On Monday July 26, 2010, 6:13 pm
New home sales up, but
sales remain slow
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of
new homes jumped last month, but it was the second-weakest month on record. The
lackluster economy has made potential buyers skittish about shopping for homes.
New home sales rose nearly
24 percent in June from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales
pace of 330,000, the Commerce Department said Monday. May's number was revised
downward to a rate of 267,000, the slowest pace on records dating back to 1963.
Sales for April and March were also revised downward.
FedEx boosts forecast for
current quarter, year
NEW YORK (AP) -- In another
sign of confidence in the global economy, FedEx Corp. on Monday raised its
earnings outlook for the current quarter and full year.
The world's second-largest
package delivery company said an overall boom in air and truck shipments is
being driven by its speedy international priority service, where it ships high
value goods like computers, iPhones and e-readers. Shipments are particularly
strong out of Asia. Besides gadgets, the company's next largest international
priority segments are electrical components like disk drives and flash memory,
vehicle components, high-end luxury goods and drugs and medical supplies.
Good news gives Dow 3rd
straight triple digit gain
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dow
Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points for the third straight day
Monday after traders got some unexpected good news about the economy.
The Dow rose 100.81 and has
now closed higher in 12 of 17 trading days this month. Its latest advance means
the average is up 7.7 percent in July after falling 10 percent from April
through June on a stream of bad economic news. The Dow is also up 0.9 percent for
the year. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index is still showing a loss
for 2010, but barely. It's down less than 0.01 percent.
BP's Hayward to leave as
CEO; Russia job in works
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Tony
Hayward, who became the face of BP's flailing efforts to contain the massive
Gulf oil spill, will step down as chief executive in October and be offered a
job with the company's joint venture in Russia, a person familiar with the
matter said Monday.
The person spoke on
condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made by
the British company's board, which was meeting Monday in London to decide
Hayward's fate. The decision is the board's to make, and it was unclear if it
had formally done so. It's not yet clear what Hayward's role will be with
TNK-BP.
United Technologies to cut
another 1,500 job cuts
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) --
United Technologies will cut another 1,500 this year and next on top of the 900
positions it has already eliminated in 2010, the company said Monday.
The industrial conglomerate
last week posted almost a 14 percent increase in second-quarter net income,
citing a "relentless focus on cost." It cut deeply into its payroll
during the worst of the recession, cutting 11,600 jobs last year.
These most recent job cuts
come, however, with the company posting its first increase in revenue in about
two years as aerospace and refrigerated transportation orders rebound. The
company also raised its profit expectations.
Ford introduces new -- and
untraditional -- Explorer
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- The
Ford Explorer used to be one of the best-selling vehicles in the U.S., but as
demand for big, truck-like SUVs fell, so did its sales.
Now Ford is trying to
breathe new life into the Explorer by reinventing it as a more car-like,
fuel-efficient utility.
Ford begins a marketing
campaign Monday for the 2011 Ford Explorer, which will be in dealerships this
winter. The automaker promises a utility vehicle with seating for seven that
has similar fuel economy to a Toyota Camry sedan. At $28,190, the base price is
also $1,000 less than the 2010 Explorer. It's priced competitively, midway
between the Toyota 4Runner and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
EU starts IBM antitrust
probes
BRUSSELS (AP) -- The
European Union opened two antitrust investigations against IBM Corp. Monday,
accusing the American technology giant of abusing its dominant position in the
mainframe computer market.
One investigation stems
from complaints by emulator software vendors T3 and Turbo Hercules, which
accuse IBM of tying the sale of mainframe hardware to its mainframe operating
system, the European Commission said.
The opening of EU antitrust
investigations does not mean the European Commission has proof of any
wrongdoing, only that it sees cause for a deeper look into corporate behavior.
Cigarette maker Lorillard's
2Q profit falls
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) --
Lorillard Inc., the nation's third-biggest cigarette maker, said Monday that
lower volumes and higher promotional costs drove its net income down 8 percent
in the second quarter as it raised its prices.
The maker of Newport,
Maverick and True cigarettes said its cigarette volume fell less than a percent
to 9.78 billion cigarettes compared with a year earlier when retailers and
wholesalers restocked following cuts they made to prepare for a one-time
federal tax on inventory. The company estimates that total industry volumes
fell about 7 percent during the quarter.
China promises bigger
private role in industry
BEIJING (AP) -- China's
Cabinet promised private investors a bigger role in industries from oil
drilling to finance, apparently responding to complaints that state companies
were boosted by Beijing's huge stimulus while private enterprise withered in
the global crisis.
The Cabinet announcement
Monday appeared to apply only to Chinese investors, not foreign companies, and
gave no details of their possible role in politically sensitive areas such as
energy. It also promised to help private companies invest more abroad.
Nissan recalls 51,100
hatchbacks over fuel spills
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nissan
is recalling 51,100 of its Cube hatchbacks in the United States and Canada
because of possible problems with fuel spilling during rear end collisions.
In documents filed with the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nissan Motor Co. said Monday
tests conducted by NHTSA safety regulators found more fuel spilled than federal
standards allow. The spillage occurred during rear end crash tests at 50 miles
per hour where the vehicle also spun onto its side.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 100.81, or 1
percent, to 10,525.43.
The S&P 500 index rose
12.35, or 1.1 percent, to 1,115.01. The Nasdaq composite index rose 26.96, or
1.2 percent, to 2,296.43.
Benchmark crude was
unchanged to settle at $78.98 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil lost 0.79 cent to settle at $2.0426 a gallon, gasoline gave up 1.64
cents to settle at $2.1058 a gallon and natural gas rose 3.2 cents to settle at
$4.612 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude
added 5 cents to settle at $77.50 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.