Rapid spike in layoffs heightens concerns that pricier gas is slowing U.S. economyWASHINGTON (AP) ― A renewed rise in layoffs is the latest sign that higher fuel prices may be slowing the economy.A 23 percent spike in applications for unemployment benefits over the past month suggests that hiring may look weaker when the government issues the April jobs report Friday.Oil prices plummeted Thursday

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) ― Of all the times Bill Haas has played Quail Hollow, he never had a round quite like this.Haas had stress-free birdies on all the par 5s and did little wrong on the rest of the holes Thursday in the Wells Fargo Championship, matching the tournament record for lowest opening round with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot lead.“I’ve got good feelings around this place,” Haas

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The data breach that hit Sony’s PlayStation Network resulted from a “very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyber-attack designed to steal personal and credit card information for illegal purposes,” a Sony executive said.In a letter to members of the House Commerce Committee released Wednesday, Kazuo Hirai, chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment

Intel claims computing breakthrough with three-dimensional chipsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― In the race to build a faster computer chip, there is literally nowhere to go but up. Today’s chip surfaces are packed with the tiniest electronic switches the laws of physics allow, but Intel Corp. says it is blowing past those limits with a breakthrough, three-dimensional transistor design it revealed Wednesday.

More people are turning over personal information to online retailers, social networksSAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Week after week, thieves break into corporate computer systems to steal customer lists, email addresses and credit card numbers. Large data breaches get overshadowed by even larger ones.Yet people are turning over personal information to online retailers, social networks and other services in

Officials say bailout to be worth $115 billion over 3-year periodLISBON, Portugal (AP) ― Hard-up Portugal has negotiated an international bailout worth 78 billion euro ($115 billion) over a three-year period, officials said Tuesday.A government official, speaking on departmental rules of anonymity, told the Associated Press the amount includes aid for Portugal’s cash-strapped banks. The official d

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) ― With her baby fast asleep in the stroller, Valerie Githinji made her way up to the nurses’ station in O’Bleness Memorial Hospital’s maternity ward.She came bearing gifts. Stored in the bottom of the stroller, in a white plastic bag, were several containers totaling 5,670 grams ― more than 5.6 liters ― of frozen breast milk.Githinji, who works in student affairs at Hocking Colle

OMAHA, Nebada (AP) ― Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting on Saturday was dominated by somber topics, as Warren Buffett explained to roughly 40,000 shareholders how the company had been battered by a trusted former employee’s misdeeds and a string of natural disasters.Buffett assured the crowd at an Omaha convention center that Berkshire is strong enough to withstand both the David Sokol scandal an

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The economy and job creation have strengthened enough for the Federal Reserve to end on schedule a program of buying Treasury bonds to help the economy, the Fed said Wednesday.Ending a two-day meeting, the Fed made no changes to the program. The decision was unanimous. The bond purchases were intended to lower loan rates, encouraging spending and boost stock prices. But critics w