On Friday September 3, 2010, 5:57 pm EDT
Companies add 67K workers,
but jobless rate rises
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Private
employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, a
glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But the
unemployment rate rose because not enough jobs were created to absorb the
growing number of people looking for work.
Companies added a net total
of 67,000 new jobs last month and both July and June's private-sector job
figures were upwardly revised, the Labor Department said Friday.
While the report hardly
suggests the economy is out of danger, it's a reassuring sign after weeks of
troubling data and comes after some encouraging economic figures in the past
week.
Stocks extend September
rally after jobs report
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock
market had its first winning week in a month thanks to better news on the
economy.
The Dow Jones industrial
average jumped 128 points Friday, its fourth straight day of gains. The strong
start to September marked a turnaround from a dismal performance in August.
A better-than-expected
report on employment Friday was the latest piece of improving news on the
economy. Stocks also gained earlier this week following signs that
manufacturing was gaining in the U.S. and China.
Even after its four-day
run, which added 438 points to the Dow, the index is still 6.8 percent below
the 2010 high it reached on April 26. Stocks had eased slightly after a report
showed that the services sector didn't grow as fast as hoped in August.
What now for Gulf? Fire
complicates drill debate
WASHINGTON (AP) -- News of
another oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico, so soon after the BP oil spill, has
set off a wave of anxiety along the Gulf Coast and prompted calls for the
government to extend its six-month ban on deepwater drilling.
Just when it seemed the
Obama administration might be ready to lift the unpopular ban, the fire raises
new questions about the dangers of offshore drilling, leaving the industry
wondering when it can get back to work.
Obama planning new package
of economic aid
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Eager to
jumpstart the economy ahead of crucial midterm elections, President Barack
Obama said Friday he intends to unveil a new package of proposals, likely
including tax cuts and targeted spending, to spark job growth.
Obama spoke in the Rose
Garden after the August jobs report came out better than expected, showing the
private sector adding 67,000 new jobs last month and revising upward the
numbers from June and July. But unemployment ticked upward to 9.6 percent as
more people entered the job market, and the president said it wasn't good
enough.
Administration officials
say a big new stimulus bill like last year's $814 billion measure is not in the
offing -- nervous lawmakers looking to November's balloting would not be
expected to approve an expensive new measure. But Obama said he'd be proposing
a new set of ideas next week. He's likely to detail them during a speech on the
economy Wednesday in Cleveland, midway through an economy-focused week capped
by a rare White House news conference.
Campbell reports Q4 profit
rise on better margins
HADDONFIELD, N.J. (AP) --
Summer is rarely a hot sales season for Campbell Soup Co., and this year's
sweltering June and July made that even more true, but the company said Friday
that cost-cutting and strong drink sales helped its net income climb.
The results topped most
Wall Street expectations, but Campbell's outlook spooked many investors, and
its shares slid 3 percent Friday.
The Camden company reported
that its fourth-quarter net income rose 63 percent from the same period last
year to $113 million, or 33 cents per share. Excluding one-time items from
2009's results, the increase was 7 percent.
UPS cargo plane crashes
near Dubai airport
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
(AP) -- A UPS cargo plane with two crew members on board crashed shortly after
takeoff Friday outside Dubai, officials said.
The state news agency WAM,
quoting the General Civil Aviation Authority, reported that the "bodies of
two pilots" had been found at the scene, but UPS did not confirm that.
The plane went down inside
an Emirati air base near a busy highway intersection about 10 miles (16
kilometers) southeast of Dubai's international airport. WAM said the crash
occurred in an unpopulated desert area, suggesting there may not have been
casualties on the ground.
Experts see trouble ahead
for developed world
CERNOBBIO, Italy (AP) -- Is
the global economy out of the woods? Two years after near-meltdown, with the
U.S. looking sluggish, equity markets groggy and Europeans fighting a debt
crisis, experts gathered in Italy offered a generally gloomy outlook,
especially for the United States and much of the industrialized world.
The doomsayers were led by
New York University economist Nouriel Roubini, who warned of a
"significant risk of a double-dip recession" in the U.S., Japan and
many European countries.
Some of the assembled
experts and leaders at the annual Ambrosetti Forum on the shores of Lake Como
were somewhat more upbeat, but most appeared to agree on a sobering array of
basic problems standing in the way of true recovery.
Watch those gas pumps;
prices expected to fall
DENVER (AP) -- Gasoline
prices have been falling for weeks, and they could go even lower as autumn's
leaves begin to drop.
The national average for a
gallon of unleaded regular was $2.681 on Friday, according to AAA, Wright
Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's 6.6 cents lower than a month
ago and 8.5 cents higher than a year ago.
The national average has
stayed below $3 a gallon for nearly two years, and most analysts think it won't
return to that level anytime soon.
AP Interview: Wikipedia
founder bullish on news
CERNOBBIO, Italy (AP) --
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales believes relief may be in sight for the
beleaguered news media industry.
The increasing use of the
mobile Internet and for-pay "apps" that run on smart phones and other
gadgets might give news providers what they've been searching for: a way to
charge for digital content, Wales told The Associated Press in an interview
Friday.
As founder of one of the
world's most popular websites, the 44-year-old American is a key Internet
entrepreneur.
Goldcorp to buy Andean
Resources for $3.42B
TORONTO (AP) -- Canada's
Goldcorp Inc. said Friday it has agreed to buy Andean Resources Ltd. for about
3.6 billion Canadian dollars (US$3.42 billion), trumping a rival bid from
Eldorado Gold Corp.
The acquisition would give
Goldcorp, the world's second-largest gold producer by market capitalization,
access to Andean's Cerro Negro gold project in Argentina, which is said to have
a significant amount of gold and silver.
The Goldcorp-Andean deal
has been approved by both companies' boards but requires approval by a majority
of Andean shareholders. The companies expect the deal to close later this year
or in early 2011.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average closed up 127.83, or 1.2 percent, at 10,447.93.
Broader indexes also rose.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 14.41, or 1.3 percent, to 1,104.51,
while the Nasdaq composite index rose 33.74, or 1.5 percent, to 2,233.75.
Benchmark crude for October
delivery fell 42 cents to settle at $74.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
In other October contracts,
heating oil fell 0.5 cent to $2.0573 a gallon, gasoline slipped 0.21 cent to
$1.9195 a gallon and natural gas added 18.8 cents to $3.939 per 1,000 cubic
feet.
In London, Brent crude lost
26 cents to $76.67 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.