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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 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 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.

Full Story at msnbc.msn.com

Americans can expect gasoline prices to drop as school buses start rolling through neighborhoods across the country.

With most family vacations wrapping up and teen drivers back in classes, gasoline demand will wane and prices should fall after Labor Day. One expert says prices could drop as much as 15 cents a gallon.

The average retail price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $2.724 a gallon Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. It has dropped about 4.6 cents in the past week but is still 10 cents more than it was a year ago.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The president’s signature foreclosure rescue plan is losing its punch, according to a federal report released Friday.

Only 36,695 troubled homeowners received long-term mortgage modifications in July under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP. This brings the total to 434,717 borrowers who have successfully made it out of the trial phase.

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A month ago, 51,205 delinquent borrowers were given long-term assistance.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — More children are crowding into classrooms in Modesto, Calif. Parents are paying extra to send their kids to full-day kindergarten in Queen Creek, Ariz. And the school buses stopped rolling in one St. Louis area school district.

These are but a few of the unwelcome changes greeting children as they start the school year. Tight fiscal times are forcing school districts to lay off teachers, enlarge class sizes, cut programs and charge for services that were once free.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — Retail sales grew in July for the first time in three months but largely due to a rise in gasoline prices, the government said Friday in a series of reports that added up to a picture of sluggish economic growth.

Sales rose 0.4 percent last month and sales excluding autos climbed 0.2 percent, the Commerce Department said. Retail strength was concentrated in higher sales of autos and gasoline. Most other retail categories saw their sales fall.

Meanwhile consumer prices rose in July by 0.3 percent – the biggest jump in nearly a year — as energy costs increased for the first time in five months, the Labor Department said. On an annual basis consumer prices are up a mild 1.2 percent, a bit higher than the 1.1 percent pace last month.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stocks ended lower Friday, the fourth consecutive day of declines, as investors digested dour economic reports in the retail and consumer sectors.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 17 points, or 0.2%, to end at 10,303.15. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 4 points, or 0.4%, to settle at 1,079.25 and the Nasdaq (COMP) fell 17 points, or 0.8% to close at 2,173.48.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

FORTUNE — Consumers drive more than two-thirds of the nation’s economy, and with growth hard to spot these days, it’s easy to place the blame on stingy spenders. But that’s a mistake.

Personal spending, in fact, has kept pace with the economy, accounting for a steady 70% of GDP before the recession, during the depths of the crisis, and into today’s slow recovery. In fact, consumption relative to GDP rose slightly to 71% during the last two quarters of 2009 amid huge government spending programs — such as the promotion of home and car sales — to stimulate the economy. It has flattened out since.