Retail property 2nd-qtr worst in 30 yrs: report. U.S. store closings and cutbacks turned the second quarter into the worst for strip mall owners in 30 years, as budget-conscious consumers flocked to low-cost warehouse-style grocery centers, according to a report by real estate research firm Reis.

SEC should investigate Bear collapse: JP Morgan CEO. JP Morgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said U.S. regulators should investigate whether people betting on Bear Stearns' stock falling deliberately brought down the investment bank.

GM feeling the Beat? It may bring mini Chevrolet to U.S. General Motors is considering a new Chevrolet mini car for the United States as it reworks its product lineup to cope with a..

Companies begin quest for oil, gas off Florida. Oil companies once viewed drilling in the deep waters off Florida as cost prohibitive. Politicians feared even the slightest..

Drop in Retail Sales Matches Paulson's Dour Predictions. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said yesterday that the U.S. economy has "turned down sharply" and may weaken further.

Oil Price Defies Easy Calculation. Is there a fair price for oil? It doesn't seem that way. Over the past year, the price of crude oil has nearly doubled even though oil inventories are ample, there has been no disruption in supplies, and petroleum demand in the United States, the world's biggest consumer, has leveled off in recent..

Bush Concedes Defeat On Colombia Trade Pact. President Bush said yesterday that a trade agreement with Colombia is "dead" unless House Democrats agree to hold a vote on the pact, effectively admitting defeat on a White House priority.

Reports Offer Grim Picture of Economy. The economy is slowing across the nation, the home-building sector is tanking more than even the pessimists could have imagined a few months ago and prices keep rising at an uncomfortably high rate.

Mexicans Get Less Aid From Migrants. LO DE LUNA, Mexico -- The effects of the subprime mortgage crisis and the downturn in the U.S. economy have cascaded into Mexico, causing a sudden, precipitous drop in the flow of money sent home by Mexican immigrants and highlighting this country's dependence on its wealthier northern neighbor.

Oil Costs To Offset Stimulus Package. On the eve of President Bush's visit to Saudi Arabia, crude oil prices set a record for the fifth day in a row yesterday, eating into tax rebates being mailed to U.S. households and prompting FedEx to slash its quarterly earnings forecast by $100 million because of rising fuel costs.

Burdened by the Weight of Inflation. Nearly seven in 10 Americans are worried about maintaining their standard of living, as concern has spiked higher in just the past five months, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Soaring consumer prices are a major challenge, with many people struggling under the weight of the risi..

Food Costs Jump Most in 18 Years. Rising global grain prices helped spark the largest increase in monthly food costs in nearly 20 years, as consumers paid more in April for cereals and baked goods, and the dairy, meat and other animal products that rely on feedstocks, the government reported yesterday.

Fed Governor Mishkin to Resign. A Federal Reserve governor said he would resign late this summer, which could leave the central bank shorthanded as it grapples with some of the deepest challenges in its history.

Rising Prices, Falling Dollar Stoke Memories of the '70s. Prices have been soaring long enough and fast enough, economists say, that the nation is at risk of a self-reinforcing cycle of inflation like that experienced in the 1970s.

In Construction Slump, Latinos Lose the Most. The unemployment rate among Latinos is rising faster than the rate for non-Hispanic workers in the United States, as the steep decline in the construction industry eliminates hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to a national study released yesterday.

Fed Official Says Rescues May Create More Risks. In a sign of widening skepticism within the Federal Reserve system of the central bank's rescue of Bear Stearns, the president of a regional Fed bank said yesterday that such actions may make financial crises more common.

Investors' Growing Appetite for Oil Evades Market Limits. Hedge funds and big Wall Street banks are taking advantage of loopholes in federal trading limits to buy massive amounts of oil contracts, according to a growing number of lawmakers and prominent investors, who blame the practice for helping to push oil prices to record highs.

Spring's Rally Fades, and Dark Clouds Settle In. Once again, it was a disappointing quarter for U.S. stocks, as a spring rally fueled by investors' optimism that the worst of the financial crisis was over gave way to concerns about inflation, soaring oil prices and renewed fears about the ongoing credit crunch.

Groups Sue U.S. for Data On Tracking By Cellphone. Two civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government yesterday, seeking records related to the government's use of cellphones as tracking devices.

For Hosts, Games Lose Some Luster. BEIJING -- It seemed like a great idea last year, starting a hotel-reservation Web site for this summer's Olympic Games. Companies had been calling travel agencies 17 months in advance to book rooms.