NEW YORK (Reuters) – A General Motors Corp bankruptcy court hearing in which the company is seeking to sell its main assets to a “New GM” began on Tuesday but moved to a recess almost immediately as the judge dealt with communication issues.

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GM sale hearing in recess in U.S. bankruptcy court

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ten or more people associated with multibillion dollar swindler Bernard Madoff could face criminal charges in investigations in the coming months or beyond, a law enforcement source said on Tuesday.

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Ten could be charged in Madoff fraud: source

NEW YORK (Reuters) – American International Group Inc , the insurer rescued by $180 billion of federal bailouts, on Tuesday expressed optimism it will be able to repay government loans as it tries to rebound from punishing losses tied to derivatives.

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AIG says risk declining

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer confidence took an unexpectedly steep slide in June, figures released on Tuesday showed, suggesting the 18-month-long recession had yet to loosen its grip on the economy.

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Gloomy U.S. consumers clip housing recovery hopes

Investors are adding consumer confidence to their growing list of things to worry about. Stocks reversed early gains Tuesday and moved lower after a private research group said consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in June. Investors had been expecting the…

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Investing – United States – Business – Tuesday Morning – Futures

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Stocks down on dip in consumer confidence

Shareholders are getting a chance to voice their opinions on American International Group Inc.’s future at the embattled insurer’s annual meeting. CEO Edward Liddy began the meeting at the insurer’s New York headquarters Tuesday by reviewing its plans to…

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New York – American International Group – Edward M. Liddy – AIG – Insurance

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Small crowd gathers for AIG annual meeting

Hyundai said Tuesday that customers in the U.S. who buy or lease its vehicles by Aug. 31 will receive a gas card that lets them buy fuel at $1.49 a gallon for a year, a promotion to win over consumers worried about volatile prices at the pump. Hyundai…

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Hyundai – United States – Gallon – U.S – Automobile

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Hyundai offers $1.49 gas guarantee for buyers

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks extended losses on Tuesday, with the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 down more than 1 percent after data showed consumer confidence fell in June following a sharp increase in May.

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Dow, S&P off 1 percent after confidence data

It’s hard to tell whether the problem is ignorance or hypocrisy, but Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are making fools of themselves with their war on Nokia Siemens for supplying the Iranian government with equipment that lets authorities monitor wireless phone calls and data transmissions.

The two senators have called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to pressure the European Union to stop telcom sales to Iran. They also said they would introduce legislation that would bar U.S. government contracts to companies that sell Iran equipment that facilitate monitoring.

There’s one little problem. Such monitoring capability is required in wireless gear by virtually all governments and it is part of the GSM Assn. and European Telecommunications Standards Institute standards. In the U.S., the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA) requires that all wireless carriers provide the technological means for law enforcement authorities to tap wireless accounts. In theory, of course, such taps in the U.S. require a court order. In practice, we know that this requirement has not always been met. We don’t know if Schumer, then in the House, voted for CALEA; it was sufficiently uncontroversial that it passed on a voice vote. Graham didn’t enter congress until 1995.

U.S. firms are generally barred from selling much of anything to Iran under unilateral sanctions that have been in place for more than 25 years. But if they did, gear from Motorola or Lucent would have the same capabilities provided by Nokia Siemens.

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U.S. Government Has Same Wireless Monitoring Ability as Iran

Unemployment rates rose in all the largest U.S. metropolitan areas for the fifth straight month in May. The Labor Department says jobless rates in May rose from a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan area it tracks. The unemployment rate in Kokomo, Ind.,…

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Unemployment – United States – United States Department of Labor – US – Kokomo

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Jobless rates rise in all US metro areas in May

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil fell to around $70 a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar and falling equities after weak U.S. consumer confidence data.

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Oil falls to around $70 as dollar gains

Americans _ whose hope for the economy had been rising since March _ are starting to lose faith, pushing down a widely watched barometer of sentiment in June. The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index now stands at…

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Consumer Confidence Index – Conference Board – New York City – United States – Business

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Consumer confidence falls in June

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16 Stocks for Tight Times

President Barack Obama says his new Consumer Financial Protection Agency will protect Americans from unscrupulous practices and make financial products easier to understand. The president on Tuesday sent Congress a 152-page bill to create the new agency, a…

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Barack Obama – Financial services – United States – United States Congress – Congress

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Obama: consumer agency to enforce financial rules

The iPhone and BlackBerry can now translate between Arabic and English. Can this foster better U.S.-Mideast relations?

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The Latest App: Smartphone Interpreters