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BEIJING (AP) — International stock markets are mixed, with Asian exchanges falling while European markets gained in early trading. Futures point to opening gains today on Wall Street following heading toward the Christmas trading break. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose to $55.50 per barrel. The dollar declined against the yen and was unchanged against the euro.
WASHINGTON (AP) — At the height of the holiday shopping season, the government is ready to say today just how well the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter. The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the third-quarter gross domestic product numbers for July through September. Commerce also will issue reports on durable goods for November and on personal income and spending for last month. A preliminary report last month said the economy expanded at a healthy 3.9 percent annual rate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is warning any companies who still sell pure powdered caffeine that legal consequences are coming if they don't stop. The FDA is building its legal case now, after warning consumers last summer about the danger. The FDA says people may not realize powdered caffeine is a pure chemical with a very small difference between safe and lethal doses.
BEIJING (AP) — An anti-graft campaign is spreading to new segments of China's state-owned resource industries. The former boss of China's biggest aluminum producer has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party on corruption charges. Previously, executives at oil and gas producers were accused of corruption after the crackdown was launched in 2012.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The association that represents shipping lines and cargo terminal operators at West Coast seaports says it's asking for federal mediation in its ongoing contract talks with dockworkers. The Pacific Maritime Association said in a statement that after seven months of negotiations, dockworkers and their employers remain "far apart" on many issues and the parties need outside intervention. Employers say longshoremen have deliberately slowed the pace of their work over the past few months.
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