The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants new measures to clamp down on special exemptions that federal agencies are using to avoid disclosing information to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont…

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Patrick Leahy – Senate – United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary – Vermont – United States

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Leahy: Congress should make agencies be more open

For East Bay Saturn dealer Inder Dosanjh, it finally is the end. As the franchise representative for dealers in 15 Western states, he pushed as hard as anyone to keep Saturn alive. But GM’s out-of-the-blue shutdown announcement Wednesday ended all hope. “I…

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GeneralMotors – Autos – Makes and Models – Recreation – Saturn

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Just who pulled the plug on Saturn?

Can’t find an ATM from your bank nearby? Keep walking, unless you want to pay higher fees. An annual survey released Wednesday by Bankrate.com found the average ATM fee for noncustomers rose 12.6 percent this year to $2.22. You’ll likely get dinged by your…

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Automated teller machine – Bank – Business – Financial Services – Banking Services

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ATM fees rising for other banks’ customers

General Motors and eBay have ended a nearly 2-month-old experiment to showcase and sell new vehicles from GM dealerships in California. Neither company released the number of complete transactions that resulted from the program, but according to the Los…

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General Motors – California – EBay – Sales – auto

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GM, eBay end joint online sales experiment

Ken Lewis will step down as chief executive of Bank of America Corp. after months of criticism stemming from the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. during last fall’s financial crisis. The bank, headquartered in North Carolina, said Wednesday that Lewis, 62,…

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Bank of America – Merrill Lynch – North Carolina – KenLewis – Chief executive officer

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Bank of America CEO to step down

Due to arrive today SHIPFROMPORTNorwegian SunCabo San LucasSFO Ever ReachLos AngelesOAK MSC BeijingLong BeachOAK MOL EndeavorLos AngelesOAK APL ChinaSan PedroOAK Serenade of the SeasAstoria, Ore.SFO Due to depart today SHIPTOPORTMahimahiLos AngelesOAK…

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APL – San Francisco International Airport – Programming – Languages – Business

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Ship traffic for Oct. 1, 2009

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday lowered its estimate for global writedowns for banks and other financial institutions to $3.4 trillion but warned that loan losses were set to rise as unemployment grew.

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IMF cuts global debt writedown estimate to $3.4 trillion

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil rose above $67 on Wednesday, recouping day-ago losses as the U.S. dollar eased against the euro and resource currencies like the Australian dollar, while eyes are on talks over Iran’s nuclear plans.

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Oil up above $67 on dollar slip, eyes on Iran talks

Billionaire entertainer Guy Laliberte has been greeted by a raucous crowds of friends and family during preparations for his Soyuz rocket trip to the International Space Station. The Cirque du Soleil founder and two fellow astronauts were cheered by…

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Cirque du Soleil РInternational Space Station РGuy Lalibert̩ РSoyuz РCircus

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Billionaire clown boards capsule for space flight

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Wednesday as a surprise drop in U.S. consumer confidence sowed new doubts about the pace of economic recovery. News that Japan’s industrial production rose for a sixth month in August failed to stop the Nikkei from…

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Asia – Japan – Nikkei 225 – US – Stock market

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Asia markets lower as US confidence drops

NEW YORK (Reuters) – CIT Group Inc is nearing a plan that likely would hand the commercial lender over to its bondholders, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

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CIT near plan to turn over company to bondholders: sources

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund will raise its 2010 growth forecast for the world economy to 3.1 percent from 2.5 percent to reflect improving economic conditions, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

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IMF to raise world economic growth forecast: paper

European Union finance ministers will hammer out a new financial oversight framework for Europe during a two-day meeting a week after the world’s rich and developing nations pledged that they would not allow a return to banking as usual. At talks Thursday and…

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European Union – Government – Multilateral – Developing country – Bank

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EU nations to hammer out financial oversight

Oil prices rose above $67 a barrel Wednesday in Asia despite an increase in U.S. crude inventories for a third week, which suggests consumer demand remains weak. Benchmark crude for November deliver was up 42 cents at $67.13 by midday in Singapore in…

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Asia – Singapore – OilPrices – United States – Price of petroleum

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Oil above $67 in Asia despite high inventories

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday looking past a surprise fall in U.S. consumer confidence and the Australian dollar jumped to a 13-month high after August retail sales data beat forecasts.

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Asian shares rise, Aussie dollar at 13-month high