HARTFORD, Conn. — The Better Business Bureau, criticized by Connecticut’s attorney general for a system that he called pay for play, said Thursday it’s abandoning a practice that awarded rating points simply because a business was accredited. The business group ...

Tagged with: Attorney General better business bureau CEO connecticut consumers corruption customers ethics fraud

Third-quarter earnings reports from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Saks Fifth Avenue show the far different streets their customers are living on. Wal-Mart’s third-quarter sales in the U.S. got squeezed as its financially strapped customers dealt with dire economic straits. Saks’ ...

Tagged with: consumers Economy middle class Recession retailers saks sales stock market Wal-mart wall street wealthy

ATLANTA — UPS says it will hire about 50,000 temporary workers to handle the crush of holiday shipments this year. United Parcel Service said Tuesday that it expects to deliver 430 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The busiest should ...

Tagged with: Business consumers Economy employees FEDEX hiring holiday shipping spending UPS

Lowe’s Cos.’ said Monday shoppers are spending on smaller painting and gardening projects but still avoiding major renovations because of worries about the economy. But the home-improvement retailer said it is focused on reining in inventory and costs, which helped ...

Tagged with: consumers Economy home-improvement lowes New York Stock Exchange profit revenue shares Stocks

Welcome back! Time to catch up on some law-related tidbits: In a rough divorce, who gets to keep the friends? Even good doctors make mistakes — and doctors who do work on superstar athletes are not immune from malpractice lawsuits. ...

Tagged with: Attorney General consumers courtroom d.c. debt collection divorce doctors malpractice scams

A buyer’s market, greater confidence and more access to credit and financing helped drive up the number of mergers and acquisitions in Maryland for the third quarter of this year. Following up on healthy second-quarter activity, the number and value ...

Tagged with: acquisition confidence Constellation Energy consumers credit Economy Financing market maryland mergers third quarter

Navy Federal Credit Union has settled a class-action lawsuit with more than 6,000 customers who alleged the company repossessed their cars without fully notifying them of their consumer rights. The settlement, approved this month in U.S. District Court in Maryland, ...

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With apologies to Jerry Maguire, the feel-good banking mantra of the day might be described as help us help you. Or, to borrow another cliche, no pain no gain. Bank of America offered fresh evidence Tuesday of how shifting its ...

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MINNEAPOLIS — Is America ready for red celery? A Florida produce company thinks so and has bet consumers will bite on the colorful crunch of its new product. Red celery will hit selected supermarkets Dec. 1 — in time to ...

Tagged with: consumers produce

WASHINGTON — Top forecasters say the economy will grow this year and next at a slower pace than previously thought, weakened by governments and consumers spending less so they can pay down debt. That’s the findings of a new survey ...

Tagged with: consumers debt economic Economy Government growth poll