Business News

More people sought U. S. unemployment benefits last week, but jobless claims remain at pre-recession levels. When employers keep their workers, it suggests potential income gains, active hiring and confidence that the economy is growing.

Applications for US unemployment benefits increase to 302k; still at pre-recession levels.

Target has hired Pepsi executive Brian Cornell as its new chairman and CEO as it looks to recover from a huge data breach and troubles in Canada.

The collapse of talks with U. S. creditors sent Argentina into its second debt default in 13 years and raised questions about what comes next for financial markets and the South American nation's staggering economy.

The owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains said Thursday a food safety scandal in China has hurt sales and might be severe enough to cut into the company's global profit.

Journal Communications Inc. of Milwaukee and E. W. Scripps Co. of Cincinnati have announced an agreement to merge broadcasting operations while spinning off newspaper holdings into a separate public company.

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that its second-quarter profit dropped 20 percent as smartphone and tablet sales fell.

U. S. stocks are turning mostly lower in midday trading, erasing an early gain. Genworth Financial sank 12 percent and Goodyear Tire & Rubber fell 7 percent after turning in results that disappointed investors. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell five points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,964 as of noon Eastern time Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 84 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,827.

After a dismal winter, the U. S. economy sprang back to life in the April-June quarter, growing at a fast 4 percent annual rate on the strength of higher consumer and business spending. The Commerce Department says the second-quarter rebound followed a sharp 2.1 percent annualized drop in economic activity in the January-March quarter.

Hyundai is recalling its popular Sonata midsize sedan to fix problems with the gear shift levers.

President Barack Obama is prodding Congress to close corporate tax loopholes and take other action before going on summer break this week instead of trying to sue him.

India's largest online e-commerce company, Flipkart, says it has raised $1 billion in new capital as the company gears up for competition with Amazon's push into the Indian market. The company says the funds will be used to invest in expansion, especially in mobile technology. Flipkart is sometimes called the Amazon of India.

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have flocked to for-profit colleges. That includes a troubled chain that is closing or selling its campuses amid a series of federal and state investigations. A report to be released Wednesday from the office of Sen.