Wire Business News

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday sharply criticized officials in the ruling Kremlin-backed party for manipulating recent regional votes, saying it must learn to win fairly.

President Barack Obama's eight-day trip to Asia produced no tangible wins for the United States, though he is citing talks with Asian allies that he says could help create thousands of job and open new markets for American goods in the future.

A labor agreement for Philadelphia transit workers has been ratified overwhelmingly by union members.

State Treasurer Janet Cowell unveiled new rules Friday banning employees from taking gifts from companies that do substantial business with the agency and setting a limit on charitable solicitations.

University of Connecticut officials say a plan to merge the UConn Health Center in Farmington with Hartford Hospital is unlikely to win official approval.

Monsanto Co. is installing a water management system at an Idaho phosphate mine the company depends on to make its Roundup weedkiller to stop the leakage of selenium and heavy metals into a tributary of the Blackfoot River.

The collapse of a Bend real estate development company has resulted in charges against 13 people in what prosecutors say is the largest Oregon fraud case to emerge from the national real estate boom and bust.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded ratings for Liberty Media Corp. subsidiary Liberty Media LLC on Friday. The changes come shortly after shareholders approved the formation of a new company out of DirecTV Group Inc. and some of Liberty's entertainment businesses.

"Going Rogue" is going big.

Southwest Airlines Co. said Friday it will require uncontested candidates for its board of directors to win a majority among shareholder votes cast to be elected, instead of just a plurality.

The state of Wyoming filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking to block the National Park Service from further restricting snowmobile numbers in Yellowstone National Park.

West Virginia's Public Service Commission has approved a 5 percent rate increase for Hope Gas Inc.

A Louisiana businessman was charged Friday with engaging in a Ponzi scheme to defraud about 160 investors - mostly elderly people - out of roughly $19.5 million and using some of the money to pay for cars, cruises, sports tickets and a house.

A former kosher slaughterhouse manager convicted of financial fraud has asked for an acquittal or new trial, saying prosecutors unfairly brought in evidence of immigration violations.

Overstock.com Inc. said Friday that it received a listing rule violation letter Thursday from the Nasdaq Stock Market related to the recent filing of its third-quarter report.

Democratic senators pressed ahead Saturday toward a crucial first vote on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, a test of party unity in the face of solid Republican opposition.

Republicans are seizing on this week's recommendations for fewer Pap smears and mammograms to fuel concern about government-rationed medical care - and to try to chip away support by women for President Barack Obama's proposed health care overhaul.

More than 15,000 mobile home owners insured by state-backed Citizens Property insurance Corp. will see an 11 percent increase on their insurance policies in 2010.

Stocks fell for a third straight day Friday as a disappointing outlook from computer maker Dell Inc. suggested that an economic recovery could be uneven. The market, which has been shuttling between concerns about the economy and traders' need to find high-yielding investments, is back to worrying about the economy. Demand for safe haven investments like Treasurys and the dollar rose for a second day in response to Dell's outlook and comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who said the ECB plans to start reining in some of its stimulus programs. A rising dollar also hit commodities producers and exporters.

Online retail brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. said Friday that it will sell $1.25 billion in senior unsecured notes in a public offering and use proceeds to retire debt and stagger the maturity of its long-term bonds.

A billboard showing President Barack Obama wearing a turban has sparked a lot of attention at the suburban Denver used car dealership that put it up.

The New Hampshire attorney general's office wants to force a mortgage company that closed suddenly into bankruptcy.

Among the stock activity stories for Friday, Nov. 20, from AP Financial News:

Huntington Bancshares Inc., parent company of Huntington National Bank, said Friday that it will pay $338.9 million for subordinated bank notes tendered for an offer that expired Thursday.

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said it will again hear arguments in the nearly 15-year legal battle over accusations that Exxon Mobil Corp. loaded abandoned wells with junk, sludge and even explosives to keep other companies from drilling there.

The U.S. is finally becoming a nation of savers. Now if only we could get something for our money.

North Carolina's state treasurer has unveiled rules banning employees from taking gifts from companies that do substantial business with the agency.

Sun-Times Media Group, which was recently sold out of bankruptcy to an investor group, said Friday it named John Barron to the newly created group publisher position and as senior vice president of news and editorial operations.

Moody's Investors Service said Friday that it downgraded ratings for Sprint Nextel Corp. because it is taking longer than expected to stanch a deterioration in its profit.

Florida banking regulators on Friday shut down Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida, marking the 124th U.S. bank to succumb this year to the struggling economy and rising loan defaults.

Lawyers for the Minnesota House spell out in a 34-page brief why they believe Gov. Tim Pawlenty misused a state law to enact budget cuts without legislative consent.

Community colleges have joined Missouri's four-year colleges and universities in agreeing to freeze tuition next school year if state officials promise to nick and not slash their budgets.

First-time claims for jobless benefits in Louisiana fell last week after a spike attributed to a temporary layoff in the transportation equipment industry.

Asian carp may have breached an electronic barrier designed to prevent the giant invaders from upsetting the ecosystem in the Great Lakes and jeopardizing a $7 billion sport fishery, officials said Friday.

Just two years after hitting a record low, the unemployment rate in Alabama climbed to 10.9 percent in October, the highest it has been in more than 25 years, state officials announced Friday.