On Thursday September 23, 2010, 6:09 pm EDT
Blockbuster files for
bankruptcy protection
NEW YORK (AP) --
Blockbuster Inc., once the dominant movie rental company in the U.S., filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday, reeling from mounting losses,
rising debt and competitors that have better catered to Americans' changed
media habits.
For now, Blockbuster will
continue to operate its 3,300 U.S. stores, although analysts expect hundreds of
them to close under new owners led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn. The
Dallas-based company has about 25,500 employees, including 7,500 full-time
workers.
US restricts, EU bans
controversial diabetes pill
European regulators ordered
the diabetes drug Avandia off the market and the Food and Drug Administration
placed stringent restrictions on its use in the United States, saying heart
attack risks associated with the former blockbuster are too great a safety
concern to continue its use for most people.
In simultaneous news
briefings Thursday, the European Medicines Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration announced their long-awaited decisions on the fate of
GlaxoSmithKline's controversial drug. The European regulator said it would stop
authorizing marketing of Avandia, which will be banned from sales within the
next few months.
The FDA said new patients
will be able to get a prescription for Avandia, but only if they can't control
their blood sugar with other medications. Doctors will have to document that
their patients are eligible to receive the drug and have been briefed on its
risks. FDA expects the restricted plan "will limit use of Avandia
significantly."
Avis returns with a bigger
bid for Dollar Thrifty
NEW YORK (AP) -- Avis
raised its offer for Dollar Thrifty to $1.52 billion in cash and stock
Thursday, one week before a scheduled vote by shareholders on a bid from rival
car rental company Hertz.
The latest offer from Avis
values Dollar Thrifty at $53 per share, compared with a $50 per-share offer
from Hertz.
The rental-car rivals are
fighting for control of Dollar Thrifty, a chain known for lower rates that
appeal to leisure travelers, to gain access to those customers.
The entire industry has
been hammered by a drop-off in business car rentals and that has created a new
urgency to capture leisure travelers and others that are still spending money
to travel.
Louisiana senator holds up
nominee over moratorium
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu said Thursday she will block a Senate vote to
confirm the nominee to a key White House economic office to protest the
six-month moratorium on deepwater oil and gas drilling in the Gulf.
Landrieu, a Democrat, said
she will object to a vote on Jacob Lew to head the Office of Management and
Budget until the administration lifts or significantly modifies the moratorium
imposed last May after the BP oil spill.
McDonald's boosts quarterly
dividend by 11 percent
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) --
McDonald's Corp. is boosting its quarterly dividend by 11 percent to 61 cents,
and analysts expect the world's biggest hamburger chain to continue returning
cash to shareholders while still investing in its restaurants.
The chain, based in Oak
Brook, Ill., has been generating increased profits and revenue in the economic
downturn by catering to frugal shoppers and coming out with new products such as
smoothies to keep them interested.
McDonald's has raised its
dividend every year since its first dividend was paid in 1976.
New requests for jobless
benefits rise
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Applications for unemployment benefits increased last week for the first time
in five weeks.
Initial claims for jobless
aid rose by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 465,000, the Labor Department said
Thursday. Many economists had expected a flat reading or small drop.
The rise suggests that jobs
remain scarce and some companies are still cutting workers amid weak economic
growth. Initial claims have fallen from a recent spike above a half-million
last month. But they have been stuck above 450,000 for most of this year.
Nike first-quarter net
income rises
BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) --
Nike Inc. says growing demand for its products and strong margins drove its
first-quarter net income up 9 percent.
The world's largest
athletic shoe maker reported Wednesday that it earned $559 million, or $1.14
per share, for the quarter. That's up from $513, or $1.04 per share, in the
same quarter of the prior year.
Average mortgage rates
unchanged at 4.37 percent
NEW YORK (AP) -- Rates on
30-year mortgages this week were unchanged from the previous week, staying
slightly above the lowest level in decades.
The average rate for
30-year fixed loans this week was 4.37 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said
Thursday. Earlier this month, the rate dipped to 4.32 percent, which was the
lowest level on records dating back to 1971.
The average rate on 15-year
fixed loans also was unchanged at 3.82 percent. That is the lowest on records
dating back to 1991.
Rates have fallen since
spring as investors poured money into the safety of Treasury bonds, lowering
their yield. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.
AMD cuts 3Q guidance,
blames weak consumer sale
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has lowered its third-quarter outlook, supplying
fresh evidence that consumers' penny-pinching on personal computers has led to
a painful back-to-school shopping season for some technology companies.
AMD is the world's No. 2
maker of PC microprocessors, the "brains" of those machines.
Its announcement Thursday
reinforces a message the computer industry has been sending for the past month:
stubborn unemployment and worries that the global economic recovery is
sputtering have caused many consumers to close their wallets when it comes time
to buy a new PC.
Rite Aid takes bigger 2Q
loss on lower sales
NEW YORK (AP) -- Drugstore
operator Rite Aid Corp. on Thursday reported a bigger loss for its fiscal
second quarter as its revenue slipped 2.5 percent and it refinanced some of its
debts.
The Camp Hill, Pa., company
said it expects a bigger loss this year because of weaker sales and charges
related to debt refinancing, which reduces its interest expenses. It cut its
revenue estimate by about $200 million.
Rite Aid is the third
largest drugstore chain in the U.S. behind Walgreen and CVS.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 76.89, or 0.7 percent, to close at 10,662.42. The Standard &
Poor's 500 index fell 9.45, or 0.8 percent, to 1,124.83, falling back below a
closely watched threshold of 1,131. That had been the high end of its recent
trading range until Monday, when the index charged above that level and stayed
there, something analysts see as a bullish sign. Prior to Monday, the S&P
had only crossed above 1,131 one time since June 21.
The Nasdaq composite index
fell 7.47, or 0.3 percent, to 2,327.08.
In other trading, heating
oil rose 0.75 cent to settle at $2.1145 a gallon and gasoline added 1.60 cents
to settle at $1.9174 a gallon.
In London, Brent crude
gained 16 cents to settle at $78.11 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.