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Daily business news and economic stories
  • Another casualty of the poor economy in recent years? The 16-year-old behind the wheel.

  • The luxury brand responsible for Louis Vuitton and Dom Perignon saw its sales grow 25 percent in the first quarter of the year. But it turns out, it isn't all because of those upscale products.

  • Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett stands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after ringing the opening bell on September 30, 2011 in New York City.
    Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Citigroup's shareholders have said 'no way' to a hefty pay package for senior executives, including a $15 million dollar salary for Citigroup's CEO. The White House is threatening to veto a transportation bill in House after legislators tacked on an approval for the controversial Kestone XL oil pipeline, even though the company building the pipeline says it's secured almost all the land it needs to begin construction of a shortened line from Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast. And Hulu joins online rival Netflix in producing original web-only content, and looking for new advertising revenue.

  • Coca-Cola reported higher than expected earnings this quarter.
    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    You have until midnight tonight to file your taxes with the IRS. And if you're thinking about deducting a phony business lunch or padding your mileage — you're not alone. Speaking of the IRS, it wants to require U.S. banks to report the interest payments they make to wealthy foreigners. That's creating some trouble down on the Mexican border where banks are worried about losing customers. Yesterday, Argentina announced plans to take back its oil industry from a Spanish company. And the disease known as "citrus greening" that has ravaged orange and other crops in Florida for the past seven years has been spotted in California.

  • According to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, dark meat chicken is once again rising in popularity compared to its lighter counterparts.

  • OpenTable is about to get some competition from the Food Network, in the form of their new site called CityEats.

  • A warm March means better home and garden sales, and a boost to overall retail numbers.
    Mark Renders/Getty Images

    Tax procrastinators can breathe easy as this year's deadline is tomorrow, April 17th. But many people across the country should be expecting a smaller refund than usual this time around. 'The Hunger Games' tops the box office for the fourth week in a row, but can it really be the next 'Avatar?' Oracle and Google face-off today in Federal Court over claims that Google's Android system is infringing on patent and copyrights on Oracle's technology.

  • This photo taken on April 12, 2012 shows a Chinese laborer working at a construction site in Hefei, in eastern China's Anhui province. China said on April 13 its economy grew by 8.1 percent in the first three months of 2012, its slowest pace in nearly three years, as domestic demand fell and Europe's woes curbed business activity.
    STR/AFP/Getty Images

    The last three months in China were the worst for the country's economic growth since early 2009 — so what's going wrong? In St. Louis, the Stand Your Ground Law is coming under the spotlight, as the National Rifle Association holds its annual convention. We talk to L.A. Times consumer columnist David Lazarus about what to do when you are caught in an emergency at work. And where in the world should a savvy investor be looking to put their money this year?

  • We hear a lot about the strain on the housing market — but what about the barriers we put up to protect our homes?

  • A Cabot Oil and Gas natural gas drill is viewed at a hydraulic fracturing site on January 17, 2012 in Springville, Penn.
    Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    New Orleans is gearing up for its annual Jazz Fest at the end of the month, but it turns out the Crescent City has a little work to do when it comes to the business side of things. Google has been doing a lot of spending lately, but is it also bringing in money from its bread-and-butter business — those ads it sells next to search results? Elsewhere in the tech world, the Department of Justice is accusing Apple and five publishers fixing prices for electronic books, or e-books.