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Obama says little he can do about high oil prices

President Barack Obama wears a Chicago Bulls cap at last night's Navy Pier fundraiser. Obama said Friday that there is little he can do about high oil prices. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama said there are no quick fixes to bring down rising gasoline prices and urged caution about being too quick to tap U.S. emergency oil reserves amid uncertainty in the Middle East.

“There aren’t going to be a lot of great short-term solutions to this problem,” Obama said in an ABC interview aired Friday. Get the full story »

Factories boost output for 9th straight month

U.S. factories produced more consumer goods, business equipment and raw materials in March, boosting manufacturing activity for the ninth straight month. Get the full story »

Fed officials: Inflation muted, policy on course

The recent surge in oil prices is no prelude to broader price increases that would force the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, two top Fed officials said on Thursday. Get the full story »

Caterpillar responds to EU review of MWM deal

From Bloomberg News | Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, offered remedies to European Union regulators examining its plan to buy MWM Holding GmbH.

Illinois, Chicago to assist with Finkl plant

Chicago-based steel manufacturer A. Finkl & Sons Co. will invest $150 million to build a manufacturing campus on the South Side, backed by $30.3 million in subsidies from the city of Chicago and Illinois. Get the full story »

Illinois agency OKs program to pay Medicaid bills

With Illinois facing a growing pile of bills from Medicaid providers that is adding to its fiscal woes, the state’s finance authority board on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a program to speed up payments. Get the full story »

IMF urges U.S. to move quicker to cut debt ratios

The International Monetary Fund Tuesday urged the United States to outline credible measures to reduce its budget deficit, pressuring the White House to detail plans to ratchet down record debt levels. Get the full story »

Higher oil shouldn’t trigger Fed rate hike: Evans

Rising oil prices are unlikely to push up core inflation and thus should not trigger any interest-rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve, according to research from a top Fed official on Monday. Get the full story »

Inflation, oil prices risks to global economy: IMF

Soaring oil prices and inflation in emerging economies pose new risks to global recovery but are not yet strong enough to derail it, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. Get the full story »

350 suspected terrorists blocked from planes

The U.S. government has prevented more than 350 people suspected of ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups from boarding U.S.-bound commercial flights since the end of 2009, The Associated Press has learned. Get the full story »

Johnson & Johnson to pay U.S. $70M in fines

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $70 million to settle U.S. charges that it paid bribes and kickbacks to win business overseas, the first major pharmaceutical company to settle since the Obama administration began its scrutiny of the industry more than a year ago. Get the full story »

Axelrod: Shutdown talks shouldn’t be political

As negotiations continued in Washington to avert a federal government shutdown, a top political strategist for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign said today the discussions should not involve political winners and losers.

Oil prices ‘great concern’ for economy: Chu

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Thursday high oil prices posed a threat to the global economy. “The oil producer countries and the oil consuming countries are concerned because it does have an impact on a very fragile economic recovery. There is great concern,” Chu told a news conference while attending a clean energy conference. Get the full story »

Obama to host town hall at Facebook headquarters

President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign is under way and, in what may be a nod to the influence of social media on his presidency, he’s hosting a town hall-style meeting on April 20 at Facebook headquarters to talk about the economy.

Caterpillar CEO: Company staying in Ill. for now

Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman at a panel at the U.S. Export-Import Bank in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2011. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

Caterpillar Inc. leader Douglas Oberhelman emerged from a one-hour meeting with Gov. Pat Quinn Tuesday morning, assuring that the Peoria-based manufacturing titan intends to stay put and help push for improvements in the state’s business climate. Get the full story »