DETROIT (AP) ― Auto sales slid 3 percent in January as bouts of snow, ice and frigid temperatures in much of the country kept buyers snug in their homes instead of venturing out to car dealers. People bought just over 1 million vehicles last month in the U.S., about 32,000 fewer than a year ago. It was the first year-over-year monthly sales drop since August of 2010, according to Ward’s Automotive ― but one that analysts said should be short-lived. General Motors, Toyota and Ford ― the top-selli

Investors are betting Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney will lead the charge out of record-low interest rates as central banks pivot from fighting stagnation to managing expansions. Economists at Citigroup Inc. and Nomura International Plc say the strongest growth since 2007 will prompt the U.K. to lift its benchmark from 0.5 percent as soon as this year. Money-market futures show an increase in early 2015. That’s at least three months before the contracts indicate Federal Reserve Chairman Janet

Janet Yellen was sworn in Monday as the chairman of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors in Washington, while her predecessor, Ben Bernanke, joined the Brookings Institution as a distinguished fellow in residence. The announcements completed a leadership transition, with Yellen becoming top policy maker as the Fed tries to wean financial markets off a bond purchase program that has pushed up central bank assets to $4.1 trillion. She is scheduled next week to report on monetary policy in semi

Even as Bill Gates gives up his title of chairman of Microsoft Corp., he’ll remain involved at the company he co-founded in an area of its deepest need: crafting must-have products. As the board prepares to appoint Satya Nadella as Microsoft’s next chief executive officer, it’s considering replacing Gates as board chairman, people with knowledge of the matter have said. Gates would remain a director and be involved in product development, focusing less on administration, the people said. He’s we

Global corporate earnings growth is poised to accelerate this year as higher spending by U.S. consumers and Europe’s gradual rebound from a two-year recession help offset a slower economic expansion in China. 3M Corp., which sells consumer, health-care, industrial and safety products around the world, said sales growth may double in the U.S. and demand is improving in Western Europe. Company earnings in Japan may rise about 9 percent in the next fiscal year as the weaker yen aids exporters such

London’s housing market is beginning to show “bubble-like conditions” as overseas investors bid up prices and buyers take on more debt to purchase properties, according to a report Monday by the EY Item Club.Homeowners are now borrowing the same multiples of income to purchase real estate in the U.K. capital as they were before the financial crisis, the London-based group sponsored by EY, formerly Ernst & Young, said in the report. The average London home will cost about 600,000 pounds ($990,000

Apple Inc. faces as much as $840 million in state and consumer antitrust claims related to electronic-book deals with publishers that led to a U.S. lawsuit and court-ordered monitor. State attorneys general and consumers who sued the world’s most valuable technology company over its e-book pricing are seeking $280 million in damages and want that amount tripled, a lawyer for them said in a filing Friday with the federal judge in Manhattan who presided over the U.S. case against Apple. The plaint

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Microsoft is nearing a decision on its new chief executive, with Indian-born insider Satya Nadella the leading candidate, U.S. media reported Friday. The Wall Street Journal reported that a decision was likely as early as this week and that the board was leaning towards Nadella, who heads the U.S. tech giant’s cloud and enterprise division.The technology news website Re/code meanwhile said Nadella was prepared to take the CEO job but wanted Microsoft founder and chairman Bill

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. authorities Monday filed criminal charges against two operators of a Bitcoin exchange, including the head of a company with high-profile investment backers.A criminal complaint unsealed by officials said the Bitcoin exchange violated money laundering laws by allowing its users to buy drugs and other illicit goods on the Silk Road underground website.Federal prosecutors said they charged Robert Faiella and Charlie Shrem, who ran a company allowing people to use cash to buy

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States agreed to give technology firms the ability to publish broad details of how their customer data has been targeted by U.S. spy agencies, officials said Monday.Facing a legal challenge and a furious public debate, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said the companies would now be allowed to disclose figures on consumer accounts requested.“The administration is acting to allow more detailed disclosures about the numb

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Just as Ben Bernanke prepares to turn the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve over to Janet Yellen, global markets are on edge over the prospect that she’ll extend a policy he began: A steady pullback in the Fed’s extraordinary economic stimulus. Managing a slowdown in the Fed’s bond purchases without roiling markets will pose a tough early test for Yellen, who succeeds Bernanke as Fed chair next week. The Fed’s bond purchases have been intended to keep long-term loan rates low