The Portuguese government reduced spending limits for next year as part of its effort to curb debt and regain access to bond markets.
The government will reduce its primary spending limit by 3.2 percent in 2013 and lower the limit for total spending by 2.1 percent, according to a statement handed out to reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Lisbon today. The plans are included in the government
Out of work and worried about their future, a young couple gathers their belongings and heads overseas in search of greener pastures. It
Swiss central bank President Thomas Jordan said policy makers are ready to take further measures if needed to weaken the franc as its strength poses
Want some crushed bugs with your Starbucks frappuccino?
Well, you’d better get on it, because soon it will be too late. The coffee franchise announced that it’s phasing out the use of insects as food coloring in its drinks and food products.
Starbucks (, Fortune 500) President Cliff Burrows wrote, in a Thursday blog, that Starbucks is "transitioning" away from the use of an insect called the cochineal.
Burrows blogged that Starbucks "fell short of your expectations by using natural cochineal extract as a colorant in four food and two beverage offerings in the United States."
He identified the products in question as the Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino, Strawberry Banana Smoothie, Raspberry Swirl Cake, Birthday Cake Pop, Mini Donut with pink icing and Red Velvet Whoopie Pie.
Burrows said that use of the insect dye will be "fully transitioned from existing product inventories" by the end of June.
From that point on, he said that Starbucks will use lycopene, a tomato-based extract.
An earlier Burrows blog from March 29 described the cochineal as a natural product, approved by the Food and Drug Administration, with no health risk.
Starbucks: Venti-sized stock at all-time high
Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson said the company was responding to numerous petitions and individual requests from customers who were concerned about the use of an insect-based extract.
The organization Change.org contacted CNNMoney to claim partial responsibility for pressuring Starbucks with its petition of 6,000 signatures gathered by blogger Daelyn Fortney. The purpose, according to Fortney, was to switch to a "vegan-friendly" extract.
The cochineal has a long history as being used as a red dye, according to Richard Levine, communications program manager for the Entomological Society of America.
"The red in the uniforms of the British soldiers during the Revolutionary War came from cochineal dye," he said. "The same goes for the uniforms of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police."
General Electric says that first-quarter profits fell 12 percent, although it topped Wall estimates when some one-time items are excluded.
The industrial and financial giant says that its transportation, health care and energy infrastructure businesses all boosted profits in the period.
GE reported earnings of $3.03 billion, or 29 cents per share, for the first quarter. That compares with $3.4 million, or 31 cents per share, for the same part of 2011. Revenue slipped by 8 percent to $35.2 billion Payday Loan for Bad Credit.
Excluding special items, GE says it earned 34 cents per share.
Analysts, who typically exclude special items in their estimates, were expecting earnings of 33 cents per share on sales of $34.8 billion.
Shares of General Electric Co. rose 32 cents to $19.46 in premarket trading.
Myanmar wants the U.S. to lift sanctions faster after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said some restrictions on investment and financial services would be eased, according to an adviser to President Thein Sein.
Stocks are opening lower after reports from China and Europe suggested that global economic growth is slowing.
A private survey of Chinese exporters released Monday fell to its lowest average reading in three years during the first quarter.
New European data showed that unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro has risen to 10.8 percent. That’s the highest since the launch of the euro in 1999.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 26 points to 13,185. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2 to 1,406. The Nasdaq composite index fell 7 to 3,084.
As traders sold stocks, they bought Treasurys, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 2.18 percent from 2.24 percent earlier Monday.
It’s a hot week for public debuts. Shares of two tech-related companies, CafePress and Millennial Media, gained in their initial public offerings Thursday.
Millennial () more than doubled in early trading. It priced its initial public offering at $13 per share, the high end of its range. Shares opened on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at $25, and they quickly rose to $27.50 each. By the late afternoon, Millennial shares were trading at $24.27.
Founded in 2006, Millennial Media has emerged as a competitor to behemoth rivals Apple (, Fortune 500) and Google (, Fortune 500). Facebook, which has dominated in display advertising, has so far ignored the mobile ad sector — though that may change soon. Facebook said last month that it would start expanding into mobile ads.
Like many other newly public startups, Millennial Media is not profitable. Its losses narrowed sharply last year as its sales increased. Millennial took a net loss of $287,000 in 2011 on sales of almost $104 million. In 2010, the company recorded a net loss of more than $7 million on sales of nearly $48 million.
CafePress (), which was founded in 1999, also began trading Thursday on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
CafePress opened at $21 cash advance to savings account.50 , but the stock was trading at $20.46 late in the session. The company, which was founded in 1999 and survived the early-2000s dot-com bust, prints custom designs on items like T-shirts and mugs.
It priced its IPO at $19 a share, above the $16 to $18 range it had set previously.
Unlike Millennial Media, CafePress made a profit last year. It netted $3.6 million on $175.5 million in sales. That’s up from a $2.7 million profit and almost $128 million in revenue for 2010.
CafePress and Millennial are just two of 10 companies expected to go public this week. On Wednesday, organic food company Annie’s () closed 89% higher after pricing at the top of its range.
Two other companies that went public Wednesday also surged. Vocera Communications (), a maker of health care technology, closed 32% higher, and consumer finance company Regional Management () finished the day up nearly 10%.
Investors appear to have a strong appetite for IPOs this year. According to the New York Stock Exchange, the average return for IPOs on their first day of trading this year is 15%.
Bank of America has launched a pilot program that will allow some homeowners at risk of foreclosure to become renters and stay in their homes.
Fewer than 1,000 borrowers in Arizona, Nevada and New York will be enrolled in the test program, which began this week. Those selected will transfer the title of their homes back to Bank of America and have their mortgage debt forgiven.
The homeowners can rent the homes for up to three years at or below their area’s market rental rate payday loan.
Bank of America says it’s targeting homeowners who are at “considerable risk” of foreclosure; have high loan balances relative to their home’s value; have exhausted all loan modification programs; and have been delinquent on their mortgage payments for more than 60 days.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne gave to the rich by lowering Britain
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