Mark Brooks

Yannis Stournaras said Wednesday that demands by the Socialists to lower sales tax for restaurant and catering services would not be included in the draft legislation that is due to be published Thursday.

State law requires manufacturers to sell cars through a dealer, unless the manufacturer can show that no dealer is available.

Meanwhile, airlines and members of Congress urged the Federal Aviation Administration to find other ways to reduce spending. Airlines are worried about the long-term costs late flights will have on their budgets and on passengers.

The price of crude oil wound up little changed Tuesday as a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing dampened optimism about an increase in new home sales in the U.S. last month.

Benchmark oil for June delivery fell 1 cent to finish at $89.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Republicans have questioned the legitimacy of Cordray's recess appointment by President Barack Obama.

The AP released the following statement at 1:12 p.m.: "The @AP twitter account has been hacked. The tweet about an attack at the White House is false. We will advise more as soon as possible."

The government announced plans Tuesday to provide companies with tax breaks and up to 4.5 billion euros ($5.8 billion) in credit, facilitate licensing for investments, and widen training programs.

His second four-year term will end in January, and neither he nor President Barack Obama has signaled whether Bernanke will serve a third term.

Guido Westerwelle said Tuesday in Brussels that going back to "the old policy of taking on new debt would cement mass unemployment in Europe for many years to come."

The actively traded contract for June delivery of gold rose $25.60, or 1.8 percent, to close at $1,421.20 an ounce Monday.

Over the past three weeks, the price of oil has fallen by 9 percent to $89 a barrel. That has helped extend a slide in gasoline prices that began in late February.

Benchmark oil for May gained 75 cents to finish at $88.76 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The furloughs are part of mandatory budget cuts that kicked in on March 1 after Democrats and Republicans missed a deadline to agree on a long-term deficit reduction plan.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says the Senate bill would level the playing field for small businesses and brick-and-mortar retailers that are undercut by online companies.

Halliburton Chief Financial Officer Mark McCollum said during a conference call Monday that talks are at an "advanced stage."

The 2012 figures, published Monday by Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, showed that many of the countries hit hardest by Europe's financial crisis, such as Portugal and Spain, saw their budget deficits rise -- even though they have pursued the strict austerity policies prescribed by international creditors to cut debt.

Is a merger in the works?

Toyota's broader strategy is to build where it sells.

Country aims to subsidize salaries.