On Thursday August 26, 2010, 6:23 pm EDT
Scarcity of jobs puts more
at risk of foreclosure
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The jobs
crisis is putting more Americans at risk of losing their homes.
One in 10 households is
facing foreclosure, and more than 2 million homes have been repossessed since
the recession began. Few expect the outlook to improve until companies start to
hire steadily again and layoffs ease.
And while there was some
good news Thursday -- a modest decrease in the number of Americans filing for
jobless benefits for the first time in a month -- the figure is still too high
to bring down the unemployment rate.
HP raises offer for 3Par,
trumping Dell's bid
SEATTLE (AP) --
Hewlett-Packard Co. said Thursday it is raising its offer for data-storage
maker 3Par Inc. to about $1.69 billion, topping a revised bid that rival Dell
Inc. made public earlier in the day.
HP's new offer is for $27
per share in cash. Earlier, Dell said 3Par had accepted its second offer of
$24.30 per share in cash, or $1.52 billion.
Dell made its first offer,
$18 per share, for 3Par on Aug. 16. HP kicked off the bidding contest with its
counteroffer Monday.
The back-and-forth bidding
over previously obscure 3Par underscores how serious Dell and HP, among the
world's largest PC makers, are about finding more profitable businesses than
selling computers.
Toyota recalls 1.33 million
Corollas, Matrixes
NEW YORK (AP) -- Toyota
recalled 1.33 million Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks in the U.S. and
Canada Thursday because their engines may stall, the latest in a string of
quality problems at the Japanese automaker.
The recall covers vehicles
from the 2005-2008 model years sold in the U.S. and Canada. Three accidents and
one minor injury have been reported, though Toyota said a link to the engine
issue has not been confirmed.
Toyota's latest recall is
one of its largest since it began recalling cars and trucks last October. The
automaker has now recalled more than 10 million vehicles worldwide for problems
that run from faulty gas pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerators, to
problems with its Prius hybrid.
Stocks slip as caution
about the economy returns
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
fell Thursday after early gains from a better report on jobless claims faded.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 10,000 for the first time since
early July.
The Dow lost 74 points,
having been up as much as 45 earlier. The market has been trading in a
back-and-forth pattern in recent weeks as many investors remain unconvinced
that the economic recovery will hold.
Stocks have been on a
generally declining trend in August after charging ahead in July. A bevy of
poor indicators on the economy, especially home sales, pierced an optimistic
mood brought on by strong earnings reports the month before.
Bernanke's top tool now may
be power of persuasion
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
economy appears to be stalling. Yet the Federal Reserve has run out of simple
steps it can take to revive it.
That's the test facing Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke as he addresses a conference Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Without any easy options left, Bernanke must try to prevent another recession
by persuading people and businesses to feel confident enough about the future
to spend more today.
The Fed chairman will speak
at 10 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. local time), less than two hours after the government
spells out just how fragile the economy is. The Commerce Department is expected
to report the economy grew at an anemic annual rate of 1.4 percent from April
to June. Growth in the current quarter is shaping up to be just as weak.
FAA seeks $24.2 million
penalty from American
DALLAS (AP) -- Federal
officials are seeking a record penalty of $24.2 million against American
Airlines over maintenance lapses that caused thousands of canceled flights in
2008.
American said the civil
penalty was unwarranted and it would appeal.
The dispute dates to 2008,
when American had to cancel more than 3,000 flights -- inconveniencing 350,000
passengers -- until wiring could be fixed to the satisfaction of the Federal
Aviation Administration.
Natural gas prices slump to
2010 low
NEW YORK (AP) -- Natural
gas prices on Thursday slumped to a record low for the year after the
government reported a rise in U.S. supplies.
The contract for September
delivery gave up 5.4 cents to settle at $3.817 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New
York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, it hit a 2010 low of $3.794.
The price of natural gas,
which is used to produce electricity, tends to drop this time of year as the
weather begins to cool and people turn off their air conditioners. Analysts
said natural gas contracts should continue to fall over the next few months,
and that should eventually push down energy costs for homes and businesses.
Meanwhile, retail gasoline
prices continue to be pushed down by lower oil prices since the beginning of
August.
RIM seeks broad
industry-gov't talks on encryption
NEW YORK (AP) -- Research
In Motion Ltd., which is facing a service shutdown in India next week over
demands for access to its users' e-mails, said Thursday it is seeking to
involve other technology companies in its talks with government officials.
RIM, which is based in
Waterloo, Canada, said it has offered to lead an "industry forum" on
the use of encrypted communications, on which law enforcement can't be easily
eavesdrop.
India has set a Tuesday
deadline for RIM to give access to the e-mails, or the service would be shut
down in the country. There are about 1 million BlackBerry users in India, and travelers
would probably be affected as well.
Number of underwater
mortgages in US fell in 2Q
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Foreclosures are helping to thin the ranks of U.S. homes with mortgages that
exceed what the properties are worth, new data shows.
Real estate data provider
CoreLogic said Thursday there were 11 million homes with so-called underwater
mortgages at the end of June. That's down from 11.2 million at the end of March
and represents the second consecutive quarterly decline. The number of
underwater mortgages typically rises when home prices are falling.
Foreclosures, rather than
rising home prices, accounted primarily for the declines.
Buffett's company offers to
buy rest of Wesco unit
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Warren
Buffett's company said Thursday it will offer to buy the roughly 1.4 million
shares it doesn't already own of its subsidiary Wesco Financial Corp., and the
news sent Wesco's stock soaring 12 percent.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
says it will offer a combination of cash and Class B Berkshire stock to acquire
the remaining 19.9 percent of the Pasadena, Calif., company led by Buffett's
partner and Berkshire's vice chairman, Charlie Munger.
The deal would be worth
roughly $500 million based on Wesco's value at the end of the second quarter.
Government appeals ruling
on FCC indecency rule
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
regulators are appealing a recent court decision that struck down a 2004
government policy that says broadcasters can be fined for allowing even a
single curse word on live television.
A three-judge panel of the
2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York threw out the Federal
Communications Commission policy last month, saying it was unconstitutionally
vague and left broadcasters uncertain of what programming the agency will find
offensive.
The FCC and the Justice
Department asked the court Thursday to reconsider that decision, warning that
the ruling appears to invalidate the FCC's entire approach to regulating
indecency over the airwaves.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 74.25, or 0.7 percent, to 9,985.81. The Dow had traded below
10,000 several times this week, but hadn't closed below that level since July
6.
Broader market barometers
also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 8.11, or 0.8 percent, to
1,047.22, while the Nasdaq fell 22.85, or 1.1 percent, to 2,118.69.
The natural gas contract
for September delivery gave up 5.4 cents to settle at $3.817 per 1,000 cubic
feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, it hit a 2010 low
of $3.794.
Benchmark oil for October
delivery added 84 cents to settle at $73.36 on the Nymex. In London, Brent
crude jumped $1.54 to settle at $75.02 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
September contracts, heating oil rose 3.86 cents to settle at $2.0092 a gallon
and gasoline gained 4.46 cents to settle at $1.9085 a gallon.