Latest Business Wires

Alcohol abuse cost New Mexico 993 lives and nearly $2.5 billion in 2006 in lost productivity, health care expenses and costs associated with property loss from crashes and fires, a new report shows.

Otter Tail Power Co.'s North Dakota customers will be paying slightly lower rates under a settlement of an electric rate case.

American International Group Inc. has agreed to settle all legal disputes with its former chairman Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the company said late Wednesday.

The state of North Carolina has hired a California company to create an archive system designed to manage and retrieve state employee e-mails more easily.

The Nashville Predators ended their naming rights deal Wednesday with the Sommet Group of Tennessee for the team's arena and are suing the company for failing to pay.

Massachusetts Democratic Senate hopeful Stephen Pagliuca has spent $5.4 million of his own money in his bid for the seat once held by the late Edward Kennedy.

Officials say the nation's largest funeral service company resolved antitrust issues with the Nevada state attorney general, and can proceed with a plan to buy a large Las Vegas-area mortuary business.

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. said Wednesday its shareholders did not support a proposal to dissolve the company, and it will consider other options.

Silicon wafer manufacturer MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. amended its revolving credit agreement last week, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday.

Consolidated Edison Inc. said Wednesday it will get another $45 million in federal stimulus money to improve the electricity grid in the New York area.

Vermont food shelves met the increasing demand for help — barely — but they remain concerned about helping those needing Christmas time help in a state ranked among the nation's hungriest.

Sneak previews of upcoming blockbusters. Snappy reminders to buy popcorn, and turn off all cell phones and pagers.

Duke Energy Corp. says the cost of the coal-gasification power plant it's building in southwestern Indiana has risen another $150 million, boosting the project's estimated price to $2.5 billion — nearly twice the original estimate.

The West Virginia Division of Air Quality is giving the public more time to weigh in on an air pollution permit for a planned coal-to-gasoline plant in the southern coalfields.

Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized more than 17,000 counterfeit items from Twin Cities-area businesses last week, cracking down on the sale of fake goods before the holiday shopping season begins.

Stuttgart-based Riceland Foods Inc. says its sales for the fiscal year are up by 8 percent from the year before.

A division of Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that federal regulators granted full approval to an HIV drug designed to treat patients who have stopped responding to other treatments.

Asset manager Apollo Global Management LLC on Wednesday completed its acquisition of Parallel Petroleum Corp., according to the oil and natural gas producer.

Edmund Harriss oversees three Asia-focused mutual funds for Guinness Atkinson. He sees more strong growth in the region, but he says investors need to be willing to stomach the increased volatility.

The Baron iOpportunity fund invests not just in technology stocks but companies that benefit from technology, says portfolio manager Michael Lippert. Among his holdings are wireless tower companies. The fund has ranked in the top 2 percent of its category for total returns over the past year, according to Morningstar.