NEW YORK – Better economic reports are lifting stocks a day after the market had its biggest drop in seven months.   The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell more than economists expected last week. Inflation in consumer prices was tame in February.   Production at U.S. […]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that Japan has the financial means to recover from a devastating earthquake and ensuing massive tsunami.   As the official toll of the dead and missing after Friday’s quake and tsunami flattened Japan’s northeast coast topped 15,000, the IMF stressed […]

Clash in Bahrain helps push oil prices back around $100 per barrel NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are climbing back around $100 per barrel after a crackdown on protesters in Bahrain increased tensions in a conflict that threatens to pull in OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran. Meanwhile, Japan […]