Business_Finance

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** FILE ** President Obama stands with Jim Yong Kim, president of Dartmouth College and Mr. Obama's nominee to be the next World Bank president, in the Rose Garden of the White House on Friday, March 23, 2012. (Associated Press)

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Gasoline prices of more than $4 are seen at a gas station on the south end of The Strip, Tuesday, March 20, 2012, in Las Vegas. From all corners of the country, Americans are irritated these days by record-high fuel prices that have soared above $4 a gallon in some states and could top $5 by summer. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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A driver holds a tax-protest sign out the window Thursday as a small number of vehicles circle the State House in Annapolis. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Soldiers gather in Bamako, Mali, on Thursday at an entrance to the compound containing government ministries after taking power in a coup, Drunken soldiers looted Mali's presidential palace hours after they declared a coup on Thursday, suspending the constitution and dissolving the institutions of one of the few established democracies in this troubled corner of Africa. (Associated Press)

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In this March 2, 2012, photo, a New York City taxi driver pumps gas at a BP mini-mart, in New York. Experts say pump prices are rising on the expectation that supplies will dip next month while refineries switch from winter to summer gasoline blends. Forecasts see gas rising as high as $4.25 per gallon in late April. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Gasoline prices of more than $4 are seen at a gas station on the south end of The Strip, Tuesday, March 20, 2012, in Las Vegas. From all corners of the country, Americans are irritated these days by record-high fuel prices that have soared above $4 a gallon in some states and could top $5 by summer. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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President Obama discusses his oil and gas policies during a visit to a drilling site in Maljamar, N.M., on Wednesday, March 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Odessa American, Mark Sterkel)

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Owners planning on putting their home on the market this spring may want to consider resodding their yard. For 65 cents to $2 per square foot, new sod can draw buyers with instant curb appeal.

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Gas purchases account for only about 5 percent of all consumer spending in the U.S. It would take a much bigger spike in prices - to about $5 a gallon - to shake consumers and threaten the economy. Gas prices in the Washington area, at $4.08 on average, are substantially higher than the national average. (Associated Press)

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"Historically, if GDP falls below 2 percent, the industry returns a collective loss. So it would not take much of a shock to turn our very modest profit projection to a net loss," said Tony Tyler, the International Air Transport Association's chief executive, during a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday. (Associated Press)

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Damian Bagarozza (right) works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, March 19, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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Renowned architect Frank Gehry talks in October about his concept for an Eisenhower memorial to be built near the National Mall in Washington. (Associated Press)

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The sun appears to be rising on Wendy's, which has surpassed Burger King as the second-biggest hamburger chain in the U.S. Both restaurant brands are reinventing themselves while struggling to keep up with the growth of McDonald's. (Associated Press)

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Ri Yong-ho, North Korea's senior nuclear negotiator, speaks to journalists outside the Diaoyutai state guest house in Beijing on Monday, March 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

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Apple CEO Tim Cook said that, with as much cash as Apple has on hand, a dividend won't restrain the company's options. "These decisions will not close any doors for us," he said. Mr. Cook said Apple looked at how much domestic cash it had, then set aside enough for planned investments and unforeseen outlays. (Associated Press)

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"It's the last frontier for science and exploration on this planet," said film director James Cameron of the Mariana Trench, seven miles down in the western Pacific. Entrepreneur Richard Branson and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt are planning their own separate trips to explore the trench in deep-water submersibles. (National Geographic via Associated Press)