Mexico’s Cemex SAB, the world’s third-largest cement company, lost $707 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 _ its first quarterly loss in a decade, the company said Thursday. Full-year profits were down 92 percent to $203 million for 2008, compared to $2.4…

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Mexico’s Cemex posts $707 million 4th-quarter loss

Thousands of teachers marched through downtown streets Thursday to protest proposed cuts in education staffing. Demonstrators began the march at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s headquarters, headed to Pershing Square for a rally and ended their…

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Thousands of LA teachers protest proposed cuts

Asian stock markets faltered Friday, dragged down by a sell-off in Tokyo as new data underlined the severity of Japan’s economic slump and quarterly reports from leading companies like Sony and Toshiba showed profits tumbling. Markets had logged some gains…

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Asian markets retreat on weak economy, earnings

(Reuters) – Fannie Mae reached an agreement to work with one of its former critics, Neighborhood Assistance Corp of America, to prevent foreclosures by reworking home mortgages to make them easier to afford, the Wall Street Journal said.

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Fannie strikes deal to modify mortgages: report

The country tumbled deeper into recession and probably logged its worst economic performance in a quarter-century during the final three months of last year as battered consumers and businesses throttled back spending. The U.S. economy is deteriorating at an…

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Economy likely shrank at fastest clip since ’82

The often chaotic and wasteful $125 billion Iraq rebuilding effort will face new trouble and uncertainty this year despite the decline in violence there, a new audit report says. A separate report on Afghanistan said there is no coherent strategy for that…

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Iraq, Afghan auditors discuss rebuilding from wars

(Reuters) – New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo may demand the return of $4 billion in bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch & Co just before it was acquired by Bank of America Corp, Bloomberg said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

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Cuomo eyes return of $4 billion in early Merrill bonuses: report

TOKYO (Reuters) – Shares in Nintendo Co Ltd sank 12 percent after the Wii video game maker cut its earnings and game console sales forecasts, raising doubt over growth at a company that had previously defied the global financial crisis.

Nintendo shares slide 12 percent as crisis hits growth

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Weatherization Stimulus: Lots of It, Fast

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Amazon’s Amazing Fourth Quarter

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Stocks: Stuck in the Twilight Zone

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Could Google Fix Detroit?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co plans to lay off 200 people at its ABC division, a Disney executive familiar with the situation said, underscoring the media industry’s struggle with sliding ad sales.

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Disney plans 5 percent job cuts at ABC division

Talk about setting the chocolate bar high: $13 for 3.5 ounces. But a new super-premium San Francisco chocolate maker, Original Beans Inc., wants you to know you’re buying more than just a piece of chocolate. For each purchase, the company – whose slogan is “…

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S.F. sells $13 chocolate bar with a conscience

The Bay Area should begin to emerge from recession during the third quarter of 2009 but the upturn will be sluggish according to a forecast today from the Association of Bay Area Governments. The nine-county planning agency, which serves the Bay Area’s 101…

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Recession will recede in third quarter, Bay Area agency predicts