US Stocks Add to Gains
 iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Ahead of Wednesday's big quarterly news conference from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its second triple-digit surge of the week. The Dow finished the day up 138 points, closing at 15,318 -- a gain of 238 points in the last two days.The Nasdaq Composite added 30 points for the day to finish at 3,482. The S&P 500 rose 13 points, closing at 1,652. This week’s rally is a bit puzzling in that the marke
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Chrysler Complies, Will Recall 2.7 Million Older-Model Jeeps
 PRNewsFoto/Chrysler Group LLC, Lily Kesselman(NEW YORK) -- After initially refusing to issue a recall because it disagreed with the government, Chrysler Group now says it will recall older Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty SUVs that could be at risk of fuel tank fires.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had called on Chrysler Group LLC to recall approximately 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty model cars after reports of numerous fuel tank fires in rear-end collis
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Starbucks to Post Calorie Counts on Menu Boards, Pastry Cases
 Andrew Giammarco/Starbucks(SEATTLE) -- Do you know what's in that Cinnamon Dolce Latte you're drinking? Starbucks is about to tell you.If you don't live in a place like New York or California where restaurant chains already have to show calorie counts on their menus, it may shock you that a blueberry scone at Starbucks has 460 calories or that 300 calories are in a small Frappuccino. Now Starbucks says it will begin posting calorie counts on its menu boards nationwide next week.It's
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Gordon Ramsay's LA Restaurant Sued for Alleged Unpaid Wages
 Michael Lavine/FOX(LOS ANGELES) -- Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has found himself in a kitchen nightmare. Former employees of his Los Angeles eatery are suing him for what they say are unpaid wages.Four former employees of The Fat Cow restaurant filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming, among other things, that they were forced to work grueling eight-hour shifts without a meal break. They’re also alleging that hourly employees weren’t always paid
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Netflix Goes After Streaming Newbies with Netflix Families
 Netflix(NEW YORK) -- Video streaming service Netflix sees a 30 percent uptick in usage during the summer months, partly because kids are out of school and families go on road trips.But the company is hoping to see an even bigger spike in family and children's video streaming this summer. Starting on Tuesday, a new section of the website, called Netflix Families, will provide a breakdown of the Netflix basics for newbies and lists of family-friendly video content that's available through th
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Ben Bernanke to Step Down as Fed Chairman When Term Ends?
 Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama is sending a strong signal that Ben Bernanke will step down as chairman of the Federal Reserve when his term ends early next year.
“He’s already stayed a lot longer than he wanted or he was supposed to,” the president told Charlie Rose in an interview on PBS. “Ben Bernanke’s done an outstanding job.”Bernanke, who has been trying to prop up the U.S. economy since the end of the recession and financial
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Ford Bringing Back Knobs, Buttons to Dashboards
 Ford Motor Company(NEW YORK) -- Ford is giving up on touch screens, bringing back traditional knobs and buttons to its interactive dashboards.
Introduced three years ago with much fanfare, MyFordTouch put selections for entertainment, navigation and heating on a touch-screen interface. The hi-tech features also responded to voice commands.
But the system received poor reviews from Consumer Reports magazine and others who complained that “simple tasks have been made time-consuming and
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Upstart Rental Car Company Undercuts Hertz, Avis
 CEO Rujul Zaparde, 18, is one of three co-founders who launched FlightCar. (Courtesy Rujul Zaparde)(NEW YORK) -- Last year, three teenagers contemplated going to college or up-ending the airport rental car business. They opted for the latter.They were so positive that they had happened on a better business model than Hertz or Avis, that they turned their backs, respectively, on Harvard, Princeton and MIT -- the three institutions to which they had been offered admission.The idea was this:
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Majority of Drivers Say GPS Has Led Them Astray
 Comstock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- GPS has certainly taken the pressure off drivers from having to ask for directions when they don’t know where they’re going, but a new survey reveals the technology is often inaccurate.A survey of 2,220 adults conducted by Harris Interactive for Michelin Travel and Lifestyle finds 63 percent say GPS has led them astray at least once by pointing them in the wrong direction or creating confusing and complex travel routes.Overall, drivers who use GPS say
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Chilean Nanny's Alleged 'Slave' Experience Highlights Labor Abuse
 iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Chilean nanny Felicitas del Carmen Villanueva Garnica, 50, says she was forced into "involuntary servitude" by a Manhattan couple who denied her food, medicine and fair pay.Villanueva, who told the New York Post she was residing in the country illegally, filed a lawsuit against the Upper East Side couple who are originally also from Chile, Malu Custer Edwards, 28, and Micky Hurley, 35. Villanueva claimed that she had been "trafficked," forced to work 12-hour d
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US Stocks Close Higher
 Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- U.S. stock trading was volatile on Monday in anticipation of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had been up as much as 191 points earlier Monday, gained 110 points to close at 15,180. The Nasdaq Composite rose 29 points, closing at 3,452. The S&P 500 closed up 12 points to finish the session at 1,639.Stocks picked up steam after a better-than-expected report on the health of the housing market. The Nation
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Judge: Sex Tapes Violated Waffle House Chairman's Privacy
 iStockphoto/Thinkstock(COBB COUNTY, Ga.) -- A former housekeeper violated the Waffle House chairman's privacy by recording sex tapes of the two in an attempt to show that he allegedly demanded sex acts from her, a Georgia judge ruled. "The defendant's arguments that she was a victim of the crime of sexual battery and was permitted to record plaintiff's actions to gather evidence of a crime is extremely unpersuasive to the court," Cobb County Court Judge Robert Leonard II wrote in the order. Joe
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McDonald's Sued over Debit Cards
 PR News Photo/iStockphoto/Thinkstock(LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa.) -- A former McDonald's worker in Pennsylvania is suing a franchise owner saying she was required to receive her wages through a debit card that charged fees, resulting in some hourly employees receiving less than minimum wage. Natalie Gunshannon, a single mother, 27, said she and other workers were paid through a JPMorgan Chase Payroll Card, which has a $1.50 fee for ATM withdrawals, a $10 inactivity fee after 90 days, and a 75 cent onlin
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7-Eleven Stores Operated 'Modern Day Plantation System,' Feds Claim
 Tim Boyle/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The owners of 7-Eleven franchises in New York and Virginia created a "modern day plantation system" in which undocumented workers were furnished with stolen identities and forced to work 100 hours a week for a fraction of their wages, according to federal authorities. Ten stores in New York and four in Virginia were seized Monday as part of the federal investigation, which found undocumented workers from Pakistan were given identities stolen from children and
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Hot Topic Stores Sued by Joan Jett's Blackheart Records Group
 Chris McKay/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Rocker Joan Jett's label, Blackheart Records Group, is suing teen retailer Hot Topic for trademark infringement and false advertising over the chain's Blackheart Clothing Co. brand. Joan Jett and performer and music writer Kenneth Laguna formed the band, "Joan Jett and the Blackhearts." The name was coined by the two for its symbol and its meaning, which is "loner" in "Jamaican nautical lingo," the complaint filed last week states. They started their own rec
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