Search resumes above waterline after ship shifts

The cruise ship grounded off Tuscany shifted again on its rocky perch Friday, forcing the suspension of diving search operations for the 21 people still missing and raising concerns about the stability of the ship’s resting place.
However, crews began combing the area above the waterline in the evening after officials determined the ship had stabilized […]

Woman with Italian ship captain defends his effort

A young Moldovan woman who says she was called to the bridge of the stricken Costa Concordia to help evacuate Russian passengers defended the embattled captain on Thursday, saying he worked tirelessly and “saved over 3,000 lives.”
Domnica Cemortan, who says she was translating Capt. Francesco Schettino’s orders during the frenzied evacuation, has emerged as a […]

Little benefit in boosting already-high credit score

Jeff Rose, 33, a financial planner, is trying to improve his credit score — even though it’s 780, which is 69 points above the median score.
Rose, who lives in Carbondale, Ill., said he opened up a second credit card last year to establish another line of credit and help boost his score. He said he […]

AP source: Mogul gives $5M to pro-Gingrich group

A Las Vegas billionaire has contributed $5 million to an independent group backing Newt Gingrich, bolstering the former House speaker’s efforts to revive his presidential campaign and drawing renewed attention to the role of such groups in the 2012 contest.
A person familiar with the development said Sheldon Adelson, a casino mogul and longtime donor to […]

Nigeria Labor Unions Plan to Proceed With Strike Over Fuel Subsidy Removal - Bloomberg

Nigerian labor unions plan to go ahead with a nationwide strike to protest the scrapping of fuel subsidies that more than doubled gasoline prices, said Owei Lakemfa, general secretary of the Nigeria Labor Congress.

Fewer people sought unemployment aid last week

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell further in the final week of 2011, a positive sign for hiring one day ahead of Friday’s December employment report.
The Labor Department says weekly applications dropped 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000 last week. It was the fourth drop in five weeks. The four-week average, which smooths […]

German Unemployment Drops More Than Forecast as Mild Winter Fuels Building - Bloomberg

German unemployment (GRUECHNG) fell more than forecast in December as exports of cars and machinery boomed and one of the mildest winters on record helped support jobs in construction.
The number of people out of work fell a seasonally adjusted 22,000 to 2.89 million, the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency said today. Economists forecast a decline […]

US seals $3.48B missiles, technology sale to UAE

The United States has reached a deal to sell $3.48 billion worth of missiles and related technology to the United Arab Emirates, a close Mideast ally, as part of a massive buildup of defense technology among friendly Mideast nations near Iran.
Pentagon spokesman George Little announced the Christmas Day sale on Friday night.
He noted that the […]

SEC slaps insurance giant Aon with bribery fine

Insurance giant Aon has agreed to pay more than $16 million in fines to settle charges that its subsidiaries bribed foreign government officials, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday.
Aon will pay $14.5 million to the SEC and $1.7 million to the Department of Justice to settle alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices […]

Centene expects greater revenue, profits in 2012

Centene Corp.