AP Business Highlights

Companies:

• Apple Inc.
• Boeing Co.
• Dell Inc.

Topics:

• Industrial Goods

On Friday August 27, 2010, 5:51 pm

Economy edges closer to stalling, government says

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As weak as it was, the economy turns out to have been even worse -- closer than the government first through to stalling out completely or even falling back into recession.

New figures issued Friday paint a darker picture of the economy's performance this spring, growing at a meager 1.6 percent annual pace. The initial estimate was 2.4 percent, and even that was anemic. Analysts say the summer should be disappointing, too.

Shortly after the government's revision, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said the Fed was ready to take additional steps to prevent a second recession, if the economy deteriorates further. But he stopped short of promising any action.

Bernanke speech shows effort to find Fed consensus

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) -- Ben Bernanke is struggling to build consensus among Federal Reserve officials about what steps are needed -- if any -- to give the economy a boost.

It showed in a speech the Fed chairman delivered Friday that carried a mixed message: He sees the economy improving next year, but he stands ready to take bold action if it falters.

Bernanke acknowledged the economy is fragile, especially after the government just reported the weakest quarterly growth in a year. And he said high unemployment poses a serious threat. Still, Bernanke remained optimistic enough to repeat the Fed's forecast for some pickup in growth in 2011 and beyond.

Stocks gain as Bernanke, GDP reassure investors

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks posted big gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was ready to step in if the U.S. economy showed further signs of weakening.

Traders were also encouraged by a downward revision in second-quarter economic growth Friday that wasn't as bad as economists had expected. The Dow Jones industrial average and other indexes all gained more than 1 percent.

Bernanke said in a speech at the Fed's annual conference that while the economic recovery remains tentative, the central bank remains ready to take extra steps to stimulate the economy if necessary, such as buying more debt securities in order to keep interest rates low. He said he still expects the economy to grow next year.

Intel warns 3Q results will miss expectations

NEW YORK (AP) -- Chip-maker Intel Corp. is cutting its sales forecast for the quarter, adding fresh evidence that a rickety economy is putting a damper on the back-to-school shopping season.

Intel is the world's biggest provider of microprocessors for PCs and a bellwether for the broader technology industry.

In a statement Friday, the company said it is seeing weaker than expected demand for PCs in the U.S. and Europe.

The warning comes a little more than a month after Intel reported its biggest quarterly profit in a decade. But those results were fueled by a rebound in technology spending at corporations, many of which held off replacing older computers during the recession.

Boeing again delays first delivery of 787

NEW YORK (AP) -- Boeing Co. postponed the delivery of its first 787 airliner to the middle of the first quarter of 2011, adding to a string of delays that has put it more than two years past its originally scheduled debut.

The latest delay is the result of engine delivery problems, Boeing said in a statement early Friday.

The Chicago company said in July that it expected to start delivering the plane late this year, but it warned that might not happen. Boeing said then that a series of problems, including supplier work related to parts of the tail and instrument issues might push the first delivery "a few weeks into 2011."

The original delivery date for the plane was May 2008.

Recession may have pushed US birth rate to new low

The U.S. birth rate has fallen to its lowest level in at least a century as many people apparently decided they couldn't afford more mouths to feed.

The birth rate dropped for the second year in a row since the recession began in 2007. Births fell 2.6 percent last year even as the population grew, numbers released Friday by the National Center for Health Statistics show.

The birth rate, which takes into account changes in the population, fell to 13.5 births for every 1,000 people last year. That's down from 14.3 in 2007 and way down from 30 in 1909, when it was common for people to have big families.

HP boosts bid for 3Par to $1.88B, topping Dell

SEATTLE (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. boosted its bid for 3Par Inc. to $1.88 billion Friday, topping Dell Inc.'s offer by 11 percent and again raising the stakes in the bidding contest for the data-storage company.

The $30-per-share offer from HP came just hours after Dell matched HP's Thursday bid of $27 per share. The latest price is three times what 3Par was trading at before Dell made its first bid last week, for $18 per share, or $1.13 billion.

Dell and 3Par said earlier Friday that 3Par's board had accepted the latest bid from Dell, which only has to match the terms of other offers under its initial agreement with 3Par, which is based in Fremont, Calif.

Tiffany 2Q net income rises 19 pct on rising sales

NEW YORK (AP) -- Tiffany & Co.'s second-quarter net income rose 19 percent on higher revenue as shoppers bought more of its high-end jewelry around the world, particularly in Asia and Europe.

The chain known for its trademark turquoise boxes raised its full-year earnings guidance to a range partly above analyst estimates. CEO Michael Kowalski said Tiffany looked forward to the second half "with a sense of guarded optimism."

Net income met expectations but revenue fell short, and it said third-quarter growth would be "somewhat restrained" because of higher marketing spending. The luxury industry is recovering from the recession, which spurred shoppers -- even at the high-end -- to spend less as they grappled with uncertain investments and employment prospects.

Paul Allen sues major tech co's, including Google

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen is suing nearly a dozen major technology companies, including Google Inc. and Apple Inc., alleging that they infringed on four Web technology patents held by his company Interval Licensing LLC.

Interval said Friday it filed the suit in a U.S. District Court in Seattle against the companies. Others named in the suit are: Facebook Inc., eBay Inc., Yahoo Inc., Netflix Inc., Office Depot Inc., OfficeMax Inc., Staples Inc. and Google-owned YouTube LLC.

Interval owns patents from Interval Research, which was a technology research and development company that Allen started with David Liddle in the early '90s.

Interval said that the patents it believes are being violated are key to how e-commerce and search companies work. The patents described in the suit refer to technology used for things such as Web browsing and sending alerts over the Web.

By The Associated Press

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 164.84, or 1.7 percent, to close at 10,150.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 17.37, or 1.7 percent, to 1,064.59 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 34.94, or 1.6 percent, to 2,153.63.

Benchmark crude for October delivery rose $1.81 to settle at $75.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Meanwhile, natural gas continued to slide as the contract for September delivery lost 16.6 cents to settle at $3.651 per 1,000 cubic feet. It reached a record low for the year of $3.610 earlier in the day.

In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil added 3.51 cents to settle at $2.0443 a gallon and gasoline gained 3.94 cents to settle at $1.9479 a gallon.

In London, Brent crude rose $1.63 to settle at $76.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.