Workers’ comp changes advance
By KEVIN COLEMAN of the Tribune’s staff
State legislation that would benefit a local insurance company cleared its first hurdle yesterday despite opposition from a leading industry group.

Housing construction surges in January
WASHINGTON (AP) - Construction of new homes and apartments, defying forecasts of a housing slowdown, shot up in January at the fastest pace in more than three decades.

Realtors report record double-digit home price gains
WASHINGTON (AP) - The sizzling housing market might have cooled at the end of 2005, but still-surging home prices did not reflect it, a real estate trade group reported yesterday.

Stocks edge higher after Bernanke’s debut
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks rose modestly yesterday after investors bobbed and weaved with every word of new Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress.

Ford factories restrict spots in parking lots
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - Ford Motor Co. says that most of its factories now banish the vehicles of other automakers from the prime spots in their parking lots.

Airlines investigated for cargo price-fixing
NEW YORK (AP) - More than a dozen airlines have been drawn into a widening investigation by United States and European Union officials of whether there has been collusion in the air cargo industry to fix prices on surcharges for fuel, security and insurance.

China defends its right to police the Internet
BEIJING (AP) - China today defended its right to police the Internet, one day after four American technology giants appeared before Congress on charges they collaborated with Beijing to crush free speech online in return for market access.

USDA accidentally releases farmers’ data
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Department of Agriculture said yesterday that it had accidentally released the Social Security and tax identification numbers of 350,000 tobacco farmers.

House ups flood insurance borrowing authority
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House agreed yesterday to increase for a third time the borrowing power of the federal flood insurance agency, which is running out of money as it tries to meet claims from Katrina and other hurricanes.