Medical office vacancies plague Metro Detroit

In a region accustomed to foreclosure notices and vacant buildings, an industry until recently considered thriving -- health care -- is increasingly seeing the recession turn its workplaces into empty shells. - 11/24/2009

Third metro newspaper promises 7-day delivery

Detroit's now a three-newspaper town. A third daily covering the region, the Detroit Daily Press, made its single-copy debut Monday. - 11/24/2009

Oct. home sales rise almost 36 percent

Washington -- Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit. - 11/24/2009

Infant deaths prompt crib recall

Washington -- More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled, the biggest crib recall in U.S history, following reports of four infant suffocations. - 11/24/2009

Business briefs

Auto sales will continue to recover but slowly in 2010, which could hamper cash flow and efforts by General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC to rebound to the point the companies can go public, according to a forecast released Monday by Fitch Ratings . The rating service expects U.S. light-vehicle sales of 11.1 million next year, which would be about 8 percent above the estimated 10.3 million units sold this year. - 11/24/2009

Report of slowing GDP hits stocks

New York -- Stocks are slightly lower Tuesday after the government said the economy grew at a slower pace in the third quarter than originally reported. - 11/24/2009

Detroit Edison to receive $5M for energy grid project

Washington -- Detroit Edison Co. and five partners will receive nearly $5 million in federal money to show how advanced batteries similar to those in electric vehicles can store energy for later use in the nation's electrical grid. - 11/24/2009

Defense lawyer in 'Billionaire Boys Club' scheme indicted

Detroit-- The attorney representing the Brighton businessman accused in an alleged $53 million "Billionaire Boys Club" Ponzi scheme has himself been indicted for a criminal investment fraud scheme. - 11/24/2009

Big Bang atom smasher starts speeding proton beams

Geneva -- Scientists running the world's largest atom smasher used the $10 billion machine's accelerator to speed up proton beams for the first time today, in a step toward experiments about the makeup of the universe. - 11/24/2009

Michigan's housing chief defaults on loans

A homebuilder who chairs the state housing authority has been the target of lawsuits seeking more than $100 million in judgments in Michigan and around the country over failed projects. - 11/23/2009

Retailers face chilly holiday season

Faced with the prospect of a $4 billion drop in consumer spending this holiday season, retailers in Michigan and across the country are offering Black Friday promotions before Thanksgiving and touting inexpensive gifts to lure more shoppers. - 11/23/2009

• Retailers ramp up specials

Holiday trimmings on your rental car

Travelers have been able to score decent deals on hotel rooms and airfares over the last year. But car rental prices have increased dramatically despite the weak economy. - 11/23/2009

Retailers ramp up specials

Retailers are getting creative in a tough holiday season, vying for cash-strapped customers with tactics that range from dropping prices to accepting food stamps to offering layaway online. - 11/23/2009

• Retailers face chilly holiday season

Rising unemployment taxes could hinder hiring

WASHINGTON -- As if small businesses needed another reason not to hire, consider their latest financial burden: The cost of rising unemployment itself. - 11/23/2009

Late payments on credit cards drop in 3rd quarter

NEW YORK -- For the first time in a decade, more people paid their credit card bills on time in the third quarter this year than in the second quarter. - 11/23/2009

Small Talk: Peter Wilde maintains Townsend's elegance despite dour economy

The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham is a Mobil four-star and AAA four-diamond hotel, as well as a perennial favorite on the Condé Nast list of top hotels. How does such an elegant place keep its cool during an ugly recession? We asked Peter Wilde, the Townsend's longtime managing director. - 11/23/2009

Canadian woman vows fight after benefits cut over Facebook photos

Montreal -- A Canadian woman on sick leave for depression said Monday she would fight an insurance company's decision to cut her benefits after her agent found photos on Facebook of her vacationing, at a bar and at a party. - 11/23/2009