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AP Business NewsBrief at 12:17 a.m. EDT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AP IMPACT: Weak rules cripple appraiser oversightCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal _ the real estate appraisal _ was undermined from within. After the nation's last major banking disaster, Congress set up a system to catch rogue appraisers. Their game: inflating the value of homes at the direction of equally unscrupulous real estate agents and mortgage brokers, whose commissions are determined by the size of the deals.
PBGC downplays investment plan risks, report saysWASHINGTON (AP) _ The federal agency charged with backstopping pension benefits for 44 million Americans has understated the risks of its new investment policy, a congressional watchdog said Monday. The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s new strategy could significantly boost the PBGC's investment returns, but it "will likely also carry more risk than acknowledged by PBGC's analysis."
Media coverage of the economy lags, study findsNEW YORK (AP) _ Media coverage of the economic downturn in the U.S. has lagged behind both economic activity and public interest, according to a study being released Monday by a Washington, D.C.-based research group. The Project for Excellence in Journalism analyzed more than 5,000 economic stories in 2007 and the first half of 2008. The stories, by 48 different news outlets, were delivered by cable news channels, network television, radio, newspapers and the Internet.
Inflated appraisal nearly cost family its homeHOPE MILLS, N.C. (AP) _ After 25 years as a doorman on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Carl Petrone was ready to retire from the cold winters and his daily commute. Petrone and his wife, Marie, wanted a home someplace warm, and found it in North Carolina _ a red-brick tri-level on a quiet, tree-lined street. It was bigger than their tiny place in New York and came with the right price.
TV remains top source of news even as online growsNEW YORK (AP) _ Fewer Americans are reading newspapers and are instead getting their news online, but television remains the leading source of news in the country, according to a survey released Sunday. Not surprisingly, younger people tend to get more of their news on the Internet, while older folks use traditional media such as television and newspapers, the Pew Research Center's biannual survey on news consumption habits said.
Kosher meatpacker struggles after immigration raidPOSTVILLE, Iowa (AP) _ Three months after the nation's largest immigration raid, chickens and beef carcasses are again moving down the line at Agriprocessors' sprawling kosher meatpacking plant, but managers acknowledge that business still isn't back to normal. The biggest problem is hiring people to replace the 389 workers arrested by immigration agents, managers told The Associated Press. More than 1,000 people worked at the plant before the May 12 raid.
Oil's down, stocks are up, but uncertainty remainsNEW YORK (AP) _ The past four weeks on Wall Street have been quite a welcome contrast. Stocks have risen, the dollar has strengthened and oil prices have plummeted. Investors are not sure yet, however, if it's a turnaround with staying power or just a temporary reversal.
Qwest, unions keep talking; workers remain on jobDENVER (AP) _ Qwest Communications International Inc. and members of its largest union headed back to the bargaining table Sunday for further negotiations after a labor contract expired. The talks come a little more than a week before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where Qwest is providing phone and Internet services. Qwest also is providing service to the Republican National Convention that begins Sept. 1 in St. Paul, Minn.
A small town struggles after immigration raidPOSTVILLE, Iowa (AP) _ A vague unease whispered through this tiny town in northeastern Iowa, where the rolling hills are a study in vivid colors _ red barns, white clapboard houses, and vibrant green cornfields plowed with almost architectural precision. It drifted through Postville's downtown, where restaurants serving tamales share three short blocks with El Vaquero clothing store, a kosher food market and the Spice-N-Ice Liquor and Redemption store.
Breaking up big banks questioned as losses mountNEW YORK (AP) _ America's biggest banks have suffered unprecedented losses from the ongoing credit crisis, and that's made some investors question whether the big financial conglomerates should be broken up in order to survive. Break-up advocates, who for months have been clamoring for Citigroup Inc. to be dismantled, got some validation of their viewpoint this past week. Europe's UBS AG _ created through the combination of Swiss Bank Corp. and Union Bank of Switzerland in 1997 _ on Wednesday laid the groundwork to tear up its business model after another quarter of steep losses.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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