Published May 12, 2008, 12:01 AM EST

by Patti S. Spencer

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - On Dec. 20 President Bush signed into law the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. For three years, from Jan. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2009, certain discharges of mortgage indebtedness on a principal residence can be excluded from a taxpayer's gross income.Foreclosure rates h......

Published May 11, 2008, 12:10 AM EST

by DENNIS LARISON, Business Editor

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Jim Rohrer is a die-hard hardware guy — a survivor in an age when big-box retailers are driving family-owned hardware stores to the brink of extinction. He's been in the business since 1975, when he and his father, Harry, opened Rohrer's Hardware off Columbia Avenue between Center......

Published May 11, 2008, 12:08 AM EST

by THE ECONOMIST

NEW YORK - The New York Times once epitomized all that was great about American newspapers; now it symbolizes its industry's deep malaise. The Grey Lady's circulation is tumbling, down another 3.9 percent in the latest data from America's Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). Its advertisin......

Published May 11, 2008, 12:08 AM EST

by PAULA WOLF, Staff

WILMINGTON, Del. - You know the guy who shows up at his high school reunion, trying to impress everyone with tall tales? That's not Ernie Dianastasis. Because Dianastasis wouldn't need to resort to embellishment to describe what he's accomplished in the three-plus decades since he graduated. The ......

Published May 11, 2008, 12:06 AM EST

by JOSH FUNK, Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. - After ConAgra Foods' board slashed the company's dividend by 34 percent as part of a restructuring plan, a few shareholders suggested the board should also feel the pain and slash its own pay by roughly one-third. Not surprisingly, the suggestion shareholder Don Hudgens made during the ......

Published May 11, 2008, 12:04 AM EST

by MARTIN ZIMMERMAN, Los Angeles Times

COMMENTARY - In the race to bring Chinese vehicles to the North American market, Chamco Automotive has hit some major-league potholes. Just last year, Chamco (short for China America Cooperative Automotive Inc.) seemed to be riding high in its quest to have two Chinese-made products in U.S. showrooms this y......

Published May 11, 2008, 12:02 AM EST

by THE ECONOMIST

COMMENTARY - Commitment is one of Carlos Ghosn's favorite words. He makes commitments himself, and he expects his senior managers in the Renault-Nissan alliance to do the same. His latest, and one of his boldest, is that Renault and Nissan will lead the car industry in developing profitable zero-emission vehicle...

Published May 8, 2008, 11:41 AM EST

by TIM MEKEEL, Staff

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - A local lender has offered to rescue victims of the Wesley A. Snyder mortgage scandal, weeks before a temporary reprieve expires.

Fulton Mortgage Co. is proposing several refinancing options to the 811 affected borrowers, including 300 in Lancaster County.

Among the options are low-rate l......

Published May 8, 2008, 11:30 AM EST

by TIM MEKEEL, Staff

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Armstrong World Industries intends to make sweeping changes to its underachieving European resilient flooring business.

The overhaul, which is likely to include plant closings, was disclosed by Armstrong chief executive officer Michael D. Lockhart in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.......

Published May 8, 2008, 1:47 AM EST

by CARLA DI FONZO, Staff

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced Wednesday that it has assembled experts across the state to guarantee customer satisfaction at all Wine & Spirits stores.The new Wine Advisory Council is made up of restaurant owners, hotel managers and wine experts across Pennsylvania given ......