Bankruptcies low in states that don't seize wages

States that allow debt collectors to seize consumers' wages have sharply higher bankruptcy rates than neighboring states that prohibit or strictly limit the practice, an Associated Press analysis has found. 1246813750

Report: Initial bids due to buy The Boston Globe

A deadline is approaching for the possible sale of The Boston Globe. 1246810143
Post publisher apologizes for paid dinner plan

The Washington Post's publisher apologized to readers Sunday for a plan to charge business leaders and lobbyists for intimate dinner discussions with government officials and the newspaper's journalists.
China won't press for new global currency at G8

China has no plans to raise its proposal for a new global currency to replace the dollar at the G8 meeting this week but is willing to discuss it, a top Chinese diplomat said, as President Hu Jintao left Sunday for Italy.
Car dealer fights Chrysler over franchise

A poster in Jim Tarbox's office at his North Kingstown Chrysler Jeep dealership declares: "Challenge: The harder the course, the more rewarding the triumph."
Movement to shut down shark tours in Hawaii grows

Three women donned scuba masks and jumped into the waters off Oahu's North Shore, floating inside a submerged cage as about a dozen sharks glided toward bloody fish scraps tossed into the water by a tour company.
Schwarzenegger legacy entwined with fiscal crisis

California voters gave Arnold Schwarzenegger a single, blockbuster-sized mission when they sent him to Sacramento six years ago in an unprecedented election: Fix California's chaotic budget system, once and for all.
Europe's free, state-run health care has drawbacks

As President Barack Obama pushes to overhaul the American health care system, the role of government is at the heart of the debate. In Europe, free, state-run health care is a given.
SoCal Asian communities aim to weed out toxic fish

John Fallan's trained eye scans rows of iceboxes brimming with tiger fish and shrimp in a Vietnamese supermarket, searching for one pesky fish that threatens the health of seafood lovers.
Spartan Stores to highlight 2,400 Mich. products

Spartan Stores Inc. is launching a campaign aimed at promoting Michigan pride.
Iconic skyscrapers find new luster by going green

When owners of the Empire State Building decided to blanket its towering facade this year with thousands of insulating windows, they were only partly interested in saving energy. They also needed tenants.
Small town America pins hopes on West trade route

For Joe Kiely, the drone of thousands of trucks passing his Colorado plains town signals economic prosperity.
Cheap, easy dates for those hoping to get serious

A date doesn't need to break the bank, especially as potential partners are increasingly likely to value substance over style during the recession.
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.
Illegal ads a sticky situation for many towns

Roll up to an intersection in many places and the sign you see might not only tell you to stop, yield or turn in a certain direction, it might also feature unwanted ads for a taco joint, surf shop, miracle diet, a political candidate, or urge tourists to go home.
Ruling favors Antiguan receiver in Stanford case

A firm appointed by Antiguan authorities to liquidate the assets of R. Allen Stanford's offshore Caribbean bank has won control of assets in the U.K. worth more than $100 million, a defeat for a U.S.-appointed receiver in an ongoing fight over jurisdiction in the case.
Ruling favors Antiguan receiver in Stanford case

A firm appointed by Antiguan authorities to liquidate the assets of R. Allen Stanford's offshore Caribbean bank has won control of assets in the U.K. worth more than $100 million, a defeat for a U.S.-appointed receiver in an ongoing fight over jurisdiction in the case.
HK lawmakers discuss Disney expansion plan

Hong Kong lawmakers said Saturday they would be unwilling to approve a plan to expand the city's Disneyland unless the government and Walt Disney Co. tell them how the theme park has performed since it opened in 2005.
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.
Malaysia makes bold changes in race-based policies

The economic downturn is allowing Malaysia's leader to chip away at an affirmative action program for Malay Muslims that has been considered virtually untouchable in the past.