On Monday August 2, 2010, 5:50 pm EDT
Manufacturing lifts
recovery with year of growth
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's a
rare bright spot in an otherwise troubled economy: The nation's manufacturing
sector has now grown for a solid year, and more of its companies say they're
ready to hire.
Chip maker Texas
Instruments says its business has recovered to pre-recession levels. Intel,
which makes semiconductors, posted its best quarterly profit in a decade. And
chemical giant DuPont says its sales volume is up and recently raised its
prices.
The Institute for Supply
Management said Monday its manufacturing index slipped in July, to 55.5 from
56.2 in June. But it was the 12th straight month of readings above 50, which
indicates expansion. At the depths of the recession, the index was closer to
30.
Economic reports give
stocks big start for August
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock
market has started August with a huge rally after economic and earnings reports
from around the world revived investors' faith in the global recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 208 points Monday. All the major stock indexes rose about 2
percent.
Upbeat news from China and
Europe sent stocks higher at the opening. And soon after trading began, the
Institute for Supply Management released a reading on U.S. manufacturing that
was better than the market expected.
However, some analysts are
still cautious. Trading volume was light as many investors decided to wait for
Friday's report on July employment.
UAE: BlackBerry crackdown
will affect visitors too
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
(AP) -- The United Arab Emirates' looming crackdown on BlackBerry services will
extend to foreign visitors, putting the government's concerns over the smart
phones in direct conflict with the country's ambitions to be a business and
tourism haven.
The Emirates' telecoms
regulator said Monday that travelers to the city-state of Dubai and the
important oil industry center of Abu Dhabi will -- like the 500,000 local
subscribers -- have to do without BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web services
starting Oct. 11, even when they carry phones issued in other countries. The
handsets themselves will still be allowed for phone calls.
Fed chief sees long road
back to economic health
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
nation faces a long road to get back to good economic health, Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.
Bernanke said progress is
being made after the deepest recession since the 1930s. The worst of the
financial crisis is behind the nation and the economy is growing again, he
pointed out.
"But we have a
considerable way to go to achieve a full recovery in our economy, and many
Americans are still grappling with unemployment, foreclosure and lost
savings," the Fed chief said in a speech to an annual meeting of Southern
lawmakers in Charleston, S.C.
Oil tops $81, a jump in
pump prices could follow
Oil prices rose 3 percent
Monday on positive economic news and rallying stock markets. The jump above $81
per barrel could translate into higher pump prices ahead.
Benchmark crude for
September delivery rose about 3 percent after positive reports on manufacturing
in the U.S. and Europe indicated the global economy is continuing to recover. A
rally in global stock markets also helped, as did weakness in the dollar.
The national average for a
gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.735 Monday, according to AAA, Wright
Express and Oil Price Information Service. It's about 0.8 cent less than a
month ago but remains almost 20 cents higher than a year ago.
Humana 2Q net income rises
21 percent on premiums
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) --
Humana Inc. reported a 21 percent upswing in second-quarter profit Monday as
the health insurer's latest strong performance in its vast government segment,
led by its growing Medicare Advantage business, was backed by a big improvement
in its commercial sector.
Based on solid first-half
results, the Louisville-based company raised its net income-per-share
expectations for the full year to a range of $5.65 to $5.75, compared to a
prior range of $5.55 to $5.65. Analysts expect $5.71 per share, on average.
Humana became the latest
health insurer to post strong second-quarter profit, following recent reports
from such competitors as UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Aetna Inc. that also beat
Wall Street expectations.
Government trims borrowing
estimate for this year
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Treasury Department has further trimmed its estimates of the amount of
borrowing it will need to do this year as an improving economy has boosted tax
revenues and cut spending needs more than previously expected.
Treasury said Monday that
it now expects to borrow $1.438 trillion this year, still the second-highest
amount in history. But that is down by 19.5 percent from last year's all-time
record in borrowing of $1.786 trillion.
Post Co. selling Newsweek
to Sidney Harman
NEW YORK (AP) -- Sidney
Harman, the 91-year-old founder of audio equipment maker Harman International
Industries, has agreed to buy Newsweek, ending a nearly half-century chapter
for the magazine as part of The Washington Post Co.
Newsweek has been
struggling to find a profitable niche amid poor economic conditions and a flood
of online competition. Declines in circulation and advertising led to a nearly
$30 million loss in 2009, and Newsweek expects to lose money again this year.
China's Geely completes
acquisition of Volvo
BEIJING (AP) -- Geely
Holding Group completed its acquisition of Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit Monday
in a $1.5 billion deal that gives the small-but-ambitious Chinese automaker a
global brand and huge management challenges.
The legendary Swedish
automaker is China's biggest foreign auto acquisition and an unusually large
deal for a private Chinese company.
Industry analysts say
13-year-old Geely, barely known abroad, will face a struggle in integrating the
two corporate cultures and turning around Volvo Cars, a perennial money-loser
in a country with strong labor unions.
Treasury: 5.6M hires
qualify for new tax break
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Businesses have hired 5.6 million workers under a new program that provides tax
breaks for hiring unemployed workers, the Treasury Department said Monday.
The report, however, does
not estimate how many of those jobs would have been added without the tax
break.
President Barack Obama
signed a law in March that exempts businesses hiring people who have been
unemployed for at least 60 days from paying the 6.2 percent Social Security
payroll tax through December. Employers get an additional $1,000 credit if new
workers stay on the job a full year.
HSBC H1 profit more than
doubles to $6.8 billion
LONDON (AP) -- HSBC said
Monday its net income more than doubled in the first half, surprising investors
and kicking off a week of earning reports from British banks in which even
part-nationalized Lloyds Banking Group is expected to announce a return to
profit.
If analysts' upbeat
forecasts are correct, the results will likely provoke further complaints that
banks are starving business of needed capital while indulging their own
executives with fat bonuses.
HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe's
largest bank in terms of deposits, said its first-half net profit was $6.76
billion compared to $3.35 billion a year earlier as provisions for bad loans
fell by nearly half.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 208.44, or 2
percent, to 10,674.38, its highest close since May 13, when it finished at
10,782.95. All 30 of the Dow stocks closed higher.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index rose 24.26, or 2.2 percent, to 1,125.86, while the Nasdaq composite
index rose 40.66, or 1.8 percent, to 2,295.36.
Benchmark crude for
September delivery rose $2.39, or 3 percent, to settle at $81.34 a barrel on
the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
September contracts, heating oil rose 6.57 cents to $2.1538 a gallon, gasoline
added 4.61 cents to $2.1685 a gallon. Natural gas fell 22.2 cents to 4.701 per
1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude
settled up $2.64 at $80.82 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.