WASHINGTON - A battle in Congress that could shut down the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank next week is already causing headaches for small exporters as they try to stop customers from defecting to foreign competitors and as export financing starts to freeze up. If the 80-year-old export credit-provider loses its operating authority, its proponents argue that thousands of U.S. exporters will suffer and that Washington will lose international...

NEW YORK - Allegations of fraud and manipulative trading by Kraft Foods in derivatives markets are garnering attention beyond the fact that a household food and beverage-maker has been thrust into a regulatory doghouse normally reserved for the world's largest banks. The case could also affect the rest of the US corporate market as the CFTC seeks to expand the definition of manipulation in derivatives markets by using a new enforcement...