NEW YORK-- Moody's Investors Service on Monday cut Service Corp. International Inc.' s corporate family rating to "Ba3" from "Ba2," citing the additional debt the company will take on to finance its acquisition of rival Stewart Enterprises Inc.. Moody's also on Monday reduced Service Corp.' s probability of default rating to "Ba3" from "Ba2."

NEW YORK, June 11- More employers in the United States plan to hire workers next quarter than in any period since the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a survey by Manpower Group, the global employment services giant. There were certain bright spots, however, with employers in the United States and some parts of Europe feeling cautiously optimistic.

CHICAGO, June 3- Illinois' lowest-among-states credit rating took a new hit on Monday as Fitch Ratings downgraded the state's credit just days after Illinois lawmakers left the state capitol last week without addressing a huge public pension funding crisis.

*SEC warns municipalities not to gloss over financial health. When on May 6 the SEC charged the cash-strapped capital city of Pennsylvania, it effectively put officials across the country on notice that even political statements like annual state of the city addresses must not overstate financial conditions.

May 9- The president of Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank on Thursday denied a news report that the Caribbean island's highways authority might default on a bond payment.

May 7- BMW is recalling about 220,000 vehicles worldwide from model years 2002 and 2003 as part of a wider recall affecting airbags made by supplier Takata Corp, BMW said on Tuesday.

May 7- BMW is recalling about 220,000 vehicles worldwide from model years 2002 and 2003 as part of a wider recall affecting airbags made by supplier Takata Corp, BMW said on Tuesday.

May 6- Puerto Rico business groups and some municipal governments are teaming up against a proposed $1 billion overhaul of a sales and use tax that is a key component of a budget proposal meant to cut a large deficit in the debt-ridden economy. Puerto Rico's debt is one of the riskier alternatives in the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market.

WASHINGTON, May 2- As they finalize budgets for the next fiscal year, many states are sending a message to the U.S. government about the effects of spending cuts known as sequestration on federally funded projects: You're on your own.

The law generally requires that the maritime transport of cargo between points in the United States be carried by U.S.-flagged vessels that are at least 75 percent owned and crewed by U.S. citizens, with U.S. officers and built in U.S. shipyards.

*More crude sailing from US Gulf Coast to Canada. NEW YORK/ LONDON, May 1- Oil traders including commodities giant Trafigura and Australian bank Macquarie have quietly begun shipping U.S. crude oil from Texas to Canada, raising the ire of U.S. East Coast refiners who may pay four times as much for a similar voyage.

SAN JUAN, April 26- Puerto Rico would see its deficit decline substantially to $200 million under a proposed budget for the 2014 fiscal year unveiled by the territory's governor, who said he expects to close the budget gap in two to three years.

April 25- Puerto Rico's new governor on Thursday proposed raising government spending by 8 percent and expanding the goods and services on the Caribbean Island subject to a sales and use tax.

April 25- Puerto Rico's new governor on Thursday proposed a $750 million annual budget increase to $9.835 billion for the Caribbean island, whose tepid economic recovery from a six-year recession is showing signs of sputtering.

April 24- Puerto Rico's new governor is trying to heal the Caribbean island's wounded public finances with an austere budget heavy with new taxes that could sap life from a wobbly economic recovery.

April 19- American International Group Inc won a legal victory over where a mortgage fraud lawsuit it brought against Bank of America Corp should be heard, a two-year-old case that has largely been on hold because of the dispute over venue.

April 19- American International Group Inc won a legal victory over where its $10 billion mortgage fraud lawsuit against Bank of America Corp should be heard, a two-year-old case that has largely been on hold because of the dispute over venue.

April 19- A federal appeals court ruled in favor of American International Group Inc by concluding that the insurer's $10 billion lawsuit against Bank of America Corp over mortgage losses belongs in state court, not federal court.