NEW YORK/HONG KONG (Reuters) – The U.S. government may agree to finance the purchase of some American International Group Inc businesses and take direct stakes in others, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

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AIG, U.S. government discuss aid terms

More gloomy earnings reports for retailers’ fourth quarter _ when holiday shopping was the weakest in decades _ came Thursday with announcements of cuts and other cost savings. Here’s what four key retailers said: _ Sears Holdings Corp., owner of the Kmart…

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Retailers lay out plans for grim year

Just over week before his scheduled return to the Los Angeles Galaxy, David Beckham is becoming frustrated by the delay in his possible transfer to AC Milan. Beckham’s loan to Milan from Major League Soccer is scheduled to end March 8. Milan offered $3…

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Beckham growing weary of waiting game

Dell Inc. said Thursday its profit dove 48 percent during the fiscal fourth quarter as the recession forced consumers and businesses to spend less on technology. The company also said it expects to make further cuts to its work force. Earnings for the quarter…

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Dell 4Q profit dives, recession stunts tech spend

A bill requiring the state to buy American-made national and state flags is advancing through the New Jersey Legislature. State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat from Cape May Court House, says he co-sponsored the bill because he was in…

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N.J. lawmakers want state to buy U.S.-made flags

The joint operating agreements that were meant to save dying publications in two-newspaper cities like Denver are themselves dying off. JOAs were supposed to give struggling newspapers a shot at survival by letting them share business operations and costs…

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JOAs are a dying breed amid changing markets

Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who received national attention and judicial criticism for his work investigating abortion clinics, will face a professional ethics complaint, a state document shows. Two former Kline deputies, Stephen Maxwell and…

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Letter says ex-Kan. AG faces ethics complaint

Ticketmaster’s chief executive sought Thursday to allay antitrust fears over the ticket seller’s planned merger with concert promoter Live Nation by revealing that a major venue operator has threatened to cancel its contract if the merger goes through. The…

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Ticketmaster: AEG may cancel if merger succeeds

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A Solar Dream From Israeli Kibbutzim

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8th Dist.) today blasted the proposed merger between Ticketmaster, the nation’s largest ticketing firm, and top promoter Live Nation, telling a House subcommittee that the plan “is a bad deal for the American people.” “This combined…

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Pascrell rails against Ticketmaster, Live Nation merger

Canada’s dominant banks are reporting earnings that show they are doing far better than banks in the United States and Europe. Royal Bank of Canada CEO Gord Nixon told shareholders Thursday in Vancouver that Canada’s banks are the envy of the world and have…

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Canadian banks doing better than peers abroad

The Nevada Public Utilities Commission has scheduled a public hearing in April to discuss a plan by utility NV Energy to raise its rates in southern Nevada by 14.9 percent this summer. The utility is seeking nearly $324 million to cover the costs to build…

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Utilities commission schedules rate hearing

Against a backdrop of record-low new home sales and ballooning losses from foreclosures, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told lawmakers Thursday that the lending industry is set to launch the Obama administration’s $75 billion foreclosure prevention program…

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HUD secretary, Congress debate foreclosure plans

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Water Scarcity: Hidden Risks to Business

For General Motors Corp. nothing has stopped the bleeding. Not cutting 50,000 jobs in the U.S. Not closing 11 factories. Not $13.4 billion in government loans. The teetering company, once the symbol of American industrial might, revealed Thursday that it…

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GM posts $30.9B loss, keeps spending billions