BP didn't consider hurricanes in its response plan

BP failed to mention the prospect of a hurricane or tropical storm affecting any potential oil spill in the response plan it submitted to federal authorities for the Gulf of Mexico a year ago, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) announced Wednesday.


BP - Meteorology - hurricane - Earth Sciences - Atmospheric Sciences

Recession cut into employment for half of working adults, study says

The recession has directly hit more than half of the nation's working adults, pushing them into unemployment, pay cuts, reduced hours at work or part-time jobs, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.


Recession - Education - Employment - Unemployment - Health

The suspects in a Russian spy ring lived all-American lives

Richard and Cynthia Murphy raised two children in a colonial house with maroon shutters on a winding street in suburban New Jersey. Cynthia, a vice president at a financial services firm, tended hydrangeas out front. Katie, 11, and Lisa, 7, rode pink bicycles around a nearby cul-de-sac.


Espionage - Russia - United States - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Warfare and Conflict

China, Taiwan sign trade pact

BEIJING -- China and Taiwan, political rivals separated by 60 years of history and hostility, highlighted their growing economic links Tuesday by signing a trade cooperation agreement that could dramatically increase the flow of goods across the narrow Taiwan Strait.



Taiwan - China - Asia - Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement - Politics

Lawmakers reopen negotiations on financial overhaul bill

Lawmakers who thought they were done negotiating the final version of financial regulatory legislation reconvened Tuesday after key Republican supporters threatened to bolt in a sudden dispute over how the bill would be funded.


Financial services - Business - Banking Services - Banks and Institutions - United States

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Cellphone industry attacks San Francisco's ruling on radiation

San Francisco, a city that banned the plastic bag, now has waded into the muddy territory of cellphone radiation, setting off a call to arms in the $153 billion wireless industry.


San Francisco - Mobile phone - Law - Environmental Health - Health Physics and Radiological Health

Democrats seek to extend emergency jobless benefits

Congressional Democrats are struggling to revive a plan to extend emergency unemployment benefits for millions of jobless workers. Although House leaders say they will pass the measure as soon as Wednesday, its fate in the Senate remains uncertain.


Democratic - United States - Politics - Unemployment - Parties

Despite BP corporate code, firm has made political contributions

BP, the global energy corporation whose massive oil spill is fouling huge swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, proclaims in its corporate code of conduct that it will "make no political contributions, whether in cash or in kind, anywhere in the world."



BP - Politics - United States - Products and Services - Campaigns and Elections

Steering U.S.-China economic relations toward a new normal

Let's take a moment to note that stock prices fell sharply Tuesday in part because of a downward revision of leading economic indicators -- in China.


China - Asia - Business and Economy - Maps and Views - Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement

Defendant pleads guilty in plot to bomb JFK Airport

One of four men accused of plotting to kill thousands and cause an economic catastrophe by blowing up John F. Kennedy International Airport pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Tuesday, the day before his federal trial was to begin.


United States - Aviation - Business - Transportation and Logistics - Airports

Iraqi government approves natural gas deal with Shell

Iraq has approved a $17 billion joint venture project with Royal Dutch Shell to tap natural gas in four southern oilfields, the government announced Tuesday in its latest push to develop an oil sector battered by years of neglect and war.


Business - Energy - Oil and Gas - Iraq - Operating Companies