than 1.5 million homes in the first six months of the year, according to a report released Thursday by foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc.

Prices up, but down is a bigger threat

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Sharply higher prices for everyday goods in June reflected a surge at the gas pump, not the start of a dangerous bout of inflation. In fact, economists say falling prices are the bigger danger. A Labor Department report Wednesday showed consumer prices making their biggest jump last month in almost a year. But overall prices are down 1.4 percent from this time last year _ the biggest decline in almost six decades.

Strong results at Intel pull stocks sharply higher

NEW YORK (AP) _ The nation's big companies are giving investors a reason to restart Wall Street's spring rally. Stocks surged Wednesday for the second time in three days, propelling all the major indexes up about 3 percent and the Dow Jones industrials up 257 points for their biggest one-day gain in nearly four months. An upbeat forecast from Intel Corp. and the Federal Reserve's more positive take on the economy built on momentum that began Monday when an analyst issued an optimistic forecast for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

What you talkin' bout, Willis? Sears Tower renamed

CHICAGO (AP) _ Sports fans have dealt with it for years: a favorite team sells the naming rights to its stadium in a lucrative, if unsentimental, money grab. But when Chicago residents go to bed Thursday night their beloved Sears Tower, one of the world's iconic skyscrapers and the tallest building in the U.S., will no longer be the Sears Tower. It will be Willis Tower.

Paulson defends his response to economic crisis

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Defending the government's handling of the economic crisis last year, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday that the Bush administration's responses were not perfect but "saved this nation from great peril." "Many more Americans would be without their homes, their jobs, their businesses, their savings and their way of life," he said in written testimony prepared for a hearing Thursday.

Obama auto task force shifts to automaker owner

WASHINGTON (AP) _ When it brokered the restructuring of Chrysler and General Motors, President Barack Obama's auto task force repeatedly pledged that it would steer clear of running a car company. But with both companies exiting bankruptcy with the federal government as a major shareholder, that promise will be put to the test as the task force shifts roles from negotiator to owner.

Fed: unemployment will top 10 percent this year

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Federal Reserve expects the economy this year will sink at a slower pace than it previously thought, but that unemployment will top 10 percent and remain high for the next few years, according to a new forecast released Wednesday. The Fed now predicts the economy will shrink between 1 and 1.5 percent this year, an improvement from its old forecast issued in May. At that time, the Fed projected the economy would contract between 1.3 and 2 percent.

Twitter hacked by old technique _ again

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Breaking into someone's e-mail can be child's play for a determined hacker, as Twitter Inc. employees have learned the hard way _ again. For the third time this year, the San Francisco-based company was the victim of a security breach stemming from a simple end-run around its defenses. In the latest case, a hacker got the password for an employee's personal e-mail account _ possibly by guessing, or by correctly answering a security question _ and worked from there to steal confidential company documents.

AIG speeds up spinoff of life insurance unit

NEW YORK (AP) _ American International Group Inc. is speeding up plans to spin off its American Life Insurance Co. unit as an independent public company, the company said Wednesday. The beleaguered insurance giant, now 80 percent owned by the U.S. government after receiving $182.5 billion in loans last fall, said in March it would spin off Alico, as the unit is called, and a second unit, American International Assurance Co., known as AIA Group.