On Thursday August 12, 2010, 5:43 pm EDT
Jobs picture dims as
unemployment claims rise
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
economy is looking bleaker as new applications for jobless benefits rose last
week to the highest level in almost six months.
It's a sign that hiring
remains weak and employers may be going back to cutting their staffs. Analysts
say the increase suggests companies won't be adding enough workers in August to
lower the 9.5 percent unemployment rate.
First-time claims for
jobless benefits edged up by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the Labor
Department said Thursday. That's the highest total since February. Analysts had
expected claims to fall.
GM posts another profit,
moves toward stock sale
DETROIT (AP) -- In a signal
moment for the turnaround of the American auto industry, General Motors is
edging toward a public stock sale, and its profits are now solid enough that
the demanding CEO will step aside, saying his work is done.
GM said Thursday that it
made $1.3 billion from April through June, its second straight quarter in the
black and a complete reversal from last year, when it was forced into
bankruptcy and the U.S. government took a majority stake.
CEO Ed Whitacre said he
would leave his post Sept. 1. He said the GM board knew all along that he would
do so after the company returned to health, and industry analysts said it was
an important step leading up to the stock sale.
Stocks fall after Cisco
earnings, jobless data
NEW YORK (AP) -- Technology
companies led the stock market to its third straight loss Thursday after an
earnings report from Cisco Systems raised more questions about the economy.
A weekly employment report
that was weaker than expected also made investors uneasy about the strength of
the economic recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 58 points and now
has an almost 380-point loss the past three days. The Dow has also fallen five
of the last six days. The Nasdaq composite index had a steeper loss in
percentage terms, a reflection of the drop in tech stocks.
Mortgage rates hit 4.44
pct. as economy sours
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Growing
pessimism over the weak economic recovery pushed mortgage rates to the lowest
level in decades for the seventh time in eight weeks.
The average rate on a
30-year fixed mortgage hit 4.44 percent this week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac
said Thursday. And some brokers say homeowners looking to refinance have even
managed to do so for as low as 4 percent.
Still, cheap rates have
done little to boost the struggling housing market. Instead, they are
highlighting investors' fears that the rebound is stalling and the country
could be slipping back into a recession.
Kohl's 2Q net income rises,
but outlook less rosy
NEW YORK (AP) -- Kohl's
Corp. second-quarter net income rose nearly 14 percent as the moderate-price
department store chain continued to draw more shoppers from rivals for its
exclusive fashions, but job worries are making customers spend less per visit.
Kohl's trimmed the top end
of its yearly outlook because of spending to improve its e-commerce business
and expectations for slowing sales growth in the second half of the year amid
an uncertain economy. Shares fell $1.69, more than 3 percent, to $46.09 on the
tepid outlook.
AB InBev Q2 profit up 7.5
pct on World Cup boost
BRUSSELS (AP) --
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world's largest brewer, said Thursday that the
football World Cup helped push up sales in the second quarter, boosting net
profit by 7.5 percent to $1.15 billion.
The producer of Budweiser,
Stella Artois and Beck's said results this year beat its own expectations and
those of market analysts and will continue to grow through 2010.
Revenue rose 4.1 percent to
$9.2 billion in the second quarter. The Belgium-based company said it sold 2
percent more beer, while soft drinks rose 5.5 percent.
Travel agency MakeMyTrip
soars in market debut
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of
Indian travel agency MakeMyTrip Ltd. soared 89 percent in their market debut on
the Nasdaq exchange, even as the broader markets declined.
It marked the best
first-day performance for an IPO since Athenahealth Inc. debuted in September
2007 and finished up 97 percent -- the top first-day performer that year.
MakeMyTrip likely attracted
so much investor interest because there are very few Indian companies listed in
the U.S. that focus on growth within India, said Josef Schuster of IPOX Capital
Management, an IPO investment adviser.
Cisco shares sink as tech
bellwether sees slowdown
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of
Cisco Systems Inc. slid Thursday after the world's biggest provider of
networking gear warned of a slowdown in technology spending.
Cisco CEO John Chambers
told analysts Wednesday that the company is getting "mixed signals"
from customers. The company's sales forecast for the quarter ending in October
came to between $10.65 billion and $10.83 billion, while Wall Street analysts
were expecting $10.95 billion.
India sets Aug. 31 deadline
for BlackBerry info
NEW DELHI (AP) -- India's
Home Ministry threatened Thursday to block BlackBerry corporate e-mail and
messaging services unless the device's manufacturer makes them accessible to
its security agencies by Aug. 31.
The ministry said that if
no technical solution is provided by then, it will take steps to block the
services from the country's mobile phone network. The phones are made by
Canada's Research In Motion Ltd.
By The Associated Press
The Dow fell 58.88, or 0.6
percent, to 10,319.95. The average has lost 360 points over the past six days.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index fell 5.86, or 0.5 percent, to 1,083.61. The Nasdaq composite index
fell 18.36, or 0.8 percent, to 2,190.27.
Benchmark crude for
September delivery fell $2.28 to settle at $75.74 on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. Prices declined for a third straight day.
In other Nymex trading in
September contracts, natural gas lost 3 cents to settle at $4.296 per 1,000
cubic feet; heating oil fell 7.37 cents to settle at $2.0015 a gallon and
gasoline dropped 4.28 cents to settle at $1.9548 a gallon.
In London, Brent crude gave
up $2.12 to settle at $75.52 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.