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Latest Articles: Business
GM June U.S. Vehicle Sales Rise 10.7%, Below Estimates
Post Date: 2010-07-01 11:39:31 by Brian S
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General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, said U.S. sales in June rose 11 percent, trailing analysts’ estimates as consumers concerned about unemployment and the economy avoided large purchases. The average estimate of six analysts was for total sales to gain 16 percent from last year as deliveries rebounded from the recession and production cuts while Detroit-based GM was in bankruptcy protection. Buick brand sales gained 53 percent, while Chevrolet rose 32 percent, Cadillac added 39 percent and GMC rose 45 percent, the company said today in a statement. GM’s results show the auto market may be slowing as waning consumer confidence keeps buyers out of showrooms. ...
Global Manufacturing Shows Weakening From China to Europe, U.S.
Post Date: 2010-07-01 11:38:08 by Brian S
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Manufacturing growth from China to the euro region and the U.S. slowed in June, suggesting the global export-led recovery is losing strength. In China, manufacturing growth slowed more than economists forecast, and a gauge of factory output in the 16-member euro region weakened for a second month, two surveys showed. The U.S. Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index fell more than economists forecast to 56.2 from 59.7 in May. Asian, U.S. and European stocks fell on concern that a Chinese economic slowdown combined with deepening budget cuts from Spain to the U.K. may undermine the global recovery. While the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on May 26 ...
Vultures Circle BP Over Fears It May Quit US; Shares Surge 9% After Analyst Sparks Talkover Talk
Post Date: 2010-06-30 14:33:24 by Brian S
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In the past an almost double-digit increase in the BP share price in the past would have signalled a spectacular oil strike. It is a measure of the decline in the company's fortunes that such a surge was triggered by hopes of a takeover or break-up. The company's stock soared 9% to 331p at one point as a growing list of companies from China to Russia were linked with potential mega-mergers that could see the end of independence for what was once Britain's biggest firm. Investors piled into the troubled oil group amid a growing view that the brand has little future in the US – its biggest single market – and the company will need to reinvent itself through a change of ...
Fox Uses Misleading Employment Charts
Post Date: 2010-06-30 12:00:14 by Brian S
24 Comments
This morning Fox News' America's Newsroom aired the following chart, which sends a clear message that the job situation has not improved, that in fact things have continued to worsen. Using a straight red line to illustrate the trend, the chart indicates that job loses have been on the rise since December 2007, all the way through this month: The chart claims to show "Job loss by quarter." But it doesn't. (We lost 15 million jobs in the second quarter of 2010!?? Surely, that would have been catastrophic news.) What this defective chart actually displays is the number of unemployed during four random quarters over the past two-and-a-half years. Clearly, Fox got ...
Ford Motor To Repay $4B More In Debt
Post Date: 2010-06-30 11:36:33 by Brian S
5 Comments
DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co., the only Detroit automaker to avoid bankruptcy protection, said Wednesday it will reduce its huge debt by another $4 billion as it continues to show signs of financial strength. The Dearborn, Mich., automaker will pay $3.8 billion in cash to a United Auto Workers trust fund that pays retiree health care bills, and it will pay out $255 million in dividends on preferred securities that had been deferred as the automaker worked its way through financial troubles. Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement that the payments are another sign of confidence that the company's restructuring plan is working. "We expect to continue to improve our balance ...
Business Activity in U.S. Expanded for Ninth Month
Post Date: 2010-06-30 11:12:01 by Brian S
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Business activity in the U.S. expanded in June for a ninth straight month, showing manufacturing is overcoming the turmoil in the financial markets. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said today its business barometer fell to 59.1 this month, in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, from 59.7 in May. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion. Economies in developing countries are leading the recovery from the worst global recession in the post-World War II era, spurring sales at companies like Deere & Co. that will keep assembly lines running. A cooling pace of gains in coming months may prompt factories to keep stockpiles in line with ...
Jitters Over China Weigh On Drug Stocks
Post Date: 2010-06-29 13:00:48 by Badeye
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Jitters Over China Weigh On Drug Stocks | Respond to Editor | Print By Val Brickates Kennedy MarketWatch Pulse BOSTON -- Investor jitters over the state of the Chinese economy weighed on both the broader market and drug sector early Tuesday. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index declined 1.3% to 275.94 and the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index fell 2.3% to 1049.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled almost 200 points to rest at 9,949. PSivida Corp. and partner Alimera Sciences were notable exceptions among the small-cap stocks. Shares of the biotech groups were up on news that they have submitted a market application for U.S. regulatory approval of their ophthalmology drug candidate Iluvien, ...
Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart In Spotlight; Sector Down
Post Date: 2010-06-29 12:59:31 by Badeye
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Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart In Spotlight; Sector Down | Respond to Editor | Print By Andria Cheng MarketWatch Pulse NEW YORK -- Retail stocks fell Tuesday with the broader markets on worries that China's economic growth is slowing. The S&P Retail Index fell 1.7% to 396.76. Bookstore operator Barnes & Noble Inc. tumbled 10% after its first-quarter loss forecast was much bigger than expected. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 1% after the world's largest retailer said Eduardo Castro-Wright, head of its largest sales division Walmart U.S., is leaving his current post and relocating to California because of a personal situation. He'll oversee the company's global e-commerce ...
Energy Stocks Clobbered By Falling Crude Prices
Post Date: 2010-06-29 12:58:06 by Badeye
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Energy Stocks Clobbered By Falling Crude Prices | Respond to Editor | Print By Jim Jelter MarketWatch Pulse SAN FRANCISCO -- Oil and gas stocks tumbled at the open Tuesday as crude-oil prices shed as much as 3% of their value. Tropical Storm Alex veered farther to the west of the Gulf of Mexico's main production region, stripping out even more of the storm premium built into oil prices last week, while equities markets were in broad retreat on renewed concerns over China's continued ability to pull up the global economy. The NYSE Arca Oil Index was off 1.9% at 898.7 points in early trades while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index was down 2.5% at 492 and the Philadelphia Oil Service ...
Home Prices in U.S. Cities Up 3.8% From Year Earlier
Post Date: 2010-06-29 11:24:57 by Brian S
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Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in April from a year earlier as sales got a boost from a tax credit aimed at reviving the industry that triggered the worst recession since the 1930s. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values climbed 3.8 percent from April 2009, the biggest year-over-year gain since September 2006, the group said today in New York. The increase exceeded the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The end of a government homebuyer incentive worth as much as $8,000, mounting foreclosures and unemployment near a 26-year high threaten to set real estate prices back following the stabilization that began earlier this year. Eroding home equity may ...
Exxon, Shell May Consider Possible Bid for BP, JPMorgan Says
Post Date: 2010-06-29 11:23:00 by Brian S
3 Comments
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc may consider bidding for BP Plc after the London-based oil company lost more than half of its market value in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, JPMorgan Cazenove Ltd. said. Exxon Mobil has the stronger balance sheet and proven ability to integrate a large transaction, according to Fred Lucas, a London-based analyst at JP Morgan. It could make a cash and share offer, valuing BP at 473 pence a share compared with yesterday’s close of 308.25 pence, and including a $50 billion spin-off of BP’s downstream assets, according to JPMorgan. BP’s market value has collapsed by more than $100 billion since the April 20 explosion aboard ...
Wall Street Hiring Jumps Most Since 2008 as Guarantees Return
Post Date: 2010-06-28 11:22:41 by Brian S
2 Comments
Leverage is back on Wall Street -- and this time it’s the bankers who have it. Firms are adding jobs for the first time in two years, rebuilding businesses cut during the financial crisis and offering guaranteed payouts to lure top bankers. In New York, 6,800 financial-industry positions were added from the end of February through May, the largest three-month increase since 2008, according to the New York State Department of Labor. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. are among banks that are hiring to replenish their ranks, while Nomura Holdings Inc. and Jefferies Group Inc. have been recruiting talent from larger firms in a bid to increase their standing on Wall Street. ...
Consumer Spending in U.S. Increased in May More Than Forecast
Post Date: 2010-06-28 11:21:50 by Brian S
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Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in May more than forecast, a sign households are gaining confidence in the recovery and the job market. Purchases rose 0.2 percent after little change the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed today. Incomes climbed 0.4 and the savings rate increased to the highest level in eight months. Demand may accelerate as gains in payrolls, longer workweeks and rising pay give Americans the means to spend. Federal Reserve policy makers last week pledged to keep interest rates low to ensure households weather the fallout from the European debt crisis, unemployment hovering near a 26-year high and tight credit. “The U.S. consumer remains ...
As Drivers Shun BP Gas, Station Owners Want Full Service From BP To Help Get Business Back
Post Date: 2010-06-27 19:42:07 by Brian S
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Tension is mounting between BP and the neighborhood retailers that sell its gasoline. As more Americans shun BP gasoline as a form of protest over the Gulf oil spill, station owners are insisting BP do more to help them convince motorists that such boycotts mostly hurt independently owned businesses, not the British oil giant. To win back customers, they'd like the company's help in reducing the price at the pump. BP owns just a fraction of the more than 11,000 stations across the U.S. that sell its fuel under the BP, Amoco and ARCO banners. Most are owned by local businessmen whose primary connection to the oil company is the logo and a contract to buy gasoline. In recent ...
BP Shares Fall; Lost Market Value Tops $100 Bln
Post Date: 2010-06-25 13:24:14 by Brian S
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NEW YORK (AP) -- BP shares fell more than 4 percent in New York Friday. If the decline holds, BP will have lost more than $100 billion in market value since a rig it operated exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier, the company said the cost of responding to the Gulf oil leak has risen to $2.35 billion. The escalating costs, plus potential legal liabilities and BP's continuing struggles to contain the leak - now estimated at between 1.5 million and 2.5 million gallons per day - have eroded investor confidence. BP's shares closed at $60.48 on April 20, the day of the rig blast. On Friday, they dipped as low as $27.07 - their lowest level since July 1996 - and traded at $27.49 ...
U.S. To Begin Selling GM Stock
Post Date: 2010-06-25 12:33:13 by Brian S
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WASHINGTON -- General Motors will start the process of putting its shares up for sale by August, with an eye on launching the sale by mid-November, according to two people familiar with the plan. But no firm decisions have been made about how many of those shares will be drawn from any of GM's owners -- including the federal government and the UAW trust fund for retiree health care. Analysts have speculated the sale could generate $10 billion or more, placing it among the largest U.S. corporate share offerings. To help lay the groundwork for the sale, GM plans to hold a daylong meeting with financial analysts and investors next Tuesday at the Warren Tech Center. The event is to ...
Republicans Kill Senate Jobless Aid Measure
Post Date: 2010-06-25 11:22:57 by Brian S
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans on Thursday defeated Democrats' showcase election-year jobs bill, including an extension of weekly unemployment benefits for millions of people out of work more than six months. The 57-41 vote fell three votes short of the 60 required to crack a GOP filibuster, delivering a major blow to President Barack Obama and Democrats facing big losses of House and Senate seats in the fall election. The rejected bill would also have provided $16 billion in new aid to states, preserving the jobs of thousands of state and local government workers and providing what White House officials called an insurance policy against a double-dip recession. It also included ...
Consumer Sentiment Rises To 2-Year High in June
Post Date: 2010-06-25 11:15:40 by Brian S
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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer sentiment was the most optimistic in more than two years in June, but remained far below normal levels, according to a survey released Friday by Reuters and the University of Michigan. The UMich index rose to 76.0 in late June, up from 73.6 in May and 75.5 in mid-June. It was the highest since January 2008, the month after the recession began. Economists were expecting the UMich index to come in at 75.5. See our complete economic calendar and consensus forecast. AM Report: Reshaping the rules of Wall Street The average level of the index over the past 33 years is around 87. Consumers expect a very slow pace of economic growth, the survey said. ...
Fannie Mae Gets Tough On Homeowners Who Walk Away
Post Date: 2010-06-24 11:32:07 by Brian S
2 Comments
Taking aim at homeowners who are able to pay their mortgage but decide it's not worth it, Fannie Mae plans to go after them in court and to limit their access to home loans for seven years. The government-controlled mortgage giant said Wednesday that it would instruct the companies servicing its loans to recommend when it should pursue a so-called deficiency judgment — a court order requiring a defaulting borrower to pay any remaining unpaid portion of the loan after a seized home is sold. Lenders rarely employ court proceedings to pursue foreclosures in California, nearly always opting instead for a streamlined procedure involving a trustee's sale of the home. Under state ...
U.S. Durables Orders Indicate Manufacturing Boost to Recovery
Post Date: 2010-06-24 11:24:04 by Brian S
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Orders for computers and machinery climbed in May, showing gains in global business investment and demand that will give the U.S. economy a lift. Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years, excluding autos and aircraft, increased 0.9 percent, the third gain in the past four months, according to figures from the Commerce Department issued today in Washington. A report from the Labor Department showed the number of claims for jobless benefits last week hovered near this year’s average. Companies like Caterpillar Inc. are spearheading a manufacturing rebound as businesses in the U.S. and overseas update equipment, prompting economists at Morgan Stanley to raise forecasts for ...
U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Fall 19,000 To 457,000
Post Date: 2010-06-24 11:23:09 by Brian S
3 Comments
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time applications for state unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 457,000, the lowest in six weeks, the Labor Department reported Thursday, confirming that U.S. labor markets remain very weak. The four-week average of new claims was roughly unchanged at 462,750. The number of people who were collecting state benefits fell by 45,000 to 4.55 million in the week ending June 12. Meanwhile, the total number of people collecting unemployment benefits of any kind rose by 155,000 to 9.66 million in the week ending June 5.
Lumber Just Keeps Getting Crushed, Now Officially A "Reverse V"
Post Date: 2010-06-23 21:30:55 by reaganisright
12 Comments
The horrible housing numbers has been bad news for lumber prices, something we've been paying close attention to lately. Futures were down again 3% today, and have almost completed a full "reverse V," returning to crisis-days levels.
Chief Executives in U.S. Turn More Optimistic on Sales, Jobs
Post Date: 2010-06-23 11:27:07 by Brian S
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Chief executive officers in the U.S. turned more optimistic in the second quarter, expecting stronger sales and additional hiring in the next six months, a survey showed. The Business Roundtable’s economic outlook index rose to 94.6 in the April-to-June period, the highest level since the second quarter of 2006, the Washington-based group said today. Readings higher than 50 are consistent with economic expansion, and the measure increased from 88.9 in the first quarter. Seventy-nine percent of executives said they expect sales will grow in the next six months, up from 73 percent in the first quarter of 2010, while 39 percent said they will add to payrolls, an increase of 10 ...
BP Oil Disaster Costs U.S. State Pensions $1.4 Billion in Value
Post Date: 2010-06-22 11:39:02 by Brian S
2 Comments
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System lost $284.6 million in value as the largest oil spill in U.S. history erased more than $1.4 billion from BP Plc shares held by 42 state retirement accounts, data compiled by Bloomberg show. BP, the biggest producer of oil and gas in the U.S., has lost 47 percent of its value since a Gulf of Mexico well blew out April 20, destroying the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing 11 of its crew and polluting beaches from Louisiana to Florida. The declines come as public pension funds are struggling to recover from investment losses that averaged 21 percent last year, according to Wilshire Associates of Los Angeles. U.S. public pension ...
BP Falls to Lowest Since 1996 on Hurricane Concerns
Post Date: 2010-06-22 11:36:48 by Brian S
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BP Plc dropped to the lowest since December 1996 in London on concern the company’s oil spill cleanup operation in the Gulf of Mexico may be disrupted by bad weather. BP fell as much as 6 percent to 328.40 pence and traded at 334.9 pence as of 3:27 p.m. local time. It has dropped 49 percent since the April 20 accident on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and started the leak, erasing 60 billion pounds ($89 billion) off the company’s market value. The first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season may enter the Gulf of Mexico as soon as next week, meteorologist Jim Rouiller said, and forecasters are predicting the season may be among the worst on record. BP increased ...
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