Jobless claims jump as housing market gets weaker Two cornerstones of the economy--jobs and housing--sank to new depths Thursday, with unemployment claims bolting higher and home prices recording one of their steepest drops on record. 24 Jul 2008
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Ohio furniture maker says bank forced shutdown It's no surprise the housing slump and cheap imports have hurt sales at a high-end furniture maker that's been in business for more than a century. What caught Norwalk Furniture management off guard and forced them to suspended operations at plants in Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi, was a call from their bank last Friday, said company spokesman Joe Mosbrook. 24 Jul 2008
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Ford posts $8.7 billion loss on asset write-downs Ford Motor Co. posted the worst quarterly performance in its history Thursday, losing $8.67 billion in the second quarter. The company also said it will retool two more North American truck and sport utility vehicle plants to build small, fuel-efficient vehicles, and it announced plans to bring six new small vehicles to North America from Europe by the end of 2012. 24 Jul 2008
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Look down on Manhattan in Central Park balloon Want to look down on the rich and famous? Go eye to eagle-eye with a winged predator? See the sun rise over Queens? How better to do this than from a balloon 30 stories above Central Park? 24 Jul 2008
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Dow Jones names CEO of Ottaway local newspapers Dow Jones & Co. said Thursday it named Andrew Langhoff as chief executive of its Ottaway community newspaper group. Langhoff, 46, was previously senior vice president and general counsel of Ottaway, which includes eight daily newspapers, 15 weekly newspapers, and a collection of magazines and Internet sites in seven U.S. states. He joined the company in 2003. 24 Jul 2008
606.
Sector Snap: Titanium stocks down on aviation woes Shares of titanium producers tumbled Thursday after Allegheny Technologies Inc. posted a smaller second-quarter profit and its second-half 2008 outlook disappointed analysts. 24 Jul 2008
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Senators urge crackdown on overseas tax havens Senators on a key tax panel demanded a crackdown on offshore tax havens in the wake of a new report that one building in the Cayman Islands is used as a business address for more than 18,000 companies. 24 Jul 2008
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China clamps down on business visas Business travel appears to be the latest victim of China's ever-tightening security crackdown before the Beijing Olympics. Government officials confirmed Thursday that visas for business people will be tougher to get during the Olympic period. Authorities have repeatedly said the security measures are needed because the games, which begin in two weeks, are a target for terrorism. 24 Jul 2008
609.
Downey Financial loses $219 million in 2nd quarter Beleaguered regional bank Downey Financial Corp. said Thursday it swung to a loss in the second quarter, as it increased its provision for loan losses by nearly $250 million. 24 Jul 2008
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Egypt shuts down office of Iranian TV station Egyptian authorities have shut down the Cairo office of an Iranian TV network, a security official said Thursday, as the two nations spar over a film that justifies the killing of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by Islamic militants. 24 Jul 2008
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