http://www.palestineherald.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:21:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_185132229.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_185132229.html SHINER, Texas (AP) — By all accounts, Shiner beer shouldn’t have made it this long. The Spoetzl Brewery ferments its brew in a one-stoplight town that’s not on the way to anywhere, and much larger regional brewers long ago succumbed to consolidation and the muscle of national brewers.For years, Spoetzl limped along with cast-off parts from other breweries and lingered on the brink of shutting down. But today, at 100 years old, Shiner beers are more popular than ever, the oldest and largest craft beers in a state where people cling fiercely to their beer and to all things Texan. Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:14:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_185131527.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_185131527.html LIMON, Colo. (AP) — For Joe Kiely, the drone of thousands of trucks passing his Colorado plains town signals economic prosperity.The caravans carrying billions of dollars worth of goods move along a 2,300-mile, mostly rural, two-lane trade route from Mexico to Canada, and frequently stop in on towns like Limon (LY-min) and bring business to their hotels, truck stops, gas stations and fast food restaurants. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:44:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_184114522.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_184114522.html WASHINGTON (AP) — First you paid to insure your car. Soon you may have to add health insurance premiums to that stack of monthly bills as well.In a revamped health care system envisioned by senators, people would be required to carry health insurance just like motorists must get auto coverage now. The government would provide subsidies for the poor and many middle-class families, but those who still refuse to sign up would face fines of more than $1,000. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:41:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_184114220.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_184114220.html COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Several states are facing the prospect of government shutdowns and program cuts as they enter the first weekend of the fiscal year and July Fourth holiday without a budget in place.“This downturn, even more so than previous downturns, really is affecting every state right now,” said Brian Sigritz, a staff associate with the National Association of State Budget Officers. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:34:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_184113609.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_184113609.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The Founding Fathers left one legacy not celebrated on Independence Day but which affects us all. It’s the national debt.The country first got into debt to help pay for the Revolutionary War. Growing ever since, the debt stands today at a staggering $11.5 trillion — equivalent to over $37,000 for each and every American. And it’s expanding by over $1 trillion a year. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:17:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_183231839.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_183231839.html NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market found little to celebrate heading into the long holiday weekend.Major stock indexes fell more than 2.6 percent Thursday, pushing the Dow Jones industrials to their lowest level in six weeks, after the government said the unemployment rate hit a 26-year high and employers cut far more jobs than expected. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:21:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_183112401.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_183112401.html SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's controller will start paying many of the state's bills with IOUs as soon as Thursday after lawmakers failed to close the state's worsening budget deficit, adding a new measure of indignity to a state sinking deeper into dysfunction.Lawmakers' failure to act on Tuesday, the end of the fiscal year, also widened California's deficit from what already had been a whopping $24.3 billion — more than a quarter of its general fund. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:02:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_183110533.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_183110533.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, suggesting that the economy's road to recovery will be bumpy.The Labor Department report, released Thursday, showed that even as the recession flashes signs of easing, companies likely will want to keep a lid on costs and be wary of hiring until they feel certain the economy is on solid ground.June's payroll reductions were deeper than the 363,000 that economists expected and average weekly earnings dropped to the lowest level in nearly a year. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:49:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181224937.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181224937.html WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama asked Congress on Tuesday to create a new agency to police the fine print on consumer products like credit cards and mortgages and determine what fees, penalties and interest rates are fair.The Consumer Financial Protection Agency would be in charge of regulating those products in the same way other government agencies regulate the safety of drugs, food and toys.Obama said Americans are demanding it.“Those ridiculous contracts with pages of fine print that no one can figure out — those things will be a thing of the past,” the president said in a statement accompanying the 152-page draft bill. “And enforcement will be the rule, not the exception.” Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:20:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181132123.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181132123.html BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s long-awaited licensing round to develop some of its massive oil reserves stumbled Tuesday as oil and gas companies dug in their heals, demanding more money for their efforts than the government was willing to pay.International oil companies were submitting bids for six oil and two gas fields more than 30 years after Saddam Hussein nationalized the oil sector and expelled foreign firms. The televised process coincided with Iraq assuming formal control over its cities — a step toward ending the U.S. combat role in the country. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:15:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181131546.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181131546.html WACO, Texas (AP) — The Waco Tribune-Herald will cease printing and packaging at its Waco shop, effective July 13.Publisher Belinda Gaudet (gaw-DAY’) says the Tribune-Herald will outsource those functions to its Cox Newspapers sibling Austin American-Statesman. She says that move and the elimination of 25 full-time and 18 part-time positions are aimed at cutting costs. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:12:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181131343.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181131343.html SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Two additional nuclear reactors being considered by San Antonio’s public utility will cost up to $13 billion, according to new cost estimates.CPS Energy officials want to build the $10 billion to $13 billion reactors at the South Texas Project outside Bay City, saying its the most cost effective way to get additional power. CPS Energy owns 40 percent of the project. New Jersey-based NRG Energy owns the remaining portion, and the utilities would split the cost. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:05:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181130641.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181130641.html WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 key element in the sweeping overhaul of financial rules the administration unveiled two weeks ago.Obama says the agency will ensure that consumers are provided with simple, transparent and accurate information on financial products like credit cards and mortgages. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:02:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181130357.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181130357.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates rose in all the largest U.S. metropolitan areas in May for the fifth straight month, and are likely to keep marching higher this year, a potential obstacle to a hoped-for economic recovery.The Labor Department said Tuesday that jobless rates in May rose from a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan area it tracks.The unemployment rate in Kokomo, Ind., jumped to 18.8 percent, up 11.7 percentage points from a year ago, the largest increase of all metro areas. The second-highest increase occurred in Indiana’s Elkhart-Goshen, where the rate rose to 17.5 percent. That’s up 11.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:50:00 +0000 http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181125303.html http://www.palestineherald.com/business/local_story_181125303.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Tuesday imposed financial sanctions on a company accused of involvement in North Korea’s missile proliferation network.The Treasury Department moved against Hong Kong Electronics, a company located in Kish Island, Iran. The action means that any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the United States belonging to the company must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from doing business with the firm.It’s the latest move by the United States to keep pressure on Pyongyang, whose nuclear ambitions have ratcheted up global tensions.