7-14-10 Retail sales drop
0.5 percent in June
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Retail
sales fell in June for the second straight month, more evidence that the
recovery will slow in the second half of the year.
Retail spending dropped 0.5
percent in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That followed a
1.1 percent fall in May. Excluding autos, spending was down 0.1 percent in
June.
Much of the weakness last
month came from a drop in auto sales and a decline in gasoline prices.
Excluding autos and gasoline, sales would have risen 0.1 percent in June after
having plunged 1 percent in May.
Fed eyes steps to bolster
sputtering recovery
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
Reserve officials cut their forecasts for growth this year and signaled they
stood ready to take new steps to keep the recovery alive if the economy
worsens.
A new document, released
Wednesday, revealed a more cautious mood among the Fed policymakers in light of
Europe's debt crisis, a volatile Wall Street, a stalled housing market and high
unemployment.
With risks growing, Fed
officials at their June 22-23 meeting saw the need to explore new options for
bolstering the economy. That's a turnaround from earlier this year when they
were moving to wind down crisis-era supports.
Stocks are mixed after
weaker Fed economic outlook
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
closed mixed Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising almost 4
points for its seventh straight advance. The other major market indexes also
had single-digit moves. Bond prices rose as investors, again uneasy about the
strength of the economic recovery, went in search of safe investments.
Investors initially sold on
the Fed's economic forecast, which was only slightly more downbeat than the
outlook issued in April. A strong start to second-quarter earnings reports,
including upbeat forecasts from Intel Corp. and Alcoa Inc., helped temper their
disappointment.
BP will begin testing new
cap over Gulf oil leak
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The
federal government gave BP permission Wednesday to go ahead with testing its
new, tighter cap over the Gulf of Mexico gusher after a daylong delay to
satisfy worries about whether the work might make the leak worse. National
Incident Commander Thad Allen said at a news briefing that testing would begin
later Wednesday after the plan was carefully reviewed.
BP had zipped through
weekend preparations and gotten the 75-ton cap in place Monday atop the well.
The device is meant is to stop the oil and pump excess to ships, raising hopes
the gusher could be checked. BP was getting ready to test pressure on the well
by closing valves in the cap when the government intervened late Tuesday.
FDA panel: Diabetes drug
should stay on market
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A
majority of federal health experts voted Wednesday to keep the controversial
diabetes pill Avandia on the market despite evidence that it increases the risk
of heart attack.
A panel of Food and Drug
Administration advisers voted 20-12 against withdrawing GlaxoSmithKline's
once-blockbuster drug. Panelists who voted to keep the drug on the market were
split between several options, including adding new warning labels and
restricting use of the drug.
The vote marks a win for
British drugmaker Glaxo, which has been battered in the press and on Capitol
Hill for its the handling of the drug.
Airline fees make it hard
to shop for best deal
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Finding
the best deal on a flight has become a lot more difficult, thanks to hefty
baggage and service fees that consumers often don't know about until they show
up at the airline counter, congressional investigators say.
Those fees are not part of
the ticket price, meaning they can easily go unseen until it's too late for the
consumer to shop around. Amounting to billions of dollars for the airlines, the
fees also are exempt from an excise tax, and some lawmakers want to reclaim
that money for the treasury.
Airlines, travel agents,
online travel services and other ticket distribution channels should be
required to disclose fees for checked baggage, changed reservations and other
services in a clear and consistent manner, the Government Accountability Office
said in a report out Wednesday.
SEC reviewing company proxy
process
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
regulators are reviewing the process by which company shareholders exercise
their votes and said they may change the rules to make the system more
transparent.
The Securities and Exchange
Commission took a step Wednesday toward that goal by voting to issue a document
raising questions about the corporate proxy system and seeking public comment
on it. The document also raises questions about the accuracy and transparency
of the voting process, and whether some practices by professional investors can
improperly influence voting results.
Gov't says it's made no
conclusions in Toyota case
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
government said Wednesday it had not reached any conclusions about whether
Toyota drivers may be to blame for their vehicles suddenly accelerating, a
problem that has led to millions of recalled cars and trucks since last year.
The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that its engineers were
continuing to investigate the possible causes of sudden acceleration in Toyotas
along with scientists and researchers with the National Academy of Scientists
and NASA.
The Wall Street Journal,
citing anonymous sources, reported Tuesday that the government had analyzed
dozens of black boxes in Toyota vehicles that suggested the drivers were
stepping on the gas pedal instead of the brakes.
FDIC sues 4 former IndyMac
execs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bank
regulators have accused four former executives of failed IndyMac Bank of
negligence in making loans to homebuilders and are seeking a total $300 million
in damages.
The Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp., which took over California-based IndyMac when it collapsed two years
ago, filed the civil lawsuit against the four executives in federal court in
Los Angeles. The suit, filed July 2, is the FDIC's first legal volley related
to the wave of bank failures in the financial crisis, and an FDIC spokesman
said Wednesday that more can be expected in the future.
The FDIC alleges in the
suit that the four IndyMac officers "negligently" approved loans to
homebuilders that had slim chance of being repaid. The four deny the FDIC's
allegations.
Oil settles lower after Fed
revises outlook
Oil prices drifted lower
Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lowered its forecast for U.S. economic
growth this year.
Gas pump prices halted a
post-July 4th slide and remained unchanged, according to AAA, Wright Express
and Oil Price Information Service. The national average for a gallon of
unleaded regular is $2.713, down 0.8 cent from a week ago and almost 20 cents
higher than a year ago.
The Fed said U.S. gross
domestic product will grow by 3 to 3.5 percent this year. That compares with an
April forecast of 3.2 to 3.7 percent growth. The central bank also said
unemployment will stay above 9 percent.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 3.70, or 0.04
percent, to 10,366.72.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index fell 0.17, or 0.02 percent, to 1,095.17, while the Nasdaq composite
index rose 7.81, or 0.4 percent, to 2,249.84.
Benchmark oil fell 11 cents
to settle at $77.04 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as
$78.15 earlier in the session.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil lost 1.13 cents to settle at $2.0361 a gallon, gasoline gave up
1.56 cents to settle at $2.0665 a gallon and natural gas fell by 4.8 cents to
settle at $4.306 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Brent crude rose 12 cents
to settle at $76.77 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.