CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- At Bank of America's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, CEO Brian Moynihan stood firm on his company's decision to stop serving some gun makers in the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting.

During the question-and-answer session, a shareholder asked Moynihan how much business the bank was giving up because of ...Read more

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was a congressional overreaction to the financial crisis of 2008-9, and a process of amelioration is underway. Under the proposed Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, introduced by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, certain provisions of Dodd-Frank would not apply to...Read more

Q: I read your recent tree article and want to know how I can protect myself? -- Bob

Q: My neighbor has a tree near the fence, and the roots are intruding in my yard and ruining the fence. What can I do? -- Jay

Q: I do not think the law is fair that I have to pay for damage caused by my neighbor's trees! Where the trunk lies, so should the ...Read more

DETROIT -- Ford has announced new leaders for its China operations and organizational changes there.

The moves follow by four months the sudden departure of Jason Luo as the automaker's China CEO. Luo was in the post only five months, leaving for still-unexplained "personal reasons that predate his time at Ford."

The Dearborn-based automaker ...Read more

DETROIT -- The company that put Americans in cars affirmed Wednesday that those vehicles are going the way of the Model T and it will focus ever more on trucks and SUVs.

Ford, during its announcement Wednesday that it had a first-quarter profit of $1.7 billion, said its traditional car lineup soon will be trimmed to just the Mustang and a new ...Read more

DETROIT -- General Motors said it earned $2.6 billion in pretax profits in the first quarter of 2018.

The results, released Thursday morning, were a decline of $944 million from the same period a year ago. The company said it had net income of $1.1 billion for the quarter after taxes and special charges. Overall revenue of $36.1 billion was a ...Read more

DETROIT -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Thursday it earned a profit of $1.2 billion (1 billion euro) during the first quarter, a nearly 60 percent gain over the same period a year ago, driven in part by a jump in worldwide Jeep shipments, improved performance in South America and a lower U.S. corporate tax rate.

The earnings were a first-...Read more

Environmental groups and the family of a man who died last year from exposure to fumes from an off-the-shelf paint stripper are petitioning Lowe's Home Improvement stores to stop selling products containing a chemical compound blamed for at least 56 deaths since 1980.

North Carolina-based Lowe's is one of many home improvement and hardware ...Read more

MIAMI -- Miami Beach's tourism industry has suffered one blow after another in recent years.

First, Brazil's economy tanked and a strong U.S. dollar prompted would-be international travelers to stay home. Then Zika scared off visitors. By the time Hurricane Irma hit last September, hotels and other tourism-dependent businesses were already ...Read more

Cargill Inc. is closing a North Dakota malting factory as U.S. beer makers now prefer malting barley grown in the West rather than the Midwest.

The company announced last week it will shutter the plant near Jamestown, N.D. that processes barley into malt by the fall. The Minnetonka-based agribusiness cited decreased demand in the beer industry ...Read more

Washington wonks love to portray raising the retirement age for Social Security as a painless "fix" for the program's finances.

After all, the thinking goes, the near-retired can be exempted from the increase, and since Americans on average are staying healthier into their later years, working longer and living longer in retirement, holding off...Read more

The monthlong outbreak of a virulent E. coli strain tied to romaine lettuce has now sent 42 people to hospitals in 19 states, federal health officials said Wednesday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added 31 people to its tally of victims in the outbreak. The agency has linked the outbreak to the Imperial Valley growing ...Read more

SEATTLE -- Seeing a strong recovery in the worldwide cargo aircraft market following a prolonged slump, Boeing on Wednesday said it plans a 20 percent production increase for the 767 freighter jet in 2020.

Added to already-planned rate increases for the 787 Dreamliner in Everett, Wash., next year and for the 737 in Renton this year, the three ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The nation's acting consumer financial watchdog delivered some good news and lobbying advice this week to the bankers he regulates: He would like to cut off public access to a database of consumer complaints and suggested the industry donate to lawmakers to persuade them to weaken his agency's authority.

The comments by Mick ...Read more

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Walmart Labs has launched a major hiring effort for technologists, an employment push that highlights companies' quest to scout for tech talent in the Bay Area.

The retailing behemoth's tech unit wants to hire 150 technology workers in the Bay Area, bolstering its efforts to deliver new digital solutions to its customers ...Read more

YouTube said Wednesday that it will give parents of young children something they have sought for a long time: more control over which videos their kids will be able to see.

In a company blog post, YouTube said that starting this week, it will give parents the ability choose to give their children access to a group of "trusted channels" as ...Read more