Frank Stronach, the Canadian owner of auto parts maker Magna International Inc., once referred to himself as “king” at one of his shareholder meetings. He’s now added another property to his business empire: General Motors Corp.’s Opel unit. After the second…

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General Motors – Magna International – Opel – Business – Frank Stronach

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Stronach: man behind the auto parts giant Magna

The only thing keeping Gerard Rigney from getting back into his home is the FEMA trailer in his front yard. It needs to vanish so his plumber can redo the piping into the house, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina’s flood waters almost four years ago….

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Hurricane Katrina – Gulf Coast of the United States – FEMA trailer – Meteorology – Earth Sciences

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Gulf Coast trailer-dwellers may soon get the boot

We first heard the term decades ago: The “Sun Belt” was just starting a run of phenomenal growth _ and no wonder. It conjured a sunny state of mind as well as a balmy place on the map. Everybody, it seemed, wanted a spot in the sun. Industries such as…

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Sun Belt – Sun – Malware – Business – Security

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Has twilight come to the Sun Belt?

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Corp will find out on Saturday if investors holding $27 billion in the automaker’s bonds will accept an exchange offer as it races to tie up loose ends before a bankruptcy filing next week.

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GM bondholders near deadline to accept new offer

With budget deficits soaring and President Obama pushing a trillion-dollar-plus expansion of health coverage, some Washington policymakers are taking a fresh look at a money-making idea long considered politically taboo: a national sales tax. Common around the world, including in…

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National sales tax mulled to offset debt

Italy’s interior minister insisted Saturday that any decision to accept Guantanamo inmates must be unanimously made by members of the European Union and expressed worry the suspected terrorists might move easily through the union’s loose borders. Minister…

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European Union – Italy – Government – Multilateral – Interior ministry

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Italy: EU should decide on Gitmo inmates

The trouble began far away from the leaky concrete house and stand of banana trees that Sakunthala Radhakrishnan calls home. In 19 years as a textile worker in southern India, Radhakrishnan saved enough to buy gold jewelry. She sent money to her parents and…

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India – Gold as an investment – Business – Shopping – Precious metal

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Indian textile workers slide back into poverty

Myanmar’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi harbors no ill feelings toward an American whose uninvited intrusion into her house may put her behind bars for five years, her lawyer said Saturday. The country’s military regime has accused her of…

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Aung San Suu Kyi – Burma – Nobel Peace Prize – Myanmar – House arrest

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Suu Kyi bears no grudge against American intruder

Spy satellites have spotted signs that North Korea may be preparing to transport another long-range missile to a test launch site, South Korean officials said Saturday, as the U.S. defense secretary issued his harshest warning to the North since its recent…

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North Korea – United States Secretary of Defense – Missile – Asia – United States

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Official: Signs NKorea prepping long-range missile

Orders in Japan for Toyota’s new Prius hybrid have topped a booming 110,000, a major dealership chain said Saturday, in what is turning out to be a rare bright spot in the gloomy auto market. The third-generation Prius officially rolled out in Japan just two…

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Toyota – Japan – Toyota Prius – HondaInsight – Hybrid

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Toyota Prius sales boom in Japan despite slowdown

Homebuilder Lennar Corp. is pitching a plan to resolve the bankruptcy of the 21,000-home Newhall Ranch project, which is on the last major tract of undeveloped land in Los Angeles County. Lennar, a former co-owner of the project, sold most of its 50-percent…

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Los Angeles County California – Southern California – California – United States – Los Angeles

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Lennar tries to reclaim role in Calif. project

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany reached a landmark deal with Canadian auto parts group Magna, General Motors and governments to save carmaker Opel from the imminent bankruptcy of its U.S. parent, German leaders said on Saturday.

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Germany seals deal to save Opel, Obama helps

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany reached a landmark deal with Canadian auto parts group Magna, General Motors and governments to save carmaker Opel from the imminent bankruptcy of its U.S. parent, German leaders said on Saturday.

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Germany agrees deal with Magna, GM to save Opel

Timothy Geithner’s first trip to China as treasury secretary comes at an especially vulnerable time for the Obama administration. Mired in a brutal recession, the United States needs Beijing to boost its purchases of U.S. goods, let China’s currency rise and…

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United States Secretary of the Treasury – Timothy F. Geithner – Hu Jintao – China – United States

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Geithner wields little leverage in China talks

General Motors Corp. has cleared a couple of key roadblocks on the ailing automaker’s route to an almost certain bankruptcy filing Monday. Early Saturday in Berlin, Germany’s finance minister said a plan was approved for Canadian auto parts maker Magna…

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General Motors – Canada – Chrysler – Berlin – Germany

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Bankruptcy looms for GM; Chrysler awaits fate