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Fiat pulls out of Opel takeover talks

The future of Opel remained uncertain Friday after Italian car giant Fiat withdrew from talks in Berlin due to concerns over emergency funding demanded by the German government for the ailing automaker. Fiat had been one of two potential bidders, along with Canadian-Austrian supplier Magna, still in the running to take over Opel, which is currently owned by General Motors. Fiat said in a statement Friday it remained interested in taking control of Opel but said the German government’s demand for the potential suitors to provide $417 million in short-term funding would expose Fiat to “unnecessary and unwarranted risks.” “Fiat remains open and committed to continue discussions with all parties involved with a view to find a stable and lasting solution for the industrial activities of Opel,” Fiat said

Rick Steves, Travel Guide

Rick Steves, perhaps America’s most accomplished European tourist, was looking for a cheap but charming steak place in the ancient Tuscan town of Montepulciano last month. Following a local lead, he ducked into an osteria he’d never noticed before: a vaulted medieval cellar jammed with locals sitting at a common table. A man worked an open fire at the back of the room.

Woman checks old lottery ticket, wins $10 million

Concerned about her family’s finances, a university student in Australia cashed some long-forgotten lottery tickets this week — hoping the money would help her parents. She discovered their worries are over. The university student won $10 million (A$13 million) — and helped solve a lottery mystery that has made headlines in Western Australia for 10 months.

Fake check scammers hunt for victims

Thousands of Americans learn a painful lesson in banking every day: Waiting for a check to clear and then getting access to the money from a bank doesn’t mean the check has really cleared.

China’s Public-Works Programs

Guizhou province, in southwestern China, is a place of striking natural beauty: jagged peaks surrounded by fields of bright green rape, ridges slashed with limestone outcrops and plunging waterfalls.

For Nicaraguans, New Currency Is a Hot Potato

In a country accustomed to surprises from its government, Nicaraguans received another curiosity on May 15 when they awoke to find that the Central Bank, moving in the night as stealthily as the Tooth Fairy, had snuck a new legal tender into their economy while the markets were sound asleep.

Paying Back TARP: Good for Banks, Bad for Shareholders?

Will investors regret rooting for TARP paybacks?

Microsoft’s Kumo: already a step behind?

Once again, Microsoft is finding itself beaten to the punch in the search game. While it has been readying Kumo for its first public airing–probably at next week’s D: All Things Digital event–Yahoo and Google have already shown off their latest search enhancements.

Global hunt for accidental millionaires

An international manhunt was under way Thursday for a New Zealand couple who fled after a bank mistakenly paid them NZ$10 million (US$6 million) when they applied for a loan of just NZ$10,000. New Zealand authorities said they had sought the help of Interpol in locating the couple who disappeared May 7, two days after an employee error at Westpac bank paid them 1,000 times the amount they asked for.

Torture a hallmark of Phoenix’s drug kidnappings

Jaime Andrade had just gotten out of the shower when the men came to snatch him.