The Justice Department publicly announced its opposition to American Airlines’ plan to pay $20 million in severance to Chief Executive Tom Horton as part of the carrier’s merger with US Airways Group Inc. The US trustee’s office, part of the Justice Department that monitors bankruptcy proceedings, said that the payment would violate bankruptcy law. This was according to the court filing in New York. American parent company AMR Corp. tried to get the court’s blessing of the severance under... 

Huawei Technology saw an increase of 18% in revenue in the Middle East during 2012. The company also said that its 4G mobile network roll out and its IT outsourcing will be the main drivers in its regional growth. The second biggest telecom equipment maker in the world also expects telecom operators in the Middle East to prioritize improving efficiency in the network, said Huawei officials. The disclosure by Huawei of its revenue from the Middle East was the only financial data released by the company... 

There were fewer Americans who applied for jobless benefits last week. At the same time, consumer confidence neared a five year high as the largest part of the economy benefited from improving housing and job markets. Unemployment claims dropped by 23,000 to 340,000 in the week that ended May 18. This was according to the report released by the Labor Department. The weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index went up to minus 29.4 for the period that ended May 19 from minus 30.2 the past week. Increasing... 

Apple is described as a tax dodger that deprived the US taxpayers of billions. The company used schemes in order to avoid paying taxes. US senators grilled Apple CEO Tim Cook with regards to the company’s tax practices. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky observed that people who criticized Apple were in fact doing everything they can to minimize their tax obligations. These included his fellow senators on Capitol Hill. Apple does provide large amount of revenue for the IRS via corporate income tax,... 

Herbalife announced that it has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP PWC.UL as its auditor. The firm replaced KPMG after allegations of insider trading. After the announcement was made, shares of the company increased 4 percent in afternoon trading. Investors saw the move as giving the company’s financial statements more credibility. Herbalife’s stock price has been volatile in recent months after big name investors Carl Icahn, William Ackman, and Daniel Loeb fought over the company’s future. Loeb... 

Apple is the nation’s most profitable technology company and yet it managed to avoid paying billions in taxes in the United States and across the globe via a network of subsidiaries that were set up all over the world. This was according to a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The probe on Apple’s tax shelters could lead to an explosive confrontation between the Congressional investigators and Apple’s chief executive Timothy D. Cook. A public hearing was set on Tuesday. The probe showed that some... 

California based GlassPoint Solar Inc said on Monday it had commissioned an oil recovery plant of 7-megawatts that is producing more than 50 metric tons of steam daily. The steam is injected into the oilfield at Amal in the southern part of Oman. GlassPoint Solar entered into the venture with Petroleum Development of Oman. The completion of the solar plant, that is the first of its kind in the Middle East that produces steam that extracts crude from oilfields that are aged, will help to encourage... 

Tallapoosa County’s jobless rate dropped 1.9 percent from January 2013 to April 2013. This was according to the most recent report released by the Alabama Department of Labor. The county’s jobless rate was at 7 percent in April. It was 0.9 percent lower than the unemployment rate in March 2013 and 0.5 percent drop compared to the same period in 2012. The unemployment rate in Alabama was at 6.9 percent, a 0.3 percent decline from last month’s rate and a 0.5 percent drop from the reading in April... 

Actavis, the generic drug maker, has been talked about over speculation of being taken over, is planning to buy Ireland’s Warner Chilcott the specialty pharmaceutical firm for a price of $5 billion. Both companies announced the deal would be all in stock and has a value including all debt of more than $8.5 billion. This move comes at a time when Actavis spurned the approaches of Valeant Pharmaceutical International a pharmaceutical company based in Canada, as well as from Mylan, Inc. Pharmaceutical... 

Stocks continued their upward trend Friday as the market got their fourth straight week of gains that was attributed to the encouraging economic reports that prompted investors to opt for shares of growth companies. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the Dow closed at record highs that were caused by gains in industrial and energy shares. The indexes gained to record levels as part of the rally that has advanced equities more than 16 percent in the present year. As a sign of things to come,... 

For four straight weeks, the major stock indexes in the U.S. have increased reaching new highs. This week was the same as new data released has indicated the confidence amongst small business and consumers has improved, which helped to fuel new optimism in the world’s largest economy. The Standard & Poor 500 saw all 10 groups in its index advance this past week, with financial, industrial and technology stocks leading the way. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase each increased during the week by more... 

In the first quarter, I.B.M. saw a decrease in its hardware business that affected both profits and revenue. Revenue was down 5 percent, to $23.4 billion compared with the same quarter a year ago, falling below analysts’ forecast of $24.7 billion. Net income decreased 1 percent, to $3 billion. This is the first time that I.B.M.’s earnings results have fallen short of analysts’ estimates since 2005. The company’s revenue growth has been modest, but the first quarter decrease exceeded any falloff... 

General Electric reported solid first-quarter earnings despite the economic downturn that has been plaguing many businesses this year. G.E.’s results were helped by higher profits in its aviation and transportation units and by G.E.’s finance division, GE Capital. The company reported net income of $3.53 billion, or 34 cents a share.  This was up 16 percent from $3.03 billion, or 29 cents a share, reported in the quarter a year earlier. Revenue in the first quarter was flat compared with figures... 

Dell has been in the middle of a takeover battle between the company’s billionaire founder and activist investor Carl Icahn. The company reported that its profit dropped 79 percent that was attributed to the decline of personal computer sales. Michael Dell, the chief executive of the company, and the private equity firm Silver Lake want to take the company private for $24.4 billion. They argued that the change towards a provider of enterprise computing services was best done away from the prying... 

Factory output declined in April as manufacturing activity in New York slowed down. These were seen as signs that the global demand has made an impact on the US economy. The slow growth was also caused by the largest decline in wholesale prices in three years. The Federal Reserve has to keep its stimulus program in order to bolster the economy. US Treasury debt prices increased as the dollar declined from its 4 and a half year highs against the yen as investors bet on the Fed policy. Stocks on Wall... 

US airlines collected at least $6 billion in baggage and reservation change fees from customers in 2012. This was the highest amount since the fees were made common five years ago. The fees have helped the airline industry return to profitability. Airlines started charging for first checked luggage in 2008 and since then the fees have increased. Airlines usually charge $25 for each way for the first checked bag and $35 for the second bag. Airlines also collect fees for overweight or oversized bags. The... 

Tesla the electric carmaker saw its share prices jump by 2.5% on Tuesday to $90 after it had jumped by over 14% on Monday. The stock’s spike in price started during the first week of May when quarterly earnings showed the company had reached a profit for the first time during a quarter. On Monday, Tesla stock closed at $87.80 per share or up by 57% from its share prices last Thursday of $55.79, prior to it announcing its first-quarter earnings. Since the start of April, the stock price for Tesla... 

General Motors revealed its state-of-the-art data center located at the company’s Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. GM said it was worth $130 million. The company has plans to open a second one at its Milford, Michigan facility. The data centers are part of the company’s overhaul of its worldwide IT operations. GM has outsourced 90 percent of its information technology management for the past three decades. Some of the companies that handled GM’s IT needs were HP and Cisco. It cost the... 

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s directors asked shareholders to oppose the calls to make Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon to resign from one of his roles as CEO and chairman of the company. The directors said that it could be disruptive and go against the best interests of investors. JPMorgan’s board has a structure that allows appropriate accountability to its shareholders and acts as counterbalance to the combined CEO/chair role enjoyed by Dimon. This was according to former Exxon Mobil Corp.... 

The Federal Advisory Council, which is composed of 12 bankers who meet each quarter to advise the Federal Reserve, warned that the growth in student loan debt was similar to the nature of the housing crisis. The group also said that farmland prices are inflating a bubble. Their warning came at a time when policymakers on the Federal Open Market Committee are debating on whether the benefits from their monthly purchases of bonds worth $85 billion outweigh the risk of financial instability. Fed Chairman... 

Crude options volatility increased for the second day in a row as the futures dropped due to higher dollar that decrease the appeal of raw materials available in the US currency. Implied volatility for at-the-money options expiring in July was 20.12 percent, which is up from 20.08 the previous day. Crude options volatility rebounded from a three week low. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell 35 cents to %96.04 per barrel on the Nymex. July delivery futures dropped 37 cents to $96.29.... 

Three weeks ago, checks released to homeowners as compensation for foreclosure abuses were rejected because of insufficient funds. This week, the consulting firm made another error with the checks once again. The amounts written on them were wrong. According to officials who have knowledge on the matter, Rust Consulting issued around 100,000 checks for less than what the homeowners were owed. The error have cheated consumers out of millions of dollars they were set to receive under the deal that... 

Search is estimated to be a $22 billion industry and is often considered the most lucrative and influential of online businesses. Now the industry is undergoing some changes. Instead of just pointing users in the right direction, the search industry is now trying to develop the knowledge and comprehension to answer specific queries. This has put the industry at its most significant crossroad since its invention and puts Google squarely in the crosshairs of its competitors. Consumers now want new... 

McDonald’s sales at restaurants open more than a year dropped in April, a month after the largest burger chain in the world said its sales dropped 1 percent in the first quarter. The company attributed the 0.6 percent fall to the fears of the avian flu that has resulted to dozens of deaths in China. Same-store sales in its Asia, Middle East and Africa unit were down 2.9 percent in April. McDonald’s found it hard to be profitable as customers turn to healthy options. They demand for value-oriented... 

Job openings in the United States dropped in March from the highest level in almost five years. This was a sign that employers were waiting to see how the economy performs as the federal spending cuts take effect. The number of positions that needed to be filled dropped by 55,000 to 3.84 million from the revised 3.9 million the previous month. The number was the most since May 2008 according to the Labor Department. The report also showed hiring slowed and firings increased. Companies are reluctant...