A problem with wires in a heart defibrillator is the industry’s third highly visible safety episode in seven years, inviting discussion of a greater role for the F.D.A.

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Flaws in St. Jude Heart Defibrillator Shake the Industry

With the auto industry and the economy getting a second wind, this year’s New York auto show is notable for sedans and crossovers that are as daring as Dockers on casual Friday.

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At New York Auto Show, Few Fantasies and Many Sensible Sedans

The era of the tax advance is over, the final chapter in a case study of how businesses can reap billions of dollars from the unintended consequences of government policies. These high-cost, short-term loans were designed to take advantage of the inefficiency of the Internal Revenue Service, plugging the gap between when taxpayers filed returns and when their refunds came through — very much like a payday loan. An overhaul of the federal tax code intended to put more money in the hands of low-income families sent demand for the advances skyrocketing. At the industry’s peak in the 2000s, more than 12 million people a year took out refund anticipation loans — and paid more than $1 billion in fees. Read full article > >

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Instant tax refunds on their way out

Critics dubbed a type of processed US beef “pink slime” and killed an industry – can it be rebranded?

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Could ‘pink slime’ be rebranded?

Can America wean its oil addiction by making mass transit free? New York Occupiers are suggesting precisely this. Mass transit Farebox revenue in New York, the nation’s largest mass transit hub, totals $4.5 billion a year, according to the city’s Mass Transit Authority. That’s a hefty number – until contrasted with U.S. taxpayer subsidies to the oil and gas industries of $41 billion a year. Just redirecting that subsidy would allow nine transit systems as big as New York’s to provide free ridership. And here’s the sweetener: Other transit systems are way smaller than America’s most populous city, so cities which could have free mass transit could number in the dozens. Think of it. Free transit in Chicago. San Francisco. Los Angeles. Atlanta. Boston. Washington D.C. Include your other favorite city(ies) here. What’s more, cutting off this cascade of federal dollars to the most profitable 1% of American industry would be popular. A recent Wall Street Journal-NBC poll found that three quarters of respondents favored”eliminating tax credits for the oil and gas industries” – a.k.a. cutting them off from the federal trough.

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Occupying the Subways

Ryan Seacrest has joined “the NBC family” and will participate in its prime-time coverage of the Summer Olympics in London while continuing to host “American Idol” but cutting back on his work for E!, the TV industry hotshot said Wednesday. Read full article > >

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Sit tight, Matt Lauer — Ryan Seacrest not taking over ‘Today’ seat yet

The move by Apple and its supplier Foxconn, the world’s largest manufacturer of electronics, to overhaul working conditions in overseas factories is putting a spotlight on the labor practices of the U.S. technology industry and increasing pressure on Apple’s biggest rivals to respond in kind. Read full article > >

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Apple, Foxconn labor pact awaits industry reaction

Technology industry representatives are taking a measured stand on whether talks with regulators over privacy protection should be a public discussion.

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Conflict Over How Open ‘Do Not Track’ Talks Will Be

President Obama struck an explicitly populist tone Thursday in calling for an end to federal subsidies for the petroleum industry, arguing that members of Congress can “stand with big oil companies, or they can stand with the American people.” Read full article > >

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Obama: Americans getting hit twice over gas prices — at pump and with tax subsidies

An ambitious attempt to effectively bar attack ads by outside groups in the contentious U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts is showing signs of working, at least so far. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) this week agreed to pay a penalty for radio and print ads run by the American Petroleum Institute urging people to contact Brown and ask him to vote against raising taxes on energy firms. Read full article > >

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Pact on third-party ads seems to be working in Massachusetts

India’s defence minister orders an investigation into an allegation by the head of the army that he was offered a bribe of $2.7m by an industry lobbyist.

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India to probe ‘army bribe offer’

Figures from the music industry indicate that earnings from Scotland’s music festivals have almost trebled in the past six years.

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Music festivals show rapid growth

The UK security firms dominating Somalia’s anti-piracy industry

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The UK firms who tackle Somali pirates

The average price of unleaded petrol reaches a new high of 140.20p per litre, according to industry analysts Experian Catalist.

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Petrol price reaches record high

RIPLEY, Okla. — President Obama called Thursday for new and faster construction of the nation’s petroleum pipelines, delivering a message of reassurance here in deep-red Oklahoma that the oil industry has a key role in his energy plan. Read full article > >

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In Oklahoma, Obama stresses that oil has a place in his energy policy