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

HP's 2Q offers hope even as revenue slump deepens
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard is still scrambling to meet the growing demand for more versatile and less expensive mobile devices as a slump in its personal computer sales deepens, but the company's cost-cutting measures and focus on more profitable areas of technology appear to be easing the pain....

Survey shows China manufacturing contracting
BEIJING (AP) -- A survey shows China's manufacturing contracted this month, adding to signs a fragile economic recovery is slowing....

Asia stocks down as China factory output slips
BANGKOK (AP) -- Asian stock markets fell Thursday, weighed down by a contraction in China's manufacturing that adds to signs a shaky recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing....

Broke no laws, IRS official says _ then takes 5th
WASHINGTON (AP) -- At the center of a political storm, an Internal Revenue Service supervisor whose agents targeted conservative groups swore Wednesday she did nothing wrong, broke no laws and never lied to Congress. Then she refused to answer lawmakers' further questions, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself....

A divided Fed wrestles with when to slow bond buys
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve is torn over when to slow its aggressive efforts to stimulate the economy....

Stocks fall on news Fed weighed cutting stimulus
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Federal Reserve took financial markets for a ride Wednesday, pushing stock prices up in the morning then sending them down in the afternoon....

Ford to end auto production in Australia in 2016
SYDNEY (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it will close its two Australian auto plants, ending production in the country in 2016, amid soaring manufacturing costs and plummeting sales....

AP PHOTOS: The 10 highest-paid CEOs of 2012
It pays to be in TV....

College fossil-fuel divestment movement builds
SWARTHMORE, Pa. (AP) -- Student activists at more than 200 colleges are trying a new tactic in hopes of slowing the pace of climate change: They are asking their schools to stop investing in fossil fuel companies....