AP - Americans are recovering their shrunken wealth — gradually. Household net worth rose last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was slight. And it was less than in the previous two quarters.
AP - Citigroup Inc. says it's heading back toward sustained profitability after two years that saw the bank lose billions of dollars and be bailed out by the government.
AP - Government vehicle safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks and are weighing a range of new safety requirements in response to Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles over brake and acceleration problems.
AP - The dollar eased against the euro and the pound Thursday as Greece announced additional salary cuts and tax hikes to deal with its ballooning deficit, while China reported a jump in inflation.
AP - U.S. exports dipped in January, the government said Thursday, but economists weren't fazed. They predict export growth will be a bright spot for American manufacturers through the rest of 2010.
AP - GOOD NEWS, MODEST MOVES: The Dow Jones industrial average tacked on only 3 points Wednesday after the government said that inventories at wholesalers fell in January while sales rose. That suggests that demand is strengthening.
Reuters - Lingering U.S. labor market weakness and nagging doubts about the solidity of the economic recovery are expected to keep the Federal Reserve committed to holding borrowing costs very low for a long time at a monetary policy meeting next week.
AP - Clashes between riot police and rock-throwing, masked youths broke out during a demonstration Thursday in central Athens by tens of thousands of striking workers protesting austerity measures that the Greek government has said it has no choice but to implement.
AP - BULLISH OUTLOOK: Citigroup Inc. says its returning to "sustained profitability" after losing billions on bad loans and taking a federal bailout. CEO Vikram Pandit says the bank is shedding risky mortgage assets and shifting focus to emerging markets like Latin America and Asia.
AFP - US President Barack Obama on Thursday issued a fresh call to China to embrace a "market oriented" exchange rate for the yuan, saying such a move would help rebalance the global economy.
AP - The Kroger Co., the country's largest grocery retailer, on Thursday declared a quarterly dividend of 9.5 cents per share payable June 1 to shareholders of record as of May 14.
AP - BP is expanding its dominant oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico and dropping anchor off Brazil with a $7 billion deal to buy exploration rights from Devon Energy.
Reuters - Unprecedented discounts after a series of damaging recalls boosted Toyota Motor Corp's U.S. sales in early March, as U.S. regulators weighed new auto safety measures.
BusinessWeek - According to insiders at Prudential Plc , Tidjane Thiam, the chief executive of the insurer which said last week that it was bidding $35.5bn (23.6bn) to buy AIG's Asian insurance business is a firm believer in emotion over analysis.
