Government And Institutions

Japan is pumping more money into its lagging economy, expanding an already lavish stimulus effort.

Kansas reported Friday that its October tax collections fell short of expectations, potentially complicating conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's efforts to win a tough a re-election race after successfully pushing for large personal income tax cuts.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average surged 5 percent and the yen slid against the dollar after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced new stimulus to boost a flagging economic recovery.

Stocks markets are rising around the globe after Japan's central bank surprised investors with a new round of economic stimulus.

An industry group representing Delaware's three casinos is asking state lawmakers to revise revenue-sharing models so that the casinos can remain profitable amid increasingly intense competition from casinos in other states.

American International Group Inc. has agreed to pay New York state $35 million to settle claims that two former subsidiaries of the insurance giant solicited business without a license and misled regulators about their operations in the state.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. has agreed to pay a $700,000 fine after the government accused the home goods retailer of taking too long to report that its window shades posed a strangulation hazard to children.

Voters across the nation are deciding whether to set aside billions of dollars for parks and preservation in what some environmentalists are calling one of the most significant elections for land conservation in American history.

Puerto Rico government officials are looking to a 68 percent increase in an oil tax to help sell up to $2.9 billion in bonds and strengthen one of the island's largest public corporations amid bankruptcy concerns.

Indiana's supreme court justices grilled attorneys for the state and IBM Corp. on Thursday about the company's failed attempt to privatize Indiana's welfare services, which prompted the state to cancel IBM's $1.3 billion state contract less than three years into the 10-year deal.

The Obama administration in September awarded the biggest share of almost $600 million in economic stimulus-based transportation grants to projects in districts with a Democratic congressman.

Two politically experienced Democrats are hoping to oust Idaho's U.S. House Republicans on Tuesday, but both face an uphill battle.

The owner of a company that operates rolling chairs on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the IRS out of nearly $120,000.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, but remained at historically low levels that signal a strengthening job market.

The U.S. Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week.

U.S. auto safety regulators are telling a company that made faulty air bags to manufacture replacement parts faster and do more testing to find out what's causing the problem.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu has doubled down on her support for the federal health care law even as polls show the revamp remains unpopular in Louisiana and a new Republican attack ad launched Tuesday hits the Democratic incumbent again for her vote.

Oracle Corp. is appealing to Oregon legislative leaders in the legal fight over the failed Cover Oregon health insurance website.

WellPoint is raising its 2014 earnings forecast again after trumping analyst expectations for the third quarter as health insurers continue to ease fears that the nation's health care overhaul would hamstring the industry.

Deutsche Bank says it made a net loss of 92 million euros in the third quarter as legal costs and complying with new regulations weighed on earnings.