PeoplesBank buys vacant King Street station

NORTHAMPTON - After several years of searching, PeoplesBank finally found what it believes is the perfect location to expand its presence in the city.

United to open express branch

WEST SPRINGFIELD - United Bank will open its new express branch at 491 Pleasant Street on Sept. 15, according to an announcement Tuesday from the bank.

Wholesale prices rise at fastest pace since 1981

WASHINGTON - Wholesale inflation surged in July, leaving prices for the past year rising at the fastest pace in 27 years, according to government data released Tuesday.

Another sharp blow: Hope for quick recovery dims

NEW YORK - Wall Street fell sharply for a second straight session Tuesday after a hefty jump in wholesale inflation and a drop in new home construction gave investors more reason to believe an economic recovery is far off. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 130 points.

Prescription-data mining is big business

WASHINGTON - When most patients go to the pharmacy to fill a new prescription, they don't think twice about turning over the note from their doctor.

After all, how much could the scrawled handwriting on that tiny slip be worth?

'Liar loans' weigh on mortgage mess

In the mortgage industry, they are called "liar loans" - mortgages approved without requiring proof of the borrower's income or assets. The worst of them earn the nickname "ninja loans," short for "no income, no job, and (no) assets."

Stocks show strain from financials

NEW YORK - Wall Street retreated Monday after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell to their lowest levels in nearly 20 years on concerns that the government might need to bail out the mortgage financiers. Weakness in the overall financial sector sent the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 175 points.

Sidewalk with bounce might ease keg damage

AMES, Iowa (AP) - A sidewalk project means there may be a little bounce to the beer kegs instead of dings in the pavement when delivery trucks unload.

The city is installing a rubber sidewalk at a spot near the Iowa State University campus where beer distributors unload hundreds of kegs from trucks for bars in the area.

Consumers flood stores in attempt to avoid taxes

BOSTON (AP) - In what is becoming a late summer ritual, shop owners are lured bargain-hunting shoppers during the state's two-day tax-free weekend. The law approved by House and Senate lawmakers and signed by Gov. Deval Patrick last month means shoppers avoided paying the state's 5-percent sales tax Saturday and Sunday.

Some retailers tried to sweeten the deal with added savings.

Rates on skids; no help for savers as Washington bails out all but the prudent

WASHINGTON - Tens of millions of people pay their mortgages on time, don't max out their credit cards and put money into retirement funds. They may even save a little extra on the side. In return, they get rates on their savings that don't even keep up with inflation, and they also are witnessing the horror of their nest eggs shrinking as the value of their homes plummets and the stock market tumbles.

Appraisal: Rules for real estate fail

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal - the real estate appraisal - was undermined from within.

NASA halts space suit contract

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - NASA says it has terminated its contract with a Houston company selected in June to supply the agency's next-generation space suit.

NASA said Friday it determined that a compliance issue required that it halt its contract with Oceaneering International Inc. The agency offered no reason except to say the decision is for the convenience of the government.