China raises bank reserve level to cool credit BEIJING (AP) -- China moved to curtail bank lending Friday for
the second time in a month in the latest effort to cool down its supercharged
economy. Chinese leaders worry that a stimulus-driven torrent of lending
is fueling a dangerous bubble in stock and real estate prices. They also are
concerned that the flood of money surging through the economy is adding to
inflation. Euro currency union showing strains FRANKFURT (AP) -- With Greece overdrawn and no one eager to foot
the bill, Europe's messy debt crisis has exposed a fundamental weakness among
the 16 countries that share the euro: different and often diametrically opposed
approaches to spending don't make for a happy union. By telling Greece they stand shoulder-to-shoulder as it
struggles to rein in a runaway deficit and impose severe austerity measures,
but offering little more than moral support, the European Union's biggest
hitters -- Germany and France -- only slowed the market contagion afflicting
Greece, and did not cure it. As a result, analysts, politicians and observers contend, that
may brake momentum for countries like Latvia adopting the beleaguered euro.
More broadly, it could force Europe, already in a winter of growing discontent,
to reconsider how much of a union it really wishes to be. Retail sales gains in January could boost growth WASHINGTON (AP) -- A modestly better-than-expected report on
retail sales for January could suggest stronger economic growth in coming
months. But this week's severe snowstorms will likely depress activity in
February. The 0.5 percent gain the Commerce Department reported Friday
exceeded the 0.3 percent rise economists had expected. Strength came from a
surge at general merchandise stores. These include big chains such as those
owned by Higher consumer spending is vital because it accounts for about
70 percent of economic activity. Airlines cancel flights as winter storm hits South ATLANTA (AP) -- Airlines canceled over 1,700 flights Friday as
snow pounded parts of the South and threatened to dump several inches of white
on Atlanta, home to the world's busiest airport. Snow totals weren't expected to be big by mid-Atlantic and
Northeast standards, but for a region of the country that rarely gets snow and
doesn't budget snow and ice removal the way other parts of the country do,
airlines weren't taking any chances. That left thousands of passengers looking for other travel
options. Stocks end mixed after China slows lending again NEW YORK (AP) -- Industrial stocks stumbled Friday after China
said it would take more steps to keep its economy from growing too fast. Regulators in China are trying to keep the nation's rapid
economic growth from getting out of hand. But investors worry that a slowdown
in China could disrupt a U.S. recovery by hurting exports and profits of
companies that do business there. Stocks ended mixed but the Dow and other major indexes posted
gains for the week, their first after four losing weeks. TOKYO (AP) -- As pressure intensifies for Relations between Washington and Tokyo are already strained by a
dispute between the two governments over the relocation of a key U.S. Marine
base on the southern island of Okinawa. Political tension rose a notch Thursday when a Republican in the
Seeking comeback, Microsoft to show phone software NEW YORK (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is expected to announce a major
revamp of its phone software Monday, in an attempt to regain momentum in a
crucial market where it's been overshadowed. CEO Steve Ballmer will be speaking at Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona, Spain, the world's largest cell phone trade show, and analysts
expect him to reveal Windows Mobile 7. The software could be in phones by late
this year. The new software comes as Microsoft, dominant when smart phones
were young, has taken a back seat to Airline on-time arrivals in 2009 best since 2003 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Last year airlines turned in their best
on-time performance since 2003. They were helped by fewer flights, a little
schedule padding and a greater focus on improving their operations. The Transportation Department said on Friday that airlines
averaged a 79.5 percent on-time arrival rate in 2009. Flights count as on-time
if they arrive less than 15 minutes late. Among the largest carriers, Hawaiian Airlines, which operates a fraction of the flights of
the big carriers, was first overall. Eurozone recovery falters, Germany flat BRUSSELS (AP) -- The 16 countries that use the euro barely grew
in the fourth quarter, as a modest recovery stalled amid turmoil in financially
troubled members such as Greece and a disappointingly flat performance from
Germany, the biggest euro economy. The figures lagged well behind fourth-quarter growth in the
United States and raised concerns that Europe could slip back into recession as
government stimulus efforts expire and the continent struggles with a
government debt crisis in some countries. Eurozone gross domestic product grew by only 0.1 percent in the
last three months of 2009 from the previous three-month period, EU statistics
agency Eurostat said Friday. Next chapter in digital book deal: Google vs. DOJ SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Determined to create the world's largest
digital library, Google Inc. is betting it knows more about U.S. antitrust and
copyright laws than the government regulators enforcing them. The Internet search leader took an audacious step toward
realizing its book ambitions late Thursday with a 67-page brief filed in New
York federal court. Among other things, the documents dismissed the legal concerns
that the U.S. Department of Justice has raised about a class-action settlement
proposing to give Google the digital rights to millions of hard-to-find books. Google's stiff arm sets the stage for a showdown between the
nation's top law enforcement agency and the most powerful company on the
Internet. Google tweaks Buzz social hub after privacy woes NEW YORK (AP) -- As it introduced a new social hub, Google
quickly learned that people's most frequent e-mail contacts are not necessarily
their best friends. Rather, they could be business associates, or even lovers, and
the groups don't necessarily mix well. It's one reason many people keep those
worlds separate by using Google Inc. drew privacy complaints this week when it introduced
Buzz and automatically created circles of friends based on users' most frequent
contacts on Gmail. Just days later, Google responded by giving users more
control over what others see about them. By The Associated Press The Dow Jones industrial average fell 45.05, or 0.4 percent, to
10,099.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 2.96, or 0.3 percent, to
1,075.51, while the For the week, the Dow and Benchmark crude for March delivery fell $1.15 to settle at
$74.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil fell 4.41
cents to settle at $1.9189 a gallon, and gasoline dropped 0.62 cent to settle
at $1.9295 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 7.2 cents to settle at $5.468 per 1,000
cubic feet after EIA reported that stockpiles fell more than expected last
week. In London, Brent crude was down $1.22 to settle at $72.90 on the
ICE futures exchange.