A cautious US Federal Reserve has left its key interest rate unchanged at two percent as it wrestles with the conflicting threats of a potential recession and rising inflation.   ┬á The Fed's rate setting committee explained that economic growth was likely to remain weak for some time while the outlook for inflation was "uncertain". Consumer prices rose at their fastest monthly rate in eleven years in June, but oil and other commodity prices are now falling.

Oil prices have continued to fall, dropping to a three-month low of $118 a barrel as traders react to news of rising supplies and relief that storms in the Gulf of Mexico may not damage US oil and gas facilities.  ┬á There had been fears that tropical storm Edouard could damage offshore drilling sites in the Gulf, which caused offshore operators such as Shell and Chevron to evacuate staff from some of their drilling platforms, but production now seems unlikely to be affected.

Instead of providing a firework display, the most talked about shareholder meeting of the year turned out to be a damp squib Friday, as Yahoo! chief executive Jerry Yang and his board of directors won the overwhelming backing of investors.   ┬á All of Yahoo!ÔÇÖs nominees were reelected (although former board member Robert Kotick did not stand for reelection). Yang himself was voted back in by over 85 percent, with chairman Roy Bostock receiving an almost 80 percent mandate.

Special items of $9.1 billion contributed to General MotorsÔÇÖ $15.5 billion second quarter loss, the third biggest quarterly loss in its history, as US sales continued to plunge.  ┬á GM took a $3.3 billion charge for buying out the contracts of 19,000 hourly workers who left at the end of June, and $2.8 billion for its exposure to bankrupt former parts unit Delphi Corp. It also wrote off $1.3 billion because the falling price of used vehicles cut the value of leased automobiles owned by its financing unit, GMAC.

Starbucks Corporation today reported its first quarterly net loss for over 15 years, as the cost of closing down under-performing company-owned stores begins to bite.  ┬á For the third quarter ended June 29, 2008, financial results for the Seattle-based coffee chain show a loss of $6.7 million, compared to a net income of $158.3 million a year earlier.

A subcommittee of the US House of Representatives is holding a hearing to discuss the impact on employees of Delta Air LinesÔÇÖ proposed acquisition of Northwest Airlines. A number of employee representatives have expressed concern about the ability of the combined airline to meet pension obligations, so a hearing has been arranged in Washington today before the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions subcommittee.┬á┬á Associated Press reports that among the witnesses will be Robert Roach, general vice president of the International Association of Machinists; Patricia Fr

Canadian mining company Teck Cominco has agreed to purchase the assets of Fording Canadian Coal Trust for around $14 billion in cash and stock, according to a company announcement today.  ┬á Fording unitholders will receive $82.00 in cash and 0.245 of a Teck Class B subordinate voting share for each Fording unit they hold. Teck said it will raise $9.8 billion of the $12.4 billion cash requirement from a syndicate of banks, and issue 36.9 million new shares.

Such is the weakness of the US automotive market that even Toyota has scaled down its sales and production plans for 2008. ┬á The Japanese automaker announced today that it has lowered its global sales forecast from 9.85 million to 9.5 million vehicles, still a one percent increase on last yearÔÇÖs 9.37 million vehicles, but nowhere near the six percent growth it achieved in 2007 or the five percent it originally predicted for this year.┬á┬á All automobile manufacturers are having to deal with reduced demand in the US as soaring gasoline prices and fears of a recession p

The healthy optionThe Sisters of Mercy Health System is staying true to the principles of its founders by adopting 21st-century management and delivery approaches, Ruari McCallion learns. The Sisters of Mercy were founded in Ireland at the turn of the 19th century by Catherine McAuley, a young woman who inherited a fortune from her adoptive parents and put it to work rendering support, shelter, care and education to the poor and disadvantaged of Dublin.  The Sisters of Mercy Health System (SMHS), based in St.