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AP Business NewsBrief at 5:26 p.m. EST
[December 04, 2012]

AP Business NewsBrief at 5:26 p.m. EST


(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) GOP leaders remove 4 from plum House committeesWASHINGTON (AP) _ House Speaker John Boehner's decision to take plum committee assignments away from four conservative Republican lawmakers after they bucked party leaders on key votes isn't going over well with conservative advocacy groups that viewed them as role models. Reps. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and Justin Amash of Michigan will lose their seats on the House Budget Committee chaired by Rep. Paul Ryan next year. And Reps. Walter Jones of North Carolina and David Schweikert of Arizona are losing their seats on the House Financial Services Committee.



Ask.com adds mobile apps to its search resultsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ You're apt to discover more useful apps for your smartphone or tablet computer at Ask.com beginning Tuesday. At least that's the thinking behind a licensing agreement that Ask's search engine has forged with Silicon Valley startup Quixey, which has spent the past three years refining a technology to analyze the services offered through millions of applications designed for iPhones, iPads, Android gadgets, Windows devices and BlackBerrys.

Canadian Pacific Railway to eliminate 4,500 jobsTORONTO (AP) _ Canadian Pacific Railway says it will eliminate some 4,500 employee and contractor positions by 2016. New chief executive Hunter Harrison said Tuesday they have already made progress and expect 1,700 positions to be eliminated by year end.


Highlights of White House, GOP budget plansThe Obama administration and House Republicans have unveiled their opening offers in talks to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Details are scant but the White House estimates its plan would carve $4.4 trillion from the deficit over the coming decade, including previously enacted cuts ($1 trillion) and savings from reduced costs for overseas military operations ($800 billion), as well as interest payments on the national debt ($600 billion). House Republicans say their plan would cut deficits by $2.2 trillion over 10 years, but they don't claim previous cuts, war savings or interest costs toward that total. Both plans would block automatic spending cuts set to hit the economy in January and renew Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of the month.

Pandora outlook for loss sparks sell-offOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) _ Internet radio company Pandora Media Inc. said Tuesday that its third-quarter net profit more than tripled to $2 million as revenue rose slightly faster than costs. But it predicted a loss in the fourth quarter, a bad surprise for investors who sent shares tumbling. CEO Joe Kennedy said in an interview that worries about the federal tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect Jan. 1 unless Congress acts _the so-called "fiscal cliff"_ are affecting the advertising revenue outlook. That is especially true for January, when any tax increases could take effect. Pandora's fourth quarter ends at the end of January.

US banks report stronger profits and more lendingWASHINGTON (AP) _ U.S. banks are enjoying their best profits in six years and are lending a bit more freely. The gradual improvement suggests that the industry will sustain its healing from the worst financial crisis in decades and help strengthen the economy. The industry earned $37.6 billion from July through September _ a 6.6 percent increase from its earnings in same quarter last year.

NYC breaks ground on 26-acre Hudson Yards projectNEW YORK (AP) _ Work to transform the largest undeveloped property in Manhattan from a railroad storage yard into a sleek new neighborhood of spiky high-rises and graceful parks got a formal start Tuesday, with developers and officials heralding it as the next big thing in a city known for them. The $15 billion project, called Hudson Yards, calls for angular office skyscrapers and curvy apartment towers, a slate of shows and restaurants, an arts building and a public square in a 26-acre stretch of the island's far West Side off Midtown _ eventually. Tuesday marked the ceremonial groundbreaking for the first office tower, a 48-story building scheduled to be finished by 2015.

US home prices rise in October by most in 6 yearsWASHINGTON (AP) _ A measure of U.S. home prices rose 6.3 percent in October compared with a year ago, the largest yearly gain since July 2006. The jump adds to signs of a comeback in the once-battered housing market. Core Logic also said Tuesday that prices declined 0.2 percent in October from September, the second drop after six straight monthly increases. The monthly figures are not seasonally adjusted. The real estate data provider says the decline reflects the end of the summer home-buying season.

Stocks little changed as budget talks continueNEW YORK (AP) _ Stocks closed little changed Tuesday on Wall Street as budget talks continued in Washington. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 13.82 points at 12,951.78 after trading in a narrow range of just 82 points. The Standard and Poor's 500 was down 2.41 points to 1,407.05. The Nasdaq composite was down 5.51 at 2,996.69.

Greek PM pledges first glimmer of recovery in 2013ATHENS, Greece (AP) _ Greece's prime minister on Tuesday promised an austerity-weary nation that 2013 will bring the first signs of economic recovery after a punishing five-year recession, and held out hope that pending tax reforms will reduce the burden on lower earners. Antonis Samaras said last week's new debt relief deal with international creditors _ on whose loans the country has depended for more than two years _ has "finally" killed fears that Greece could be forced to abandon the club of European nations that share the euro currency.

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