China orders offshore oil risks review after spill

China’s ocean administration has ordered oil companies operating offshore wells to assess risks of accidents following two spills off its east coast in a field operated by American energy giant ConocoPhillips.
The State Oceanic Administration on Friday said offshore oil producers must thoroughly investigate any risks, review their emergency planning and also reassess environmental impact from […]

IMF urges US lawmakers to raise $14.3B debt limit

The International Monetary Fund urged U.S. lawmakers Wednesday to raise the nation’s borrowing limit. It warned that inaction could lead to a spike in interest rates that would harm the U.S. economy and world financial markets.
The debt limit is the amount the government can borrow to help finance its operations. The United States reached its […]

Canada Post rejects union’s latest offer

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With gas nearing $4, Americans opt for small cars

Americans are going for smaller cars as gas prices march higher.
New models that get 35 mpg or better, including the Chevrolet Cruze, Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus, led most major automakers to stronger April sales. Even buyers of pickup trucks chose more efficient engines.
The shift to more fuel-efficient cars was good news for Detroit and […]

Asian markets edge higher amid Japan nuke progress

Asian markets perked up Wednesday, calmed by signs of progress in Japan’s battle to contain a nuclear crisis as its central bank meets to determine what measures are needed to help the country through its worst disaster since World War II.
Japan’s battered Nikkei 225 rose marginally to 9,617.34, with some major exporters clawing back ground […]

Bernanke says bank overhaul will help small banks

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a group of small-bank executives on Wednesday that the financial overhaul will benefit their institutions because it will level the playing field with the industry’s giants.
Bernanke said it would be important for the banks to adapt to the changing regulatory environment, in remarks prepared for the annual convention in […]

Local drugmaker exhausting stores of anti-radiation medicine

In the wake of Japan’s nuclear crisis, a Fenton-based pharmaceutical company is exhausting its inventory of a leading medicine used to combat radiation sickness.
Fleming Pharmaceuticals’ shortage of potassium iodide also has sparked questions over the adequacy of the nation’s stockpile of the anti-radiation medicine.
Fleming President Phill Dritsas said in an interview Wednesday that the U.S. […]

2 ferries wait to leave Libya amid rough seas

The head of a Maltese ferry company says two of his vessels are waiting to leave the Libyan capital with foreigners trying to leave the strife-torn country but have been detained by bureaucracy and rough seas.
Henri Saliba, managing director of Virtu Ferries, says the San Gwann is accepting anyone who wants to board and is […]

Medco Health 4Q profit up 11 percent

Medco Health Solutions Inc., the country’s largest pharmacy benefits manager, said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit rose 11 percent, reflecting record volumes in mail-order prescriptions.
The Franklin Lakes, N.J., company also reaffirmed its 2011 guidance.
For the October-December quarter, the company reported net income of $378.5 million, or 88 cents per share, compared with $341.5 million, or 70 […]

Kenyan Growth May Slow as Drought Reduces Black-Tea Production - Bloomberg

A drought may slow economic growth in Kenya for the first time in three years as farmers in the world’s biggest black-tea exporting nation scale back production and millions face food shortages.
Production of tea, the East African nation’s biggest foreign-exchange earner, may decline as much as 12 percent in 2011, according to the Kenya […]