LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England kept its monetary policy unchanged Thursday despite mounting concerns over the state of the British economy.

Following the conclusion of its two-day rate-setting meeting, the Bank said it was maintaining its main interest rate at the record low of 0.5 percent together with the current level of its monetary stimulus.

The decisions were widely anticipated and no explanatory statement was provided.

NEW YORK - Just like many Americans, the maker of Twinkies, Sno Balls and Wonder Bread is trying to lose the fat.

Hostess Brands is hoping to take a bite out of its high costs as it heads back into bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than a decade.

Hostess has enough cash to keep stores stocked with its Ding Dongs, Ho Hos and other snacks for now. But longer term, the 87-year-old company has a bigger problem: health-conscious Americans favor yogurt and energy bars over the dessert cakes and white bread they devoured 30 years ago.

WASHINGTON - A nationwide boom in natural gas production is set to fuel nearly 900,000 jobs and add roughly $1,000 to annual household budgets by 2015, according to a new industry study released Tuesday.

The boom in shale gas production nationwide - exemplified by modern-day drilling boom towns that have sprung up in Pennsylvania, North Texas and western states - is a bright spot in the U.S. economy, said the study's lead author, John Larson, vice president of IHS Global Insight, an energy research firm based in suburban Denver.

"Shale is really proving to be a very big job creator. It really stands in sharp contrast to many sectors of the economy," Larson said. "During a significant economic downturn - the most significant since World War II - that's pretty remarkable."

WASHINGTON - Small businesses and startups that were skittish about the economy this summer started hiring in bigger numbers this fall, helping drive the unemployment rate down to 8.6 percent in November, the lowest in two and a half years.

The country added 120,000 jobs in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The economy has generated 100,000 or more jobs five months in a row - the first time that has happened since April 2006, well before the Great Recession.

"Something good is stirring in the U.S. economy," Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a note to clients.

The stock market opened higher after the unemployment report came out. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 32 points, good for a weekly gain of 820 points. The only bigger point gain in one week was in October 2008.

For more go to http://www.chron.com/business/article/Unemployment-rate-falls-to-lowest-since-March-2009-2340250.php

Domestic demand for chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells will continue to surge through at least 2015, according to a report released Tuesday by industry research firm Freedonia Group.

U.S. demand for oilfield chemicals will swell more than 8 percent each year, the firm forecasts, reaching $13.6 billion in 2015.  Of the major uses for chemicals in oil and gas production, well stimulation will see greatest demand growth, expanding by nearly 10 percent each year through 2015, according to the report.

Hydraulic fracturing is a form of well stimulation that uses chemicals, sand and massive amounts of water to open up rock deep underground and release the fossil fuels inside.

Rising oil prices and the shale rush boosted use of oilfield chemicals in recent years, the Freedonia report authors noted. Hydraulic fracturing is used in shale regions to force oil and natural gas from the dense rock, but has attracted the wrath of environmentalists who say it can contaminate drinking water.

For more http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/11/30/researchers-u-s-demand-for-hydrofracking-chemicals-will-surge/