Markets roiled by Nikkei's 7.3 percent slide
LONDON (AP) -- Financial markets around the world were roiled Thursday after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the country was hit by a devastating tsunami more than two years ago....

Survey shows China manufacturing contracting
BEIJING (AP) -- A survey shows China's manufacturing contracted this month, adding to signs a fragile recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing....

Japan gyrations underline economy's vulnerability
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's financial markets gyrated wildly Thursday, underscoring the vulnerability of its economy to a loss of investor confidence as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attempts shock monetary easing to end two decades of stagnation....

House to vote on variable rate student loans
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House lawmakers are ready to pass legislation that links student loan rates to the financial markets in spite of a veto threat from President Barack Obama....

Review: Google music plan solid, serendipitous
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Google Inc.'s new music service offers a lot of eye candy to go with the tunes. The song selection of around 18 million tracks is comparable to popular services such as Spotify and Rhapsody, and a myriad of playlists curated along different genres provides a big playground for music lovers....

Birth control coverage up for federal appeal
DENVER (AP) -- In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill....

Stricken Japan nuke plant struggles to keep staff
TOKYO (AP) -- Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it....

IMF head Lagarde in court in fraud probe
PARIS (AP) -- International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is facing questions at a special Paris court Thursday over a controversial financial deal that she oversaw as French finance minister....

Urban renewal? Big US cities showing strong growth
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Urban renewal? New census estimates show that most of the nation's largest cities further enhanced their allure last year, posting strong population growth for a second straight year....

Median CEO pay rises to $9.7 million in 2012
CEO pay has been going in one direction for the past three years: up....