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On Thursday March 31, 2011, 6:12 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fewer people applied for unemployment
benefits last week, a sign that layoffs are dropping and companies may be
stepping up hiring. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people
seeking benefits dipped by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 for the week
that ended March 26. That's the second decline in three weeks. Applications near 375,000 or below are consistent with a
sustained increase in hiring. Applications peaked during the recession at
659,000. Bigger corn crop not likely to ease food inflation ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The government predicts U.S. farmers will
increase this year's corn crop, but it won't likely be enough to stem the rise
in food prices. Farmers intend to plant 92.2 million acres of corn this spring,
5 percent more than last year, the Agriculture Department estimated Thursday.
That would be the second-biggest corn crop since 1944, after a record-setting
planting in 2007. Yet the additional supply isn't expected to keep up with
growing global demand. Prices of corn and soybeans rose after the report as analysts
warned that even with the increase in corn acreage, grain prices won't drop
back to their lower levels of six months ago. Prices will likely stay elevated,
in part because of rising demand for grain from the U.S. ethanol industry and
exports to an expanding Asian middle class. Factory orders dip 0.1 percent in February WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. factories orders fell in February, as
the government cut demand for military planes and communications equipment
while businesses bought fewer computers, turbines and power generators. Orders to U.S. factories slipped 0.1 percent in February after
three straight monthly gains, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. When excluding transportation, orders rose 0.1 percent. That's
the seventh straight increase for that category. Still, a key measure of what
businesses spent on capital goods fell for the second straight month. Microsoft skewers Google in EU antitrust complaint BRUSSELS (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. escalated its attack on Google
Inc. by complaining to European regulators Thursday that its fiercest rival is
an Internet bully that abuses its dominance of online search and advertising. The allegations against Google crystallize the piecemeal gripes
that Microsoft has been making about Google's business practices for the past few
years. It's also an ironic twist for Microsoft, whose control over how software
operates on most personal computers has made it a frequent target of the types
of complaints it's now making against Google. Ireland: Banks need 24B euros more, will be overhauled DUBLIN (AP) -- Ireland's ailing banks need another 24 billion
euros ($34 billion) in cash in a move that will leave all of them under state
control and facing a complete overhaul, officials announced Thursday in a
long-awaited effort to cap a 3-year banking crisis. The Central Bank of Ireland made that recommendation as it
published pessimistic results for stress tests on four banks. The banks, whose
losses the government insured early during the financial crisis, caused Ireland
to need a bailout in the first place, so their fate is closely tied with that
of the wider country. Eurozone inflation jump bolsters rate hike view LONDON (AP) ) -- Inflation in the 17 euro countries spiked to
the highest level in nearly two and a half years in March, official figures
showed Thursday -- cementing market expectations that the European Central Bank
will raise interest rates next week. Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said consumer prices in
the eurozone were 2.6 percent higher in March than the year before. That's the
highest rate since October 2008 and is way above the central bank's target of
keeping inflation at "close to, but below 2 percent." Portugal to choose new govt as debt woes worsen LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Portugal's financial plight deepened
Thursday when official figures showed the debt-stressed country's budget
deficit last year was 8.6 percent of gross domestic product -- way above the
government target of 7.3 percent that was intended to allay market fears. The estimate by the National Statistics Institute was another
setback for Portugal's struggle to avoid taking a bailout, like those Greece
and Ireland accepted last year, as it faces two months without a government
before a June 5 general election and debt repayments it can't afford. WTO rules US aid to Boeing is illegal GENEVA (AP) -- The World Trade Organization has ruled that
Boeing Co. received at least $5.3 billion in illegal U.S. subsidies to develop
and build new planes, according to a finding of a report first issued in
January but made public on Thursday. The WTO trade panel's report came in response to EU complaints,
which had alleged that Boeing received almost $24 billion in illegal state
subsidies between 1989 and 2006. The public release of the ruling Thursday is the latest
development in a six-year contest and will likely next go to a WTO appeals
panel. Rate on 30-year fixed mortgage rises to 4.86 pct. NEW YORK (AP) -- Fixed mortgage rates rose slightly this week,
but the average rate on the 30-year loan remained below 5 percent. Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage
rose to 4.86 percent from 4.81 percent the previous week. It hit a 40-year low
of 4.17 percent in November. The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 4.09
percent from 4.04 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest
level on records dating back to 1991. By The Associated Press The Dow Jones industrial average fell 30.88 points, or 0.3
percent, to 12,319.73. That's just 72 points shy of its Feb. 18 high for the
year. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 2.43, or 0.2 percent, to
1,325.83. The Nasdaq composite rose 4.28, or 0.2 percent, to 2,781.07. The S&P 500 rose 5.4 percent during the first quarter, the
Nasdaq 4.8 percent. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.45, more than 2
percent, to settle at $106.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At
one point it hit $106.83, the highest it's been since September, 2008. In
London, Brent crude rose $2.25 to settle at $117.20 per barrel. Natural gas contracts rose 3.4 cents to settle at $4.389 per
1,000 cubic feet. In other Nymex trading, heating oil added 5.91 cents to
settle at $3.1125 per gallon, and gasoline futures gained 5.04 cents to settle
at $3.1077 per gallon. ·
Google Losing Ground in China - at The
Wall Street Journal ·
Apple: 'Thunderbolt' Toe To Toe With iPhone At Verizon,
Says BTIG - at Barrons.com ·
Ingenico Is Said to Be in Talks to Buy Hypercom U.S. Assets
- at Bloomberg ·
W.T.O. Rules U.S. Subsidies for Boeing Unfair -
at New York Times ·
EU Plans to Appeal Parts of WTO Ruling Against Boeing, WSJ
Says - at Bloomberg ·
Northrop Completes Spin-off - Zacks
·
Orders Galore for Boeing 777 - Zacks
·
Salesforce Acquires Radian6 - Zacks
·
RIMM's Deal to Avail More Patents -
Zacks ·
Lockheed Wins Canadian Contract - Zacks
·
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