On Thursday September 2, 2010, 5:57 pm
Discounts spur surprising
Aug. retail sales gains
NEW YORK (AP) -- This
year's back-to-school season isn't as big a bust for retailers as they feared
-- or as last year's -- but it's not great either.
Americans are spending only
when the item and price are just right, according to August reports from major
chains released Thursday that showed shoppers bought a little more than a year
ago.
Analysts expect stores will
need to keep discounting to get shoppers to spend this fall and for the holiday
season while they grapple with job worries and tight credit.
Data shows jobless claims
drop, retail sales rise
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A weak
economy got a little lift Thursday with new data suggesting companies aren't
pursuing mass layoffs and stores are a little busier.
New applications for
unemployment benefits declined for a second straight week after rising in the
previous three. Retailers reported surprisingly strong sales in August. And
more people signed contracts to buy homes.
Economists were mildly
encouraged by the news, which followed several downbeat reports on housing and
weaker economic growth last week. But few saw signs that the economy is gaining
momentum.
Second Gulf spill puts
moratorium back in question
NEW YORK (AP) -- Just when
America's ban on offshore exploration seemed like it might end, another
disaster in the Gulf of Mexico put Big Oil back on the defensive.
An offshore production
platform owned by Mariner Energy Inc. caught fire Thursday morning about 200
miles west of BP's blown-out well. The incident raised more doubts in Congress
about the risks of offshore drilling.
The Obama administration
had been mulling a quick end to its drilling moratorium, now that BP has
brought its leaking well under control. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said
the Mariner explosion shouldn't affect a decision on the ban, and he would not
link it with BP's well.
Burger King sets sights
overseas after $3.26B sale
CHICAGO (AP) -- Burger
King's new ruler could help its empire expand.
Burger King Holdings Inc.
sealed a deal Thursday to sell itself for $3.26 billion to 3G Capital, an
investment firm with strong ties to Latin America. The fast-food chain's
chairman and CEO, John Chidsey, said the deal will help it expand more rapidly
overseas.
Chidsey, who will become
co-chairman of the company after the tender offer is complete, said the
$24-per-share deal also brings 3G Capital's experience and contacts abroad.
Stocks move higher
following jobs, housing reports
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
rose Thursday, extending their gains from the day before, after reports on
housing, manufacturing and jobs all indicated that the economy continues to
grow.
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 50 points, having jumped 254 on Wednesday thanks to strong reports
on manufacturing in the U.S. and China. Broader indexes also rose.
Trading was somewhat muted
ahead of the government's closely watched monthly report on employment due out
Friday.
Dell cedes data-storage
maker 3Par to HP
SEATTLE (AP) -- Dell Inc.
is walking away from a bidding contest with rival Hewlett-Packard Co. for
data-storage maker 3Par Inc.
Dell said Thursday it won't
match HP's offer to pay $33 per share for 3Par, or about $2.07 billion. Dell's
decision came barely an hour after 3Par announced it had received Dell's
revised offer of $32 per share and then the even stronger bid from HP.
In a statement, 3Par said
Dell's revised offer contained new terms that it found unacceptable, including
a multiyear reseller agreement with Dell that would remain in effect even if
3Par were to be bought by another company.
Bernanke: Shut down banks
if they threaten system
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis
that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions if they
threaten to bring down the financial system.
Bernanke also said while
testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that it was
impossible for the Fed to rescue Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy in 2008
because the Wall Street firm lacked sufficient collateral to secure a loan.
Lehman's former chief executive told the panel a day earlier that the firm
could have been saved, but regulators refused to provide help.
The Fed chief presented his
analysis of the crisis and views on potential systemwide risks as the panel approaches
the end of its yearlong investigation into the Wall Street meltdown.
More Dems buck plan to let
taxes increase for rich
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress
seems increasingly reluctant to let taxes go up, even on wealthier Americans.
Worried about the fragile
economy and their own upcoming elections, a growing number of Democrats are
joining the rock-solid Republican opposition to President Barack Obama's plans
to let some of the Bush administration's tax cuts expire.
Democratic leaders in
Congress still back Obama, but the willingness to raise taxes is waning among
the rank and file as the stagnant economy threatens the party's majority in the
House and Senate.
Oh snap! New baby carrot
campaign mimics junk food
NEW YORK (AP) -- Baby
carrot farmers are launching a campaign that pitches the little, orange,
crunchy snacks as daring, fun and naughty -- just like junk food.
A group of 50 producers
hopes the 'Eat 'Em Like Junk Food' effort starting next week will double the $1
billion market in two or three years.
The goal is to get people
to think of baby carrots as a brand they can get excited about -- not just a
plain, old vegetable. A website, http://www.babycarrots.com, features metal
music and deep male voices chanting "Baby. Carrots. Extreme." On
social networking site Twitter, the campaign's account suggests people eat them
"like there's no tomorrow (maybe there won't be...)"
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 50.63, or 0.5 percent, to close at 10,320.10.
Broader indexes also rose.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.81, or 0.9 percent, to 1,090.10,
while the Nasdaq composite index rose 23.17, or 1.1 percent, to 2,200.01.
Benchmark oil for October
delivery rose $1.11 to settle at $75.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Natural gas for October
delivery lost 1.1 cents to settle at $3.751 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In other Nymex trading in
October contracts, heating oil added 2.12 cents to settle at $2.0623 a gallon
and gasoline gained 3.25 cents to settle at $1.9216 a gallon.
In London, Brent crude rose
58 cents to settle at $76.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.