Bank of America earns $2.4B, ahead of estimates
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Bank
of America joined other major banks in reporting better-than-expected second
quarter income Friday, earning $2.42 billion even as losses from failed loans
continued to rise.
The results, which included
$713 million of dividend payments tied to a federal bailout, compared with
profits after preferred dividends of $3.22 billion in the same three-month
period a year ago.
Earnings per share, which
reflected a much higher amount of shares outstanding, fell to 33 cents from 72
cents. That was well ahead of the 28 cents per share forecast of analysts
surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Citigroup profit soars on
Smith Barney sale
NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup
Inc. surprised Wall Street Friday, reporting a $3 billion second-quarter profit
instead of the big loss analysts expected.
Citigroup became the fourth
big bank to report strong results for the quarter. Citi announced its results
shortly after Bank of America Corp. also beat expectations with earnings of
$2.42 billion. The pair of profit reports follows strong earnings from Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. earlier in the week.
Stocks cap strong week with
mixed finish
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors
are betting that the stock market has restarted its spring rally.
Stocks ended little changed
Friday but held onto an enormous gain for the week. Investors are looking to
another flood of corporate earnings reports next week to provide more signs
that the economy is healing.
The Dow Jones industrials
and the Standard & Poor's 500 index posted their best weekly performance
since early March, when the market's spring rally began. Major stock indexes
rose about 7 percent for the week.
The Dow Jones industrials
rose 32.12, or 0.4 percent, to 8,743.94.
June housing construction
rises more than expected
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Construction of new U.S. homes rose in June to the highest level in seven
months as builders rushed to pour foundations for homes that must be completed
by the end of November for first-time buyers to take advantage of a special tax
break.
The Commerce Department said
Friday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 3.6 percent last
month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 582,000 units, from an upwardly
revised rate of 562,000 in May.
It was better than the
530,000-unit pace economists expected, and was the second straight monthly
increase after April's record low of 479,000 units.
CIT shares jump as lender
seeks rescue financing
NEW YORK (AP) -- CIT Group
Inc.'s shares doubled Friday as the commercial lender held talks with several
large banks about securing emergency financing in hopes of avoiding a
bankruptcy filing.
CIT is in talks with
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley about receiving short-term
financing that may help it avoid filing for Chapter 11 protection, a person
familiar with the talks told The Associated Press. The person spoke on
condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.
CIT has been scrambling to
raise $2 billion to $4 billion after the federal government refused to bail out
the company, one of the nation's largest lenders to small and midsize
businesses.
GE Q2 profit falls, scales
down industrial outlook
UNDATED (AP) -- General
Electric Co.'s second-quarter profit was sliced nearly in half, the company
said Friday, as the recession drove down earnings at its finance unit and
smothered demand for its wide-ranging industrial goods.
Although earnings beat Wall
Street forecasts by a penny, GE's revenue fell $3 billion short of
expectations, helping push down shares 6 percent. Quarterly sales fell across
its divisions, from health care to broadcasting, suggesting that the recession
is still sapping demand for goods and services.
That appeared to be
troubling news for the nation's economic health since GE's businesses touch
nearly all facets of the economy and investors were hoping sales would show
flashes of strength.
Jobless rate tops 10 percent
in 15 states, DC
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fifteen
states have crossed a painful threshold: 10 percent unemployment. More states,
and the nation, likely will follow, one of the biggest dangers to an economic
recovery.
How consumers behave in the
face of rising unemployment will figure prominently in shaping a broader
rebound. If they go back into hibernation and sharply cut spending like they
did at the end of last year, the recovery could cave in. More likely is that
consumers will stay cautious, making for a fragile and slow-moving national
economic turnaround, economists said.
The Labor Department on
Friday said unemployment topped 10 percent in 15 states and the District of
Columbia last month.
Judge dismisses SEC
complaint against Cuban
DALLAS (AP) -- A federal
judge dismissed a civil insider-trading lawsuit against Dallas Mavericks owner
Mark Cuban on Friday, dealing the Securities and Exchange Commission a rare
high-profile setback.
U.S. District Judge Sidney
A. Fitzwater ruled that the SEC could not hold Cuban liable for insider trading
because the agency didn't allege the billionaire NBA team owner had agreed not
to trade based on confidential information he received about an Internet search
engine company, Mamma.com Inc.
Oil extends rally to settle
above $63
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices
surged through the week, rising above $63 a barrel Friday as China reported
faster economic growth and political turmoil in Iran raised concerns about
future oil supplies.
Benchmark crude for August
delivery jumped $1.54 to settle at $63.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. In London, Brent prices climbed $2.63 to settle at $65.38 a barrel on
the ICE Futures exchange.
Earlier in the week, crude
futures were tugged higher by a rally on Wall Street, and prices continued to
rise as China reported that its economy grew faster in the second quarter.
Mattel 2Q profit rises 82
percent on cost-cutting
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) --
Light on summer-movie tie-in toys this year, Mattel Inc. said Friday its sales
sank 19 percent in the fiscal second-quarter, but cost cuts and lower inventory
helped it post an 82 percent jump in profit, beating analyst expectations.
The tight rein on costs and
inventory will continue throughout the year, as the company -- and toy makers
in general -- seek to avoid a repeat of last year's dismal holiday season. The
maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels toys is in the midst of a cost-cutting plan
designed to save $180 million to $200 million over two years.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrials
rose 32.12, or 0.4 percent, to 8,743.94.
The broader Standard &
Poor's 500 index slipped 0.36, or less than 0.1 percent, to 940.38, while the
Nasdaq composite index rose 1.58, or 0.1 percent, to 1,886.61.
Benchmark crude for August
delivery jumped $1.54 to settle at $63.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
In London, Brent prices
climbed $2.63 to settle at $65.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
In other Nymex trading,
gasoline for August delivery added 5.64 cents to settle at $1.7699 a gallon and
heating oil climbed 4.16 cents to settle at $1.641 a gallon. Natural gas for
August delivery ticked higher by a fraction of a penny to settle at $3.669 per
1,000 cubic feet.