Business Highlights
[...] companies raised pay, and their employees worked more hours — a combination that lifted income and, if sustained, could quicken the U.S. expansion.
Canada is the leading exporter of crude oil and natural gas to the United States, according to figures from the Energy Information Administration.
S&P Global Platts, which tracks the energy industry, estimated that up to 820,000 barrels a day of crude oil production were shut in by the fire, although the number could be lower if facilities were operating below peak capacity.
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Herbalife surged Friday after disclosing that it's in advanced talks to settle a federal investigation into claims that the company essentially operates as a pyramid scheme.
LODENICE, Czech Republic (AP) — As vinyl records make a global comeback, a little-known Czech company is riding the market surge to establish itself as the world's biggest record manufacturer, with plans to expand in North America and Asia.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Services in Greece, from garbage collection to public transport, shut down Friday as workers kicked off three days of strikes to protest new bailout austerity measures that they say will further reduce incomes.
Several thousand people held peaceful demonstrations in central Athens as part of protests that indicate a growing discontent with the left-led coalition government, which was only re-elected last September.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — At the Cafe Gratitude restaurant chain in California, waiters serve plates of vegan rice bowls, vegetable pizzas and tempeh sandwiches with names such as Gracious, ''Warm-Hearted and Magical.
Angry patrons and animal rights activists are calling on vegans to boycott the restaurants after learning that owners Matthew and Terces Engelhart have begun eating meat and consuming animals raised on their private farm.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a further sign that the download era is waning, Warner Music