NewsOK.com RSS - business

Independent group inspecting Apple suppliers

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:46:21 -0600

NEW YORK (AP) — Apple said Monday that an independent group, the Fair Labor Association, has started inspecting working conditions in the Chinese factories where its iPads and iPhones are assembled.

Amid growing criticism over labor and environmental practices —especially in China— Apple, last month, disclosed a list of suppliers for its popular gadgets for the first time.

The FLA team began the inspections Monday morning at Foxconn City in Shenzhen, China, Apple said Monday.

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Panetta defends military budget plan

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:45:15 -0600

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is defending his department's slimmed-down, $614 billion budget plan, telling senators that it's time to step up and show they are serious about reducing the deficit.

In testimony prepared for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, Panetta is warning lawmakers that budget cuts will hit all 50 states.

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Moody's cuts ratings on Italy, Portugal and Spain

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:45:05 -0600

NEW YORK (AP) — Ratings agency Moody's Investor Service on Monday downgraded its credit ratings on Italy, Portugal and Spain, while France, Britain and Austria kept their top ratings but had their outlooks dropped to "negative" from "stable.

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Obama's budget: Govt still growing, despite cuts

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:30:45 -0600

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking a pass on reining in government growth, President Barack Obama unveiled a record $3.8 trillion election-year budget plan Monday, calling for stimulus-style spending on roads and schools and tax hikes on the wealthy to help pay the costs.

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Summary Box: Empire State Building owner plans IPO

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:30:04 -0600

GOING PUBLIC: The company that runs Manhattan's Empire State Building and several other properties in New York is planning to launch an initial public offering.

BILLION-DOLLAR RAISE?: Empire State Realty Trust's regulatory filing did not say how many shares might be involved in the IPO or what price they may fetch, but the company contemplates raising as much as $1 billion.

GOOD TIMING: New York's commercial property market has improved since the 2008 financial crisis led to sweeping job losses on Wall Street and companies cut how much space they were renting.

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Low-cost airline with familiar name hopes to fly

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:15:07 -0600

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The name PeoplExpress conjures up thoughts of cheap fares, packed planes and bare-bones service.

If regulators agree, the name will be back this summer, attached to an airline that hopes to borrow from the old playbook while avoiding some of the mistakes that doomed one of the pioneers of the no frills airline business.

PeoplExpress Airlines announced Monday that it will be headquartered at Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport in southeastern Virginia.

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An agency-by-agency guide to Obama's budget

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:02:31 -0600

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama proposed a $3.8 trillion budget on Monday for fiscal 2013 that aims to slash the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years but still envisions growth in the government's major health benefit programs.

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3 tech approvals announced by Justice Department

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:02:30 -0600

The U.S. Justice Department cleared three major tech deals on Monday:

— Google Inc.'s $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., a maker of smartphones and other devices and owner of about 17,000 patents and 6,800 patent applications.

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House GOP have backup on payroll tax

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:01:25 -0600

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an abrupt about-face, House GOP leaders announced Monday that they are willing to extend the two percentage point cut in the payroll tax through the end of the year and add the approximately $100 billion cost to the nation's $15 trillion-plus debt.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy of California said the House could vote on the payroll tax measure this week, but that the fate of unemployment benefits for millions of the long-term jobless and efforts to forestall a scheduled cuts in fees to doctors who treat Medicare patients would remain in the hands of a House-Senate negotiating panel that's looking for ways to pay for them.

The GOP statement came after intense talks this weekend failed to produce an agreement.

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People Express grew to place in aviation history

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:45:09 -0600

Starting in 1981 from a mostly empty airport terminal in Newark, N.J., People Express grew in just four years to become one of the largest U.S. airlines, measured by the number of passengers it carried.

People Express offered no-frills service at prices far below those of major competitors.

Flying on People Express could be an adventure — London for $149!

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Linsanity propels MSG shares to record high

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:30:10 -0600

NEW YORK (AP) — With the Knicks and Rangers on winning streaks and Linsanity spreading through the sports world, shares of The Madison Square Garden Co.

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Business Highlights

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:15:13 -0600

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Obama's budget: Government still getting bigger

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking a pass on reining in government growth, President Obama unveiled a record $3.8 trillion election-year budget plan Monday, calling for stimulus-style spending on roads and schools and tax hikes on the wealthy to help pay the costs.

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Highlights of Obama's $3.8 trillion budget

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:15:10 -0600

WASHINGTON (AP) — Highlights of the budget that President Barack Obama sent to Congress on Monday:

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SPENDING: Obama proposes spending $3.8 trillion for the 2013 budget year, which begins Oct.

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Business Highlights

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:15:10 -0600

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Obama's budget: Government still getting bigger

Stock in the Empire State Building: Going up?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:15:09 -0600

Soon investors can take after King Kong and grab a piece of the Empire State Building.

The company that runs the Depression-era skyscraper, the tallest building in New York, is planning to go public in a stock offering that could raise $1 billion, according to documents filed with regulators Monday.

That means that even if you can't afford to buy a home, you can buy a stake in perhaps the nation's most iconic office building.

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New OSU Ph.D. program attracts 19 from seven states

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:59:15 -0600

BY LAURIE WINSLOW laurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com

STILLWATER — It probably was 1987 when Tom Bennett Jr. last stayed up every evening reading until midnight.

But now that he's back in school at age 61, the chairman and co-CEO of First Oklahoma Bank is learning again what it means to learn.

Bennett is one of 19 participants from seven states pursuing a degree through a new three-year Ph.D

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Eagle & Beagle

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:59:11 -0600

Eagle & Beagle

Eagle

Today, we'll bid farewell to a formerly state-based public company.

Tulsa-based Ram Energy has completed its transformation into Halcon Resources Corp., (new ticker: “HK”) which made a half-billion dollar investment in Ram and moved its headquarters to Houston.

The rebranded, relocated firm on Friday split its stock 1-for-3.

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Executive Q&A with Steve Cramer, manager of Whole Foods Market in Oklahoma City

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:00:19 -0600

BY JENNIFER PALMER jpalmer@opubco.com

Grocery manager became a vegan for his customers

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Business briefs

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:12 -0600

Turbo-traders take Bank of America for a ride

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Defense budget won't hit Oklahoma hard, Sen. Jim Inhofe says

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:58:12 -0600

BY CHRIS CASTEEL ccasteel@opubco.com

The budget to be submitted to Congress on Monday envisions cutting planes at Tinker Air Force Base and Altus Air Force Base but it is unclear what impact that might have on personnel.

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Real estate transactions

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:17:04 -0600

Real estate transactions

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Downtown Oklahoma City abuzz with building

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:51:24 -0600

Steve Lackmeyer

Developers, city officials provide an update on more than $1 billion in construction under way in downtown Oklahoma City.

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Oklahoma business briefs

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:33:09 -0600

Collectible cars to be auctioned.

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Oklahoma man sentenced to prison in fraud case

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:29:04 -0600

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Former construction company executive John Thomas has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for fraud.

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Oklahoma City's Frontier City plans auditions

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:26:11 -0600

Oklahoma City's Frontier City plans auditions

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U.S. stocks tumble sharply as Greek bailout is held up

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:09:14 -0600

By BERNARD CONDON

European finance ministers insist Greece make deeper cuts in wages, spending

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Weak housing has hurt consumer spending, Bernanke says

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:01:04 -0600

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER Associated Press

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says declines in home prices have forced many Americans to cut back sharply on spending and warns that the trend could continue to weigh on the economy for years.

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Taking Stock: Natural Gas Firm Looking Like a 'Buy'

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:53:09 -0600

Malcolm Berko: The fundamental outlook for the oil and gas storage and transportation industry during the next 18 months is positive.

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Survey to gauge Oklahoma businesses' views on diversity

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:42:11 -0600

FROM STAFF REPORTS

The OUR Oklahoma survey will help X Out Exclusion Inc. and Oklahoma State University develop a plan to increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

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Devon landman leads American Association of Professional Landmen

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:40:10 -0600

BY PAULA BURKES pburkes@opubco.com

Devon's Jack Richards is serving as president of the American Association of Professional Landmen.

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