Signs of healing in manufacturing lift stocks
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Standard & Poor's 500 index is four digits again.
The widely used stock market
measure broke above 1,000 on Monday for the first time in nine months as
reports on manufacturing, construction and banking sent investors more signals
that the economy is gathering strength. The S&P is used as a benchmark for
many mutual funds.
Indexes all rose more than 1
percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which climbed 115 points.
Cash for clunkers boosts July
US auto sales
DETROIT (AP) -- Lured by the
government's cash for clunkers campaign, car and truck buyers started returning
to showrooms last month, as Ford Motor Co. reported its first U.S. sales
increase in nearly two years and other major automakers said sales showed signs
of stability.
Hyundai and Subaru joined
Ford in the plus column. Chrysler, which had been the worst-performing of the
major automakers, managed a single-digit decline in July. If converted to an
annual rate, overall industry sales could top 10 million cars and trucks for
the first time in 2009.
As recently as 2007, car and
light truck sales topped 16 million vehicles, but the recession, tight credit
and a lack of consumer confidence sent sales plunging late last year.
BofA pays $33M SEC fine over
Merrill bonuses
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bank of
America Corp. has agreed to pay a $33 million penalty to settle government
charges that it misled investors about Merrill Lynch's plans to pay bonuses to
its executives, regulators said Monday.
In seeking approval to buy
Merrill, Bank of America told investors that Merrill would not pay year-end
bonuses without Bank of America's consent. But the Securities and Exchange
Commission said Bank of America had authorized New York-based Merrill to pay up
to $5.8 billion in bonuses.
That rendered a statement
Bank of America mailed to 283,000 shareholders of both companies about the
Merrill deal "materially false and misleading," the SEC said in a
statement.
US manufacturing contraction
slowest since August
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S.
manufacturing activity should grow next month for the first time since January
2008 as industrial companies work to restock customers' bare shelves, a trade
group said Monday.
The Institute for Supply
Management's better-than-expected report mirrored improving manufacturing data
overseas. Following last week's report that the U.S. economy shrank less than
expected in the second quarter, many economists believe the longest recession
since World War II may be over, though any recovery will be subdued.
The ISM, a trade group of
purchasing executives, said its index measuring U.S. manufacturing activity in
July showed the slowest pace of decline since last August. The 48.9 reading was
up from 44.8 in June. Production and new orders jumped to their highest level
in two years, while new export orders grew after shrinking for nine months.
Former MetLife CEO to lead
AIG as president, CEO
American International Group
Inc. named former MetLife Inc. chairman and CEO Robert Benmosche Monday as its
new president and chief executive.
Benmosche, 65, will replace
CEO Edward Liddy, former CEO of Allstate Corp., who took over last fall after
the government bailed out the New York-based insurer.
In May, Liddy said he would
step down from the chairman and CEO roles at AIG. His announcement came at the
same time the company said it would split the roles of chairman and chief
executive, similar to what many other financial firms have done in recent
months.
AIG has Benmosche, who is
also joining the company's board, will take his new positions next Monday, Aug.
10.
GM buyout offers falls short
of goal, layoffs loom
DETROIT (AP) -- About 6,000
General Motors Co. blue-collar workers have taken the latest round of early
retirement and buyout offers, but it fell short of the company's goal, meaning
more layoffs are likely.
GM has about 54,000 factory
workers and wants to end the year with 40,500, a cut of about 13,500. Monday's
report means that about 7,500 too few workers took the offers, setting the
stage for more layoffs.
The automaker announced in
June and July that it would close 15 U.S. factories employing about 22,000
workers by end of 2012.
Former Citi CFO takes Bank
of America job
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Bank
of America Corp. shuffled some of its top executives Monday and said some of
the managers might be in a position to succeed CEO Ken Lewis.
One of the changes brought
former Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Sallie Krawcheck to Bank of America to
run its global wealth and investment management operation. The company also
announced that its head of consumer banking was leaving and that other
executives were being moved into new positions.
The bank, which received $45
billion in bailout money, is under pressure from the federal government to
improve its performance.
'Cash for clunkers' deals
could end Friday
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
popular but overwhelmed "cash for clunkers" program is still rolling
ahead, but the White House says the Senate better approve $2 billion without
delay or the big rebates for car buyers could be history by week's end.
Senate skeptics appear to be
in no hurry.
On Monday, the Obama
administration pointed to environmental gains made during the first week of the
program, which gives rebates of as much as $4,500 to motorists who trade in gas
guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. The White House also highlighted
recovery news from Ford Motor Co., which reported its first U.S. sales increase
in nearly two years.
Google CEO leaves Apple board
to avoid conflicts
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google
Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple Inc.'s board because
of the companies' conflicting interests as competition between the one-time
allies heats up.
The split announced Monday
comes just a few weeks after Google unveiled plans for a personal computer
operating system that could siphon sales from Apple's Mac line and just a few
days after the Federal Communications Commission contacted the companies about
Apple's decision to block a Google application from its popular iPhones.
Regulators from the Federal
Trade Commission had already been looking into whether Schmidt's dual role on
the boards of Google and Apple would make it easier for the technology
trailblazers to collude in ways that would diminish competition.
Thorny questions about
corporate governance could remain, even though Apple and Schmidt mutually
agreed to sever their ties. That's because another Google director, Genentech
Inc. Chairman Arthur Levinson, remains on Apple's board.
By The Associated Press
Major stock indicators
pushed to fresh highs for the year. The Dow Jones industrial average rose for
the third day, advancing 114.95, or 1.3 percent, to 9,286.56.
The S&P 500 index rose
15.15, or 1.5 percent, to 1,002.63, its first move above 1,000 since Nov. 4.
The index first closed above that mark in February 1998 and is up 48.2 percent
since its recent low on March 9.
The Nasdaq composite index
rose 30.11, or 1.5 percent, to 2,008.61, its first close above 2,000 since October.
Benchmark crude for
September delivery rose 3 percent, or $2.13 to settle at $71.58 a barrel on the
New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the third straight day of substantial
increases on the energy futures markets and the first time in a month that crude
traded above $70.
In other Nymex trading,
gasoline for August delivery rose 5.67 cents to settle at $2.0693 a gallon and
heating oil gained 3.88 cents to settle at $1.8713. Natural gas for August
delivery jumped 37.8 cents to settle at $4.031 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude
prices rose $1.85 to settle at $73.55 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.