Two leading makers of respiratory masks said Wednesday they are ramping up production as reports of swine flu surged to nearly 100 people in 10 states across the U.S. Diversified manufacturer 3M and consumer product maker Kimberly Clark both said they are…

Read the rest here:
Swine flu drives demand for face masks

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s U.S. customers are spending more on discretionary items as payroll taxes come down and gasoline prices fall, the head of the discounter’s U.S. supercenters said on Wednesday.

View original post here:
Wal-Mart’s customers buying more discretionary items

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks sharply extended gains on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and said the pace of economic contraction appears somewhat slower.

Go here to see the original:
Wall Street up 3 percent on economy bets

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif (Reuters) – U.S. financial markets are stabilizing as data suggest the recession’s worst may be over, but a surprise event like a flu outbreak or fresh bank troubles could send them tumbling anew, bankers and analysts said on Wednesday.

See the original post here:
U.S. markets still vulnerable to shock: bankers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said the pace of deterioration in the U.S. economy appeared to be slowing, but said it would continue to keep interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period.

Read the rest here:
Fed says U.S. recession appears to be easing

Stocks are holding on to big gains as the Federal Reserve says it sees the recession easing. The central bank left interest rates at a record low level Wednesday after a two-day meeting. The Fed says the economy will remain weak but that the “pace of…

Credit:
Stocks hold gains as Fed sees recession easing

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it see signs the recession may be easing, but warned that the economy is likely to remain weak. Against that backdrop, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues left a key interest rate at a record low of between zero…

Here is the original post:
Fed sees signs recession may be easing

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks extended gains on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and said the pace of economic deterioration appeared somewhat slower.

See the original post:
Wall Street extends gains after Fed comments

Investors chose to look at the bright side of the shrinking U.S. economy, and sent airline shares higher Wednesday afternoon along with the broader market. Government data showed gross domestic product dropped at a 6.1 percent annual rate in the first…

Credit:
Sector Snap: Airlines head higher

A Dutch airline executive will plead guilty, serve jail time and pay a fine for conspiring to fix cargo rates on international air shipments, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Franciscus Johannes de Jong, the former vice president of cargo sales in…

Excerpt from:
Airline exec to plead guilty in price-fixing probe

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will not report first-quarter earnings on Friday as expected, said a spokeswoman.

Originally posted here:
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway delays results

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Time Warner Inc posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, as a rise in cable network revenue helped offset declines in advertising sales at its AOL Internet and Time Inc publishing units.

Originally posted here:
Time Warner beats Street, eyes AOL spinoff

See the original post:
Tough Choice on Flu Vaccine

The recession took a bite out of IAC/InterActiveCorp in the first quarter, as revenue fell 22 percent in the Internet company’s media and advertising unit, which includes the Ask.com search engine. Shares of IAC jumped $1.17, or 7.3 percent, to $17.13 in…

Read the original:
IAC shares surge despite $28M quarterly loss

Time Warner Inc. said Wednesday that its first-quarter profit fell 14 percent amid an advertising slump. The company moved further toward shedding the beleaguered Internet unit AOL, while suggesting that its Time Inc. magazine business may go some day….

See the rest here:
Time Warner 1Q falls as ad revenue plunges