On Thursday January 6, 2011, 6:09 pm EST
December increase seals
strong holiday for retail
NEW YORK (AP) -- The
holiday shopping season was the best since 2006, as a strong November more than
offset spending that tapered off in late December.
The strength of holiday
sales from Oct. 31 through Jan. 1 suggests a recovery in consumer spending. For
investors, whose expectations were riding high after a stronger-than-expected
November, the December figures were disappointing. That hurt retail stocks Thursday.
Early holiday discounts,
which started in late October, drove big sales early in the season but also had
shoppers finishing more gift-buying before December. A lull early in December
and a blizzard Dec. 26 in the Northeast also took bites out of sales.
From Oct. 31-Jan. 1,
revenue at stores open at least a year rose 3.8 percent over last year,
according to an index compiled by the International Council of Shopping
Centers. That's the biggest increase since 2006, when the measurement rose 4.4
percent.
The index tailed off to a
3.1 percent increase in December after a 5.4 percent rise in November.
Hiring outlook brightens as
layoffs decline
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
number of people applying for unemployment benefits over the past month has
reached its lowest point since July 2008, raising hopes that hiring is about to
accelerate.
The drop in applications is
the latest sign that the economy is improving, and economists expect Friday's
employment report for December to show a solid gain in jobs.
Applications for
unemployment benefits actually rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 409,000,
the Labor Department said Thursday. Still, that's not much higher than the
391,000 level reached in the previous week -- the lowest in more than two years
-- and week to week figures tend to fluctuate more during the holidays.
A more reliable measure is
the four-week average for applications. That fell last week to 410,750, the
lowest level in nearly two and a half years and the eighth decline in nine
weeks.
Rate on 30-year fixed
mortgage dips to 4.77 pct.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Rates on
fixed mortgages dipped this week after rising steadily over the last two
months.
Freddie Mac said Thursday
the average rate on the 30-year mortgage dropped to 4.77 percent from 4.86
percent the previous week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November.
The average rate on the
15-year loan slipped to 4.13 percent from 4.20 percent. It reached 3.57 percent
in November, the lowest level on records starting in 1991.
Rates have been rising
since November. Investors have shifted money out of Treasurys and into stocks.
Many expect the tax-cut plan will fuel economic growth and increase inflation.
Yields tend to rise on inflation fears.
Mortgage rates tend to
track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Those rates have been fluctuating
in recent weeks.
Low mortgage rates did
little to boost home sales last year and higher rates now could hamper a robust
recovery.
Shoppers won't lose energy
in 2011, economists say
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Shoppers' holiday-season splurge was likely a preview of what's to come in
2011, and economists say it should embolden companies to expand and hire.
Americans spent more in the
50 days before Christmas than analysts had expected -- the sharpest annual
increase since 2006. It's the surest sign yet they're becoming less frugal as
the economy rebounds.
Normally in January,
shoppers recover from their holiday splurges by curtailing their purchases. Not
likely this time. Economists say the tax cuts approved by Congress, a rising stock
market, a slow but steady rise in hiring and banks' growing willingness to lend
will sustain shoppers' spending.
Oil findings boost chance
of corp. criminal charge
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Months
of investigation by a presidential commission and other panels reinforce the
likelihood that companies involved in the Gulf oil spill will be slapped with
criminal charges that could add tens of billions of dollars to the huge fines
they already face, legal experts said Thursday.
The reports don't blame a
single person or group responsible for the series of mistakes. That means in
the end no one may go to prison for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S.
history.
BP, Transocean and
Halliburton should survive thanks to their financial arsenal, though charges
would take another chink out of their armor.
Eurozone retail sales show
surprise November drop
LONDON (AP) -- Retail sales
in the 16 countries that used the euro in November unexpectedly fell, official
figures showed Thursday, in another sign that consumers remain reluctant to
spend amid ongoing worries about the level of debt in several countries.
Eurostat, the EU's
statistics office, said Thursday that eurozone retail sales fell 0.8 percent in
November from the previous month, and revised down its estimate for spending in
October. Now it thinks that retail sales were stagnant during the month instead
of its previous prediction of 0.5 percent growth.
November's sizable decline
was unexpected -- the expectation in the markets was that retail sales would
rise, albeit by a modest 0.2 percent. It also meant that the year-on-year
increase slipped to 0.1 percent in November from the previous month's 1.2
percent.
The failure of consumers to
increase spending could be a cause for concern -- analysts think consumers will
have to take up the slack left by tough government austerity measures, if the
recovery in the eurozone is to become self-sustaining.
German November industrial
orders up by 5.2 pct
BERLIN (AP) -- German
industrial orders in November rose by a strong 5.2 percent on the month fueled
by brisk foreign demand for capital goods, official data showed Thursday.
Domestic industrial orders
in November rose by 1.5 percent and demand from abroad was up by 8.2 percent,
leading to the strong overall increase of more than 5 percent, Germany's
Economy Ministry said. November's uptick followed an increase of 1.6 percent a
month earlier.
German industrial orders in
November were 21.7 percent higher than a year ago, when the financial crisis
had plunged the country into its deepest postwar recession, the ministry added.
The country's recovery has
made it a standout among the 17 countries that use the euro currency, where
smaller economies such as Ireland, Greece and Portugal are struggling with huge
debts and deep recessions.
SKorean police say Google
collects personal info
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) --
Google Inc. collected e-mails and other personal information from unsecured
wireless networks in South Korea while taking photographs for its Street View
mapping service, police said Thursday.
In May, the American search
giant announced it had inadvertently collected fragments of people's online
activities from unsecured Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries, prompting
investigations around the globe.
Street View provides
street-level images on Google Earth and Google Maps. Google said entire
e-mails, URLs and passwords were among items its researchers collected.
Google accessed private
data as its cars took photos of neighborhoods in Seoul and three other major
cities in South Korea between October 2009 and May 2010, said Jung Suk-hwa, a
police officer in charge of the investigation.
Jung said the police
reached the preliminary conclusion after analyzing hard disks obtained from
Google, noting that police plan to wrap up the investigation as early as this
month.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 25.58 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 11,697.31.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index fell 2.71, or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,273.85. The Nasdaq composite
index rose 7.69, or 0.3 percent, to 2,709.89.
Benchmark crude for
February delivery lost $1.92 to settle at $88.38 per barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading for
February contracts, heating oil fell 3.1 cents to settle at $2.51 per gallon,
while gasoline futures dropped less than a penny to settle at $2.44 per gallon.
In London, Brent crude fell
98 cents to settle at $94.52 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.