MICHIGAN

Major U.S. telephone carriers refused to answer questions from the Democratic-led Congress about their possible participation in President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program, according to documents released by lawmakers on Monday.

Stock futures fell on Friday, weighed down by caution before key economic reports and news that Deutsche Bank had slashed its rating on shares of Dow component Citigroup Inc.

Investors and fund managers bitten by the collapse in subprime mortgages are now looking for new opportunities to trade bonds linked to traditionally volatile commodity prices and risky emerging markets.

Workers represented by the United Auto Workers union walked out on strike on two plants operated by Chrysler LLC, while another of the automaker's key assembly plants was told to remain on hold.

The United Auto Workers union and automaker Chrysler LLC remained locked in contract talks on Wednesday morning just hours before a strike deadline set by the union that could trigger the industry's second major work stoppage in as many weeks.

With just over a day remaining until a strike deadline, representatives of the United Auto Workers union and Chrysler LLC bargained into Tuesday morning in a bid to reach a new contract for some 49,000 U.S. factory workers.

Negotiators from Chrysler LLC and the United Auto Workers were set to resume contract talks on Monday after the union set a deadline for wrapping up negotiations this week. The struggling No. 3 U.S. automaker has been given a 72-hour strike notice by the UAW as they negotiate a new labor agreement, a person familiar with the talks said on Monday.

These autos will get you there in style

General Motors Corp will be able to replace roughly a quarter of its factory workers with lower cost hires under the tentative contract reached last week with the United Auto Workers union.

United Auto Workers members at several locals have backed a ground-breaking tentative contract with General Motors Corp that may serve as a pattern for talks with Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.

Bank of America Corp said it will lay off about 2,500 workers in Illinois and 1,500 in Michigan over the next two years in connection with its $21 billion purchase of LaSalle Bank Corp from Dutch bank ABN AMRO Holding NV.

Negotiators for the United Auto Workers union and General Motors Corp have resumed bargaining on Tuesday while more than 73,000 factory workers participated in the second day of the first national strike against the automaker in more than 30 years.

More than 73,000 General Motors Corp workers walked off the job on Monday after marathon contract talks between the United Auto Workers union and GM stalled and the union called the first national strike since 1970 against the top U.S. automaker.

General Motors Corp workers at plants in Michigan, Ohio and Kansas began walking off the job and organizing pickets as a national strike against the automaker began on Monday.

The United Auto Workers union set a Monday morning deadline for reaching a contract deal with General Motors Corp. and threatened to send 73,000 GM factory workers on strike if no deal is reached.

General Motors Corp and the United Auto Workers union broke off negotiations early on Friday and agreed to return to the bargaining table later in the day, as 73,000 GM workers returned for another day of work without a new contract.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday that aims to strengthen government oversight of dangerous side effects from prescription drugs.

The dollar edged up against the yen on Friday but remained near a record low against the euro as consumers braced for what is expected to be the first reduction in U.S. interest rates in four years next week.

Faced with a shrinking labor force, companies in the world's fastest-aging society are looking to older people as well as younger women, immigrants and even robots to fill the gaps.

BP America said Thursday that it will not take full advantage of a new permit to dump more waste into Lake Michigan, taking into account protests to a refinery modernization expansion project.

Home foreclosures rose 9 percent in July from June and soared 93 percent from a year ago as states that once enjoyed a white-hot housing market are now seeing the greatest number of loan failures, a real estate survey reported on Tuesday.