On Wednesday August 25, 2010, 6:11 pm EDT
Bad news on homes, goods
adds to air of recession
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
economic recovery appears to be stalling as companies cut back last month on
their investments in equipment and machines and Americans bought new homes at
the weakest pace in decades.
Taking out the volatile
transportation category, the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods
fell at the steepest rate since January. And business orders for capital goods
took their sharpest drop since January 2009, when the economy was stuck in the
deepest recession in decades.
Separately, Commerce said
new home sales fell 12.4 percent in July from a month earlier to a seasonally
adjusted annual sales pace of 276,000. That was the slowest pace on records
dating back to 1963. Collectively, the past three months have been the worst on
record for new home sales.
Stocks recover following
weak home sales report
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
recovered from an early slump and ended higher after traders picked through the
market for beaten-down stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial
average gained 20 points Wednesday, its first gain in five days, after having
been down as much as 102 points. The market opened lower following weak reports
on new home sales and durable goods orders, renewing fears that the economic
recovery is losing steam.
Buying interest picked up
steadily in the afternoon, however, bringing the Dow back up above the 10,000
level. Traders willing to dip back into riskier assets also pared their
holdings of Treasurys, which had been rallying in recent days on economic
worries.
Toll Brothers posts profit
for 3rd quarter
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Toll
Brothers Inc. on Wednesday posted a fiscal third-quarter profit, but the luxury
homebuilder said fewer buyers signed contracts, another sign that housing and
the broader economy are stumbling.
After an initial pickup in
deposits and customer traffic in the first few weeks of May, buyer demand
retreated and has remained essentially flat ever since, the company said.
Management blamed weak
flagging consumer confidence, not a demand hangover from homebuyer tax credits
that expired in April.
AAA: More people will hit
the road this Labor Day
DENVER (AP) -- More
Americans will get away for the Labor Day weekend this year, yet stick closer
to home as they try to get the most for their money, AAA said Wednesday.
The auto club expects 34.4
million people to travel at least 50 miles from home between Sept. 2 and Sept.
6.
That's up nearly 10 percent
from 2009 -- one of the lowest Labor Day volumes in AAA's record keeping
history -- but below the 45 million who traveled during the Labor Day weekend
in 2008.
SEC bolsters shareholders'
vote for board seats
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved changes that make it
easier for shareholders to nominate directors of public companies.
The 3-2 vote allows groups
that own at least 3 percent of a company's stock to put their nominees for
board seats on the annual proxy ballot sent to all shareholders. The new
financial overhaul law enacted last month formally gave the SEC the authority
to make the change.
Under the current system,
investors must appeal to shareholders at their own expense if they seek new
directors on a company's board or a bylaw change.
The new policy was long
sought by investor advocates.
Source: Dell plans sweeter
3Par bid after HP trump
SEATTLE (AP) -- Dell is
planning a second offer to try to keep data storage maker 3Par out of
Hewlett-Packard's hands. That's according to a person familiar with the
situation.
The exact timing and amount
of Dell's offer are not known. The person says Dell's bid will likely top
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s offer Monday of $1.5 billion. Dell had previously offered
$1.13 billion.
The person spoke on
condition of anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak publicly
about the offer.
BP vice president testifies
before federal panel
HOUSTON (AP) -- A BP vice
president told a panel of federal investigators Wednesday that critical time
was lost after the Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion because documents that
could have led to a faster response weren't available.
In the end, it didn't
matter, because the blowout preventer -- a device designed to prevent oil from
spilling after a blowout -- failed, Harry Thierens, BP's vice president for
drilling and completions testified.
After the April 20
explosion that killed 11 people, some 206 million gallons of oil spewed into
the Gulf until mid-July, when a temporary cap stopped the flow. A permanent fix
is expected to be put in place after Labor Day.
BHP profit more than
doubles to $12.7 billion
SYDNEY (AP) -- BHP Billiton
Ltd., the world's biggest miner, said Wednesday its full year earnings more
than doubled, as the company slashed its debt and enjoyed record demand for
iron ore.
Net profit for the year to
June 30 was $12.7 billion, up from $5.9 billion the year before, the Melbourne
company said.
Revenue for the year was
$52.8 billion, up 5.2 percent from $50.2 billion a year earlier amid record
sales of iron ore, metallurgical coal and petroleum.
Despite the strong result,
the company said it remained "cautious" on the short-term outlook for
the global economy.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average closed up 19.61, or 0.2 percent, at 10,060.06
Broader market barometers
also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 3.46, or 0.3 percent, to
1,055.33, while the Nasdaq rose 17.78, or 0.8 percent, to 2,141.54.
Benchmark crude for October
delivery rose 89 cents to settle at $72.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. Crude has fallen about 11.5 percent from around $82 a barrel early
this month.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil rose 3.49 cents to settle at $1.9706 a gallon, gasoline gained 1.45
cents to settle at $1.8639 a gallon. Natural gas lost 16.8 cents to settle at
$3.871 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude rose
$1.10 to settle at $73.48 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.