AP Business Highlights

Shoppers' spending surprisingly strong in March

Shoppers shrugged off higher gas prices and cool temperatures to give retailers a surprisingly strong March.

The retail revenue figures released Thursday extend the streak of solid spending from late last year and indicate that recent job growth is improving consumers' mood.

A broad range of stores from Costco Wholesale Corp. to Victoria's Secret parent company Limited Brands Inc. are posting revenue gains that handily beat Wall Street expectations. Target Corp. reported a smaller decline than Wall Street expected.

Fewer people sought unemployment aid last week

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that layoffs are dropping and employers may be hiring more workers.

The Labor Department said Thursday the number of people seeking benefits dropped 10,000 to 382,000 in the week ending April 2. That's the third drop in four weeks.

Rate on 30-year fixed mortgages rises to 4.87 pct.

Fixed mortgages were essentially unchanged this week, as the average rate on the 30-year fixed loan stayed below 5 percent.

Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.87 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 fixed mortgage increased to 4.10 percent from 4.09 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.

Consumers borrow more for student loans, new cars

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. consumers borrowed more money in February to buy new cars and attend school, but they cut back on using their credit cards to make purchases.

Borrowing increased by $7.6 billion, or 3.8 percent, in February, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. It was the fifth consecutive monthly gain.

All of the strength in February came in the category that includes car loans and student loans. That increased 7.7 percent. Borrowing in the category that covers credit cards fell 4.1 percent. That has risen only once in the more than two years since the 2008 financial crisis peaked, a cautionary sign for an economy in which consumer spending drives 70 percent of growth.

ECB raises rates, faces two-speed recovery

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate Thursday for the first time in nearly three years as it signaled its determination to fight inflation, even as some euro member countries still struggle with debt crises and high unemployment.

The quarter-point increase was widely expected and won't by itself hold back growth much. But Europe's increasingly two-speed recovery will be a challenge for the bank as it decides how high rates should go in coming months.

A day after Portugal finally accepted defeat in its battle to avoid a financial bailout, the ECB raised its refinancing rate to 1.25 percent from a record low of 1 percent, where it had been since May 2009. The refinancing rate determines the cost of central bank credit to commercial banks, and affects other short-term interest rates as well.

UN agency says global food prices fall

ROME (AP) -- Global food prices have fallen for the first time in eight months, but it's premature to conclude that means the recent sharp spike is over, a U.N. agency said Thursday.

The Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report that its price index averaged 230 points in March 2011, down 2.9 percent from its peak in February but still 37 percent above March of 2010.

Global exports grew record 14.5 percent in 2010

GENEVA (AP) -- Exports jumped 14.5 percent last year -- the biggest rise recorded since 1950 -- as economies rebounded from the global downturn, the World Trade Organization said Thursday.

Cross-border trade is expected to recover further in 2011, the WTO said in its annual report. Based on a 3.1 percent rise in gross domestic product worldwide, it predicts exports will grow a further 6.5 percent this year, slightly above the 6 percent yearly average between 1990 and 2008.

But uncertainty about the economic aftershocks of the Japan earthquake and the impact of political unrest in the oil-rich Middle East are adding a measure of uncertainty to the forecast, which assumes an oil price of about $100 a barrel.

JPMorgan CEO Dimon 2010 pay package is $20.8

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., saw his 2010 compensation rise to $20.8 million from $12.7 million in 2009, according to an Associated Press analysis of data filed with regulators on Thursday.

Dimon received a salary of $1 million, a cash bonus of $5 million, stock awards of $7.9 million, and stock options worth $6.2 million for the year. He also received perks worth $579,624, which included the use of an aircraft and a car, and fees related to the sale of his Chicago house.

GE to build nation's largest solar power plant

GE is taking aim at the world's biggest solar company in a bid to expand into a fast-growing renewable energy market.

General Electric Co. announced Thursday that it would spend $600 million to build the nation's biggest solar panel factory. It would build the same type of so-called thin film solar panels manufactured by First Solar Inc., the biggest producer of solar panels in the world.

By The Associated Press(equals)

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.26 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,409.49 The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 2.03, or 0.2 percent, to 1,333.51. The Nasdaq composite fell 3.68, or 0.1 percent, to 2,796.14.

Oil surged to $110.30 per barrel, setting a 30-month high. Natural gas gave up 8.9 cents to settle at $4.057 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In other Nymex contracts for May delivery, heating oil lost 1.48 cents to settle at $3.2060 per gallon and gasoline futures lost 0.64 cent to settle at $3.1865 per gallon.

In London, Brent crude gained 33 cents to settle at $122.26 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

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