On Thursday October 21, 2010, 6:02 pm EDT
Toyota recalling 1.5
million cars as woes go on
DETROIT (AP) -- Just when
Toyota thought its safety problems were over, they flare up all over again.
Less than a year after it
was tarnished by reports of runaway cars, the automaker recalled 1.5 million
vehicles Thursday to address brake-fluid and fuel-pump troubles, drawing new
attention to safety issues that have festered inside the company for years.
The world's No. 1 carmaker
said there were no accidents or injuries connected to the latest recall, which
covers some Lexus and Toyota models from the 2004 to 2006 model years, mostly
in the U.S. and Japan.
For Toyota, the latest
recalls hurt the company's image just as it tries to clear up old problems,
said Jean-Pierre Dube, a marketing professor at the University of Chicago.
US shuns some big public
works projects
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- New
Jersey's governor wants to kill a $9 billion-plus train tunnel to New York City
because of runaway costs. Six thousand miles away, Hawaii's outgoing governor
is having second thoughts about a proposed $5.5 billion rail line in Honolulu.
In many of the 48 states in
between, infrastructure projects are languishing on the drawing board, awaiting
the right mix of creative financing, political arm-twisting and timing to move
forward. And a struggling economy and a surge of political candidates opposed
to big spending could make it a long wait.
Has the nation that built
the Hoover Dam, brought electricity to the rural South and engineered the
interstate highway system lost its appetite for big public works projects? At a
time when other countries are pouring money into steel and concrete, is the
U.S. unwilling to think long-term?
Tab for Fannie, Freddie
could soar to $259B
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
government spelled out Thursday just how much the most expensive rescue of the
financial crisis will end up costing taxpayers -- as much as $259 billion for
mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
That figure would be nearly
twice the amount Fannie and Freddie have received so far. To date, the two
companies have received $135 billion from taxpayers and have repaid $13 billion
to the Treasury Department as dividends.
By contrast, the combined
bailouts of financial companies and the auto industry have cost taxpayers
roughly $50 billion, according to Treasury's latest projections. And the
bailouts of Wall Street banks alone, which sparked public fury, have so far
brought taxpayers a $16 billion return.
Stocks up modestly after
early gains
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
finished with modest gains in Thursday trading after pulling back from a rally
that pushed share prices near their highest levels of the year.
In early trading the Dow
Jones industrial average had been up as much as 105 points after index
components Caterpillar Inc., Travelers Cos. and McDonald's Corp. all beat
earnings expectations and AT&T Inc. matched forecasts. The index briefly
turned negative in the afternoon but finished up 39 points.
The Labor Department said
first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. But the decline was
essentially offset by a surprisingly sharp upward revision to the previous
week's claims. First-time claims remain stuck at levels that indicate companies
are not hiring many workers, even though they aren't cutting many jobs either.
Jobless claims fall to
452K, but remain elevated
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fewer
people applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the drop wasn't enough
to reverse a big increase the previous week.
Applications for jobless
benefits fell by 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 452,000, the Labor Department
said Thursday.
The decline comes after the
department substantially revised the previous week's figure to show a rise of
26,000. That was double the increase initially reported.
Even with last week's
decline, applications remain stuck near the 450,000 level. They have fluctuated
around that point for most of this year.
Return of travelers boosts
airline profits
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- United
Continental, Southwest, and JetBlue all reported strong third-quarter profits
on Thursday as more people flew, and paid more to do it.
Because of that, airlines
are restoring some of the flights they cut during the recession. The trick will
be to resist adding so many flights it kills their profits. They want to meet
rising demand without offering so many seats they have to resort to discounts
to fill them.
United Continental Holdings
Inc., for instance, said capacity will grow 3 percent to 4 percent during the
fourth quarter. It said most of that will be restoring flights cut a year ago.
Its capacity should grow no more than 2 percent next year.
JetBlue said fourth-quarter
capacity will rise as much as 10 percent as it continues to add flights in
Boston and the Caribbean. Delta Air Lines Inc. said on Wednesday that
fourth-quarter capacity will rise 5 percent to 7 percent, mostly on
international flights, which it reduced sharply a year ago.
Caterpillar predicts slow
economic growth in 2011
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) --
Caterpillar posted another impressive jump in quarterly profits Thursday and
predicted more sales growth next year, but the world's largest maker of mining
and construction equipment also offered a tepid forecast for global economic
growth.
The company said net income
soared 96 percent to $792 million, or $1.22 per share, in the third quarter
thanks to strong sales in developing nations. Revenue jumped 53 percent to
$11.13 billion.
Caterpillar's results are
considered a strong indicator of global economic health because its machinery
is used all over the world. The company said it expects the global economy to
grow by about 3.5 percent in 2011, with higher growth rates in developing
regions than in the more established economies of the United States, Europe and
Japan.
AT&T adds record number
of iPhones, posts tax gain
NEW YORK (AP) -- AT&T
Inc. sold a record number of iPhones in the latest quarter, continuing to
siphon subscribers from other wireless carriers in a tightening industry.
The country's largest
telecommunications company on Thursday said it activated 5.2 million units of
Apple Inc.'s phone, roughly 400,000 more than analysts had expected.
The iPhone 4 went on sale
on June 24, just before the start of the quarter. Apple's worldwide sales
figures, reported Monday, had already shown the device to be a blockbuster hit,
despite early complaints about reception problems.
AT&T is the exclusive
U.S. carrier for the iPhone, but news reports have said Verizon Wireless is
getting it early next year. The companies haven't confirmed that. If that is
the case, AT&T is in the last quarters of loading up on high-paying iPhone
customers before it has to share the phone.
Smoothies push McDonald's
3Q earnings higher
NEW YORK (AP) -- McDonald's
frappes, smoothies and dollar menu drew in the highest customer count in more
than two decades to push the world's largest burger chain's net income up 10
percent in the third quarter.
Results beat estimates and
shares rose early Thursday to an all-time high of $79.48.
The quarter continues a
long streak of outperforming competitors such as Wendy's and Burger King with
rollouts of new products, including Angus snack wraps, smoothies and frappes,
which McDonald's introduced this summer. The new menu items have kept diners
returning and spending as the economic downturn dampens their appetite for
meals out. Investors like what they see, sending shares up some 26 percent so
far this year.
CEO Jim Skinner said those
smoothies and frappes helped the company achieve its highest customer count in
more than 20 years, though he didn't provide specifics. The chain plans to come
out with new products next year, including oatmeal available all day.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 38.60, or 0.4 percent, to close at 11,146.57. It briefly eclipsed
its highest closing level of 2010, which it reached on April 26.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index rose 2.09, or 0.2 percent, to 1,180.26, while the Nasdaq rose 2.28,
or 0.1 percent, to 2,459.67.
Natural gas prices on
Thursday fell to a new low for the year at $3.346 per 1,000 cubic feet after
the government reported that U.S. supplies grew more than expected last week.
The November contract settled slightly higher, down 17.1 cents at $3.368 per 1,000
cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Benchmark crude oil for
December delivery gave up $1.98 to settle at $80.56 a barrel on the Nymex. Oil
prices are well above the 52-week low of $68.01 set on May 20.
In other Nymex trading in
November contracts, heating oil fell 4.03 cents to settle at $2.2145 a gallon
and gasoline dropped 4.16 cents to settle at $2.0410 a gallon.
In London, Brent crude lost
$1.77 to settle at $81.83 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.