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DES MOINES, Iowa – U.S. Agriculture Department employees worked full-time at two Iowa egg farms at the center of a salmonella outbreak and massive recall, but two former workers said they ignored complaints about conditions at one site.

The USDA employees worked next to areas where roughly 7.7 million caged hens laid eggs at the two operations, but agency spokesman Caleb Weaver said their main duties are “grading” the eggs and they aren’t primarily responsible for looking for health problems.

Full Story at msnbc.msn.com

When Hewlett-Packard’s Chief Executive Mark Hurd resigned last month he received something few regular workers see when they quit their jobs under a cloud: A massive payout.

Turns out Hurd is far from the only top executive to be rewarded with a rich package despite a management performance that could be considered less than optimal — especially by rank-and-file workers.

Full Story at msnbc.com

NEW YORK — The stock market ended its worst August since 2001 with meager gains Tuesday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed officials’ increasing concern about the economy.

Stock indexes gave up most of their gains in mid-afternoon after the release of minutes from the Fed’s Aug. 10 meeting. Fed officials said during their discussions that they recognized that the economy might need further stimulus beyond the purchases of government debt the central bank announced that day. Some of the officials acknowledged that economy had softened more than they had anticipated.

Full Story at Life Inc.msnbc.msn.com

Does handing out unemployment benefits to out-of-work Americans discourage them from finding a job?

In an op-ed article in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, Harvard economist Robert Barro argues that the current unemployment rate would be 6.8 percent rather than 9.5 percent if the Obama administration hadn’t extended unemployment-insurance eligibility to up to 99 weeks from the standard 26 weeks.

Full Story at news.Yahoo.com

MUMBAI, India – Indian authorities are scheduled to meet Monday evening to decide whether to ban some BlackBerry services in India, one day ahead of a government-imposed deadline for the device’s maker Research In Motion Ltd. to give security agencies access to encrypted data.

Home Secretary G.K. Pillai will meet officials from the Department of Telecommunications, the Intelligence Bureau and the National Technical Research Organization — a cyber intelligence organization — to discuss BlackBerry security issues, Home Ministry spokesman Onkar Kedia said by phone from New Delhi.

He declined to discuss details of the talks, which will determine whether some one million BlackBerry users in India will be able to use their corporate e-mail and instant messaging services after Tuesday.

Full Story at Yahoo.com

MINNEAPOLIS – The Justice Department said Friday that it has no more antitrust concerns about the deal that would combine United and Continental into the world’s largest airline.

To win that approval, the airlines had to open the door to Southwest Airlines at Continental’s hub in Newark, N.J., where it is the dominant carrier. The Justice Department said leasing takeoff and landing permission to Southwest in Newark cleared up its main competitive concern.

Shareholders at Continental Airlines Inc. and United parent UAL Corp. are set to vote on the deal on Sept. 17, and the Transportation Department has to approve it. The airlines now expect the deal to close by Oct. 1.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — If you needed any more proof that the economy is slowing down, look no further than how well McDonald’s stock is doing.

Shares of Mickey D’s are up 18% this year, putting the company neck and neck with DuPont (DD, Fortune 500) as the best-performing company in the Dow Jones industrial average. The stock is near a 52-week high, having gained nearly 6% just this month.

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McDonald’s (MCD, Fortune 500) is your classic consumer staples company that typically holds up better than sexier growth stocks during times of economic weakness.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A new law requiring oil companies to disclose all payments made to governments has sparked a sharp debate, with Big Oil saying it will put it at a big competitive disadvantage.

The law, attached at the last minute to the financial reform bill last month, applies to extractive industries – basically all U.S.-listed oil, gas and mining companies.

These companies pay hundreds of billions of dollars each year to governments in the form of royalties, taxes, and other fees. The problem, say some, is that these payments are often not transparent. Now firms must disclose these payments.

Full Story at msnbc.com

NEW YORK — The Empire State Building’s owner lost his bid to stop a new skyscraper from rising in the neighborhood when the New York City Council approved zoning and land use changes Wednesday that pave the way for the 1,190-foot tower.

The project, called 15 Penn Plaza, is still in the planning stages. Developer Vornado Realty Trust has not set a date for its construction and has yet to sign a major commercial tenant.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — You could be contributing to a retirement plan without even knowing it.

That’s because an increasing number of companies are offering “opt-out” 401(k) plans that encourage more workers to save

The percentage of employers that offer automatic 401(k) enrollment has increased dramatically to 38%, according to financial services company Charles Schwab (SCHW, Fortune 500). That’s more than seven times the rate in 2005, when automatic enrollment was at 5%.

Full Story at news.Yahoo.com

NEW YORK – PepsiCo Inc. is hoping to revive its Quaker division with new types of cereal, a reformulation of its instant oatmeal and a new marketing campaign.

The brand’s trademark hot and cold cereals have been hurting in the down economy as people shift away from name brands to save money. They’re also not eating as much breakfast, said Quaker President Jaya Kumar.

So the company is adding whole grains, removing sugar and focusing on the healthy aspects of breakfast to link its brands to the first meal of the day.

Full Story at msnbc.com

NEW YORK — Help is on the way for credit cardholders this weekend.

The final stage of consumer protections signed into law earlier this year go into effect Aug. 22. Yet they only curb select practices; other fees and charges still abound.

A look at the new safeguards, and how cardholders can still get burned.

Penalty fees
New protection: Fees for late payments and other transgressions will be capped to the amount of the violation, up to $25. Previously, these fees were often between $35 and $39 regardless of how much was owed. Also, a single violation can no longer result in more than one fee.