CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez's government assumed control of Venezuela's third-largest bank on Friday _ making the state the largest player in the nation's banking system.

The purchase of the Spanish-owned Banco de Venezuela gives Chavez's socialist government control over more than one-fifth of bank depos...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Malt-O-Meal Co. is voluntarily recalling oatmeal that contains instant nonfat dry milk that may be contaminated with salmonella.

The instant nonfat dry milk came from Plainview Milk Products Cooperative of Minnesota which is recalling products made over the past two years due to the possible contami...

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Tropicana Las Vegas has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with new owners.

Toronto-based Onex Corporation and former MGM Mirage President Alex Yemenidjian acquired a majority stake in the Las Vegas hotel-casino this week, as it completed its yearlong bankruptcy process.

The new owners took over the...

DENVER (AP) - Casket makers catering to natural burials have offered biodegradable coffins made of such materials as recycled newspapers or cardboard. Ecoffins USA, based in Montrose, Colo., is selling caskets made of banana sheaves.

They take six months to two years to biodegrade.

Marketing director Joanna Passa...

COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) - Cummins Inc. is recalling 400 laid-off workers as it resumes production at a Columbus factory, while nearly 300 people lost their jobs as an auto parts company idled a plant in nearby Shelbyville.

Cummins is preparing to resume production of the Dodge Ram engine at its Columbus MidRange Engine Plant...

ATLANTA (AP) - Colin Daymude was out of work last year after his business failed and eagerly filed his taxes in mid-January, figuring he'd get his refund sooner. He was wrong.

It took the 44-year-old entrepreneur more than six months to get his $1,300 check _ money that he needed to pay living expenses while he wo...

TORONTO (AP) - Canada's finance minister said Friday that the country's economic recovery will likely be modest and job losses will mount into 2010 even after growth has begun.

Jim Flaherty gave his most recent, sobering assessment of economic prospects in a conference call from Chile, after a meeting with finance...

BEVERLY, Mass. (AP) - Her fellow job seekers offer knowing groans as Diane Castro recalls the day she was laid off: The fear of being summoned to the front office. The phones in nearby cubicles going off like grenades. Finally, a ring at her desk.

Every member of the unemployment support group meeting has their own story...

LONDON (AP) - British Airways PLC announced Friday it will ground aircraft, slash seat numbers and postpone taking delivery of a dozen new Airbus A380 superjumbos as it faces a recession-driven decline in passengers.

The airline said it carried 2.93 million passengers in June, 5 percent fewer than in June 2008.

B...

SHINER, Texas (AP) - By all accounts, Shiner beer shouldn't have made it this long. The Spoetzl Brewery ferments its brew in a one-stoplight town that's not on the way to anywhere, and much larger regional brewers long ago succumbed to consolidation and the muscle of national brewers.

For years, Spoetzl limped along wit...