Newsroom Headlines

December 16, 2004 Bush Urges Congress to Curb Asbestos, Medical Malpractice Suits President George W. Bush said he’ll send Congress legislation to limit frivolous lawsuits by curbing class action

December 15, 2004 Fed Raises Benchmark a Fifth Time Federal Reserve officials raised a key short-term interest rate yesterday for the fifth time this year, and indicated they will gradually move rates

December 14, 2004 Fed Expected to Boost Rate by a Quarter-Point With a fall in oil prices easing inflation concerns, the Federal Reserve is expected to boost a key rate by a moderate quarter-point at

December 13, 2004 Retail Sales Edge Up Slightly, Cars Down U.S. retail sales increased by 0.1 percent in November, the Commerce Department said today, slightly stronger than expectations, while the

December 10, 2004 3rd Circuit Rejects Defendant’s ‘Pre-Packaged’ Bankruptcy The 3rd Circuit has rejected a corporate defendant’s bid to resolve all of its outstanding asbestos claims by establishing a

December 9, 2004 Specter Wants Quick Action on Asbestos Bill Sen. Arlen Specter (R–Pa.), who is expected to be the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said yesterday he hoped to produce a bill

December 8, 2004 U.S. Economic Outlook Dims The U.S. economic outlook dimmed after reports on Tuesday said business productivity grew more slowly in the third quarter than first estimated, labor costs

December 7, 2004 Specter Convenes Stakeholder Meetings on Asbestos Bill Incoming Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R–Pa.) is convening meetings aimed at reaching a compromise on long-stalled

December 6, 2004 U.S. Business Bankruptcy Filings Down in Fiscal ’04 Bankruptcy filings by U.S. businesses fell 3.8 percent in fiscal 2004, court officials said Friday. Business bankruptcies totaled

December 3, 2004 Retailers’ Nov. Same-Store Sales Sluggish Major U.S. retailers reported tepid November sales yesterday, as discounting lured customers, but high energy prices and concerns about the