Business*

FDIC logs 15-year high in realty sales

148 failed lenders expand agency’s property offerings

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. already this year has sold the most real estate since 1994 as the regulator takes over properties held by failed lenders.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Shale boon called into doubt

But natural gas firms say criticism misses mark

The ability to tap into shale formations has given the country’s natural gas reserves a 35 percent bump, according to a Colorado School of Mines report.
» Read story. | Share | 3 comments

Vaccines injecting new life in drugmakers’ profit lines

Malaria. Tuberculosis. Alzheimer’s disease. AIDS. Pandemic flu. Genital herpes. Urinarytract infections. Grass allergies. Traveler’s ailments. The pharmaceutical industry is attempting to make vaccines to prevent all of them.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Airline’s test turns craft into sky mall

Air travelers in the United States are already paying for sandwiches and drinks, pillows and headsets. So, as airlines look for more ways to help their bottom lines, they have started asking the next logical question: Why not sell limousine services or even tickets to Broadway shows?
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Retailers lining up Black Friday deals

Season’s prospects far from rosy

A 50-inch Sanyo plasma television for $598 (Wal-Mart ).
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Employers seeing payoff potential in wellness programs

Free smoking cessation programs. Cash credits for workers taking selfassessment health surveys. Onsite vaccinations and fitnesstraining classes. Nutritional counseling. Subsidized gym memberships.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Ford earns most safety awards

Automaker gets 6; tougher roof standards shrink list

Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen lead the insurance industry’s annual list of the safest new vehicles, according to a closely watched assessment used by car companies to lure safety-conscious consumers to showrooms.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Economic group raises forecast

30-nation organization doubles growth prediction for ’10

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development doubled its growth forecast for the leading developed economies next year and predicted a further acceleration in 2011 as China powers a global recovery.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Jobless rate up to 7.6% in state

Level is highest since fall 1988

Arkansas’ unemployment rate rose half a percentage point to 7.6 percent in October, the highest joblessness rate in more than 21 years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Bank capital Fed’s top concern

Officials heighten scrutiny of risks lenders taking, sources say

Federal Reserve officials are stepping up scrutiny of the biggest U.S. banks to ensure the lenders can withstand a reversal of soaring global-asset prices, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Lack of demand shuts oil refineries

Refineries from New Mexico to New Jersey are under severe economic pressure because of falling demand for fuel, with a number of facilities shutting down in recent months.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Deflation could hurt revival, Japan warns

Falling prices plagued nation during ’90s

Japan’s government highlighted the danger of deflation for the first time in three years Friday, warning that falling prices and a further worsening of the labor market could drag on the weak recovery.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Dealer’s quarter profit up by 60%

Car-Mart: 5 new lots revved sales

An official with America’s Car-Mart Inc. on Friday said the 60 percent increase in its second-quarter 2010 profit represented business as usual for the Bentonvillebased business.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

Texas court to rehear Exxon plugged-wells case

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said it will again hear arguments in the nearly 15-year legal battle over accusations that Exxon Mobil Corp. loaded abandoned wells with junk, sludge and even explosives to keep other companies from drilling there.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss

New bug moves in, has taste for beans

Researchers recently found an insect in north Georgia that has never before been reported in the Western Hemisphere, and its arrival could be a mixed blessing.
» Read story. | Share | Discuss