Business

Greece’s credit rating was cut three steps to junk by Standard and Poor’s, the first time a euro member has lost its investment grade since the currency’s 1999 debut. The euro weakened and stock markets throughout the region plunged.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which has missed $6 million in debt payments since Jan. 1, should consider seeking Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, City Controller Dan Miller told a three-hour special committee hearing.

The recovery is picking up steam as employers boost payrolls, but economists think the government's stimulus package and jobs bill had little to do with the rebound, according to a survey released Monday.

Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner on Monday donated the last $900,000 sought by a conservation group for a land purchase needed to save the famed vista of the Hollywood sign from being spoiled by development.

As the national debate over illegal immigration reignites, Farmers Branch remains in the middle of the battle as city leaders refuse to accept the unconstitutionality of rules they put in place to prevent illegal immigrants from renting homes.

A majority of Greeks disapprove of their government's decision to ask for financial aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, the first opinion poll taken since the request showed on Tuesday.

Visitors to Shanghai's World Expo say organizers have plenty of kinks to iron out before the event -- the biggest-ever World's Fair -- formally opens on May Day.

The Wall Street Journal is offering some businesses firesale prices for full-page ads in its highly anticipated New York edition to seduce advertisers away from The New York Times.

Australia Saturday clamped down on foreigners buying property after complaints that a rapid influx of Asian money had helped make its housing among the most expensive in the world.

At the SEC, all they thought about was SEX. The country's top financial watchdogs turned out to be horndogs who spent hours gawking at porn Web sites as the economy teetered on the brink, according to a memo released Thursday night.