BUSINESS

The monthly U.S. budget deficit shrank to $69.6 billion in July from $129.4 billion in the same month a year ago, reflecting a rise in government receipts and a drop in spending.

Etsy, the online craft marketplace, is looking to crack down on drug paraphernalia, according to Mashable. Transactions of those pertaining to the sale of drug-related culture and content will be prohibited, in an update that has gone live on the website.

After recovering from near-decade lows in February, a benchmark of how much maritime shippers charge to transport dry goods like steel and coal globally has been swooning to record lows, plunging 31.9 percent in the last month.

Campsite owners in the region have stepped up security to protect campers.

Shares of BlackBerry developer Research in Motion (Nasdaq; RIM) jumped on speculation IBM (NYSE: IBM) might be interested in part of the company. But others like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), might also want its technology, too.

Police are also investigating six other people, including a government official, who may have been involved in this saga as middle-men in the transaction.

An unusual bump in lobster catches is making fishermen mad as prices fall. And none are madder than those in New Brunswick, who blame their American colleagues -- and quite violently so.

Nintendo may not be able to release its Wii U console in time for the holiday season. Sources connected to the matter have exclusively told CVG that manufacturing issues may stop the gaming company for launching its Wii successor overseas.

MaryAnn Sahoury of New Jersey has filed suit against an Iowa production company after an instructional breast-feeding video she appeared in was taken by a third party and used to create pornography.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed its corn-yield forecast for the year as the Food and Agriculture Organization warns of a potential repeat of the 2007-08 global food crisis.

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social networking site, has finally settled charges with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that it deceived members about their privacy rights. Although it won’t pay a fine, it agreed to be monitored by the FTC for 20 years. If violations are found, it could be subjected to civil penalties up to $16,000 per offense.

Global oil demand growth will fall next year below already very weak levels of 2012 due to a slow-down in economic activity, the west's energy watchdog said on Friday.

A report from Rene Ritchie says Apple plans to release a brand-new "mini iPad" when it launches the iPhone 5 in September. Even though most people can assume a 7-inch "mini iPad" would be able to do most -- if not all -- of the same things a typical iPad can do, there are a few nuances of the tablet's alleged features and specs that may attract -- or repel -- potential customers. Here are seven features, specs, and price rumors we've heard from the iPad Mini so far.

There have been numerous alleged leaks concerning Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox 720, but most of them have focused on the console’s hardware or its release date. However, the latest reportedly leaked bit of information revealed some details on the next iteration of the company’s motion-based gameplay device, known as the Kinect 2.

They’re here now, but they won’t be around forever.

Manchester United Ltd. (NYSE:MANU), one of the world's most storied sports franchises, began publicly trading Friday, but early signs indicated investors were giving a less-than-enthusiastic welcome to the 134-year-old club.

BlackBerry investor Victor Alboini said he welcomed a bid for Research in Motion's enterprise business by IBM, saying it would greatly enhance value of an undervalued asset.

The Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible embodies contradictions: British class and refinement contain the aggression and power of a tiger about to pounce. The Supersports Convertible strives to be perfect, and in most regards it is. Any review of a car of the Supersports Convertible's caliber has to focus on the details or limit itself to five short words: this is a great car.

Would the expressions of grief be as widespread and deep if neo-Nazi Wade Michael Page had shot up a camp filled with illegal aliens from Mexico?

BlackBerry developer Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) has been approached by International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) about a possible sale of its enterprise services unit, Bloomberg News reported, citing two insiders.

U.S. regulators directed five of the country's biggest banks, including Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, to develop plans for staving off collapse if they faced serious problems, emphasizing that the banks could not count on government help.

Shares of J.C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE:JCP) tumbled Friday after the big department store chain's second-quarter earnings swung to a loss and missed Wall Street expectations and it cut its outlook for the year.

The Justice Dept. said there was "not a viable basis to bring a criminal prosecution" against Goldman Sachs, quietly ending a yearlong investigation into allegations the firm bet against the same subprime mortgage-backed securities that it also sold to its clients.

The suit against him alleges that "well over 10,000 cases of torture and extra-judicial killings” took place during Badal's 1997-2002 and 2007-2012 regimes.

Fusion-IO, Barclays Plc, Southwestern Energy, Hewlett-Packard, Facebook, Nokia Corp, Weatherford International, Seadrill and GNC Holdings Inc. are among the companies whose shares are moving in the pre-market trading Friday.

Friday marks 13 weeks since the first public trading in shares of Facebook at $42. Now it's near $21.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance headed by superstar CEO Carlos Ghosn is hoping to beat the crowds in the nascent African automotive market with the largest assembly plant on the continent.

The earnings calendar for the week ahead will be comparatively light, but we will still be hearing from a number of household names. Big-name companies due to report their quarterly earnings results include Wal-Mart, Sears, Home Depot, Groupon, John Deere, and Cisco.

A global hike in food prices last month due to unfavorable weather conditions, compounded by exporting nations placing restrictions and importing nations stockpiling due to concerns over the grain price rally, could lead to a food crisis along the lines of the one that happened in 2007-08, the U.N.'s food agency warned Thursday.