The former security chief for a national group that operates state lotteries personally bought two prize-winning tickets in Kansas worth $44,000, investigators said Monday, bringing to five the number of states where he may have fixed games to enrich himself and associates. Investigators recently linked the winning 2010 Kansas tickets to Eddie Tipton, former security […]

Women may be badly outnumbered in the top ranks of corporate America, but at least they aren’t underpaid. Compensation for female chief financial officers at S&P 500 companies last year outpaced that of their male counterparts, according to an analysis by executive compensation firm Equilar and the Associated Press. It follows a similar trend seen […]

The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates after seven years of record lows. But it’s signaling that further rate hikes will likely be made slowly as the economy strengthens further and muted inflation rises. The Fed’s move to lift its key rate by a quarter-point to a range of 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent ends […]

Arctic offshore drilling by Royal Dutch Shell PLC drew protests on two continents this year, but a more modest proposal for extracting petroleum where polar bears roam has moved forward with much less attention. While Shell proposed exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea about 80 miles off Alaska’s northwest coast, a Texas oil company wants […]

Dow Chemical and the DuPont Co. announced Friday that they are merging in a $130 billion chemical industry megadeal. The merger would combine two companies that sell agricultural products to millions of farmers around the world, and make a variety of chemicals for consumer and industrial products ranging from electronics, automobiles, and household goods to […]

Oil prices have been lower for longer than expected. Now, with OPEC’s decision to keep pumping at current levels, analysts expect oil to remain relatively cheap well into 2016 and maybe longer. That, of course, is good news for consumers and fuel-guzzling industries like airlines, but oil producers are being squeezed and thousands of workers […]

Chipotle shares continued falling Monday as the company faces its first decline in a key sales figure after an outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants. The chain known for touting its quality ingredients said Friday it expects sales to drop between 8 percent and 11 percent at established locations for the fourth quarter […]

The huge philanthropic pledge by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife — totaling perhaps $45 billion — reflects the fast-paced emergence of a new Gilded Age of giving. The changes excite many in the charity world, but also raise questions about effectiveness, ethics and the impact on older charities that may not share in […]