WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Casey Kasem, an American disc jockey and radio personality who hosted “top 40” countdown shows broadcast across the country for nearly 40 years, died on Sunday. He was 82.Kasem ― also the distinctive voice of “Shaggy” in the television hit cartoon “Scooby-Doo” ― began his popular “American Top 40” radio broadcast in 1970, counting down Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart of top hits.Stations across the country quickly picked up the up-beat show, in which top hits were played al

The General Motors Co. headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. (Bloomberg)NEW YORK (AFP) ― General Motors announced more car recalls Friday as the total number of recalls of problematic vehicles this year neared 16.5 million.GM said the ignition keys and key fobs needed to be replace on 511,000 2011-2014 Camaros because drivers’ knees could bump the fob and cause the key to move out of the “run” position and cause the car to lose power.The issue, which has caused three crashes with four minor injurie

Slump in China’s housing market, an engine of economic boom, sparks fears about growth, banks

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The European Union launched a probe Wednesday into sweetheart tax deals negotiated by Apple, Starbucks and Fiat with three member states.The investigation will attempt to determine whether such arrangements offered by Ireland, Netherlands and Luxembourg give the companies an unfair competitive advantage and thus amount to illegal state aid.“In the current context of tight public budgets, it is particularly important that large multinationals pay their fair share of taxes,” EU Co

WASHINGTON (AP) ― U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Wednesday that the economy should grow at much stronger rates the rest of this year as the country overcomes the impact of a harsh winter. But Lew said millions of Americans continue to struggle as unemployment remains too high and economic growth is too slow.“Evidence continues to mount that our economy is gaining traction,” Lew said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. “Nevertheless, we cannot escape the fact that millions of Am

VIENNA (AFP) ― OPEC, the oil exporters’ cartel, opted Wednesday to keep its output ceiling unchanged, expressing confidence in the market despite global supply strains that have kept prices high this year.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps one third of the world’s oil, said that member nations had decided to hold their collective production target at 30 million barrels per day, where it has stood since late 2011.Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s most influential player and b

NEW YORK (AP) ― Soccer fans will focus on Brazil and the start of the World Cup Thursday, but investors have been entranced by that nation’s stock market for months.Brazil has company. From Sao Paulo to Mumbai, investors are regaining their faith in emerging markets this year.It’s a big shift from 2013, when investment in those markets dried up because of worries about their slowing economic growth. It got so tough that five big developing markets ― Brazil, South Africa, India, Indonesia and Tur

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it has granted the first permission for commercial drone flights over U.S. land to the BP energy corporation, the latest effort by the agency to show it is loosening restrictions on commercial uses of the unmanned aircraft.Drone maker AeroVironment of California and BP energy corporation have been given permission to use a Puma drone to survey pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, the agency said. The first fli

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The World Bank downgraded its forecast for the global economy this year, citing a bitter American winter and the political crisis in Ukraine. In an outlook released Tuesday, the bank still expects the world economy to grow faster ― 2.8 percent this year versus 2.4 percent in 2013. But its new estimate is weaker than the 3.2 percent expansion it had predicted in January.  Passengers on a ferry look at buildings in Lujiazui district at dusk in Shanghai. (Bloomberg)The U.S. econom