On Friday October 22, 2010, 6:13 pm EDT
Unemployment rate drops in
23 states in September
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly
half of U.S. states reported drops in their unemployment rates last month, the
best showing since June. But job creation was weak in most areas of the
country.
Unemployment fell in 23
states and Washington, D.C., rose in 11 states and was unchanged in 16 during
September, the Labor Department said Friday. The declines were nearly double
the number reported by states in the previous month.
Still, little hiring took
place last month. A survey of employers found that payrolls decreased in 34
states and increased in only 16 states and Washington, D.C.
The unemployment rate can
fall even as job creation is slow if workers stop searching for jobs and drop
out of the labor force. If they aren't looking for work, they aren't counted as
unemployed.
Tribune Co. CEO resigns
amid tales of raunchiness
CHICAGO (AP) -- Tribune Co.
CEO Randy Michaels has resigned amid a backlash to reports of raunchy behavior
at the media company.
Friday's resignation ends
Michaels' 10-month reign as CEO. His departure lets the troubled media company
focus on emerging from bankruptcy protection instead of dealing with the
perception that its leader had fostered the sexist culture of a "frat
house."
Tribune owns the Chicago
Tribune, Los Angeles Times and 19 TV stations. It is preparing to file its
latest plan to end a nearly two-year stint under bankruptcy protection.
Currencies center stage as
G20 gets under way
GYEONGJU, South Korea (AP)
-- The U.S. pressed emerging nations to set targets to reduce their vast trade
surpluses with the West, a plan that could see their currencies rise, as a global
finance summit fumbled for ways to reduce tensions that threaten to escalate
into a trade war.
U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner's proposals, outlined in a letter to the Group of 20 major
developed and emerging nations, met with immediate resistance on the opening
day of a two-day meeting of top finance officials. Japan's Finance Minister
Yoshihiko Noda on Friday called the idea of targets "unrealistic."
The gathering of G-20
finance ministers and central bank governors in the South Korean city of
Gyeongju comes just two weeks after their meeting in Washington failed to iron
out currency differences that have led to fears of a trade war that could
trigger another economic downturn.
Google tightening privacy
leash on its employees
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
Google Inc. is tightening its privacy leash on employees in an effort to ensure
they don't intrude on people while the Internet search leader collects and
stores information about its users.
Besides promoting longtime
employee Alma Whitten to be its director of privacy, Google said Friday that it
will require all 23,000 of its employees to undergo privacy training. The
company also is introducing more checks aimed at making sure workers are
obeying the rules.
Google's tougher privacy
measures appear to be a response to recent breaches that have raised questions
about the company's internal controls and policies.
Stocks end mixed after
trading in narrow range
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
ended on a mixed note Friday at the close of a busy week of earnings news. The
Dow finished slightly down, while the broader Standard and Poor's 500 index and
the Nasdaq both ended with gains.
Stocks stayed within a
narrow range as a recent rally built on strong earnings reports ran out of
steam.
Friday's moves also appear
to be held in check as investors turn their attention to a meeting of finance
ministers and central bank governors in Korea. The group is meeting as tensions
grow over a brewing currency battle that could affect global trade.
HP selling Windows 7 tablet
for business users
NEW YORK (AP) --
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s new tablet might look a little bit like Apple Inc.'s
latest blockbuster gadget but it's no iPad killer.
HP, the world's largest
computer maker, unveiled the Slate 500 on Thursday. It costs $79. Like the iPad,it
has a gesture-sensitive touchscreen and no keyboard. But unlike the iPad, the
device is aimed squarely at business users.
The Slate 500 runs Windows
7, the same Microsoft Corp. operating system found on modern PCs. It also has a
webcam, memory card slot, ports to plug in headphones and a USB port for
accessories such as a keyboards.
Verizon posts 25 pct profit
drop for 3Q
NEW YORK (AP) -- Verizon
Communications Inc., the country's largest wireless carrier, on Friday said its
profit fell 25 percent in the third quarter, held back by a one-time charge for
a pension settlement and the performance of its landline operations, which
barely broke even.
The results show how
Verizon has its feet in two worlds: that of the declining traditional phone
company and the burgeoning, highly profitable cell phone company.
Verizon's landline business
posted operating income of $19 million for the July to September quarter,
compared to $4.9 billion on the wireless side.
FCC demands information
from Cablevision, Fox
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With a
contract dispute still keeping Fox programming off Cablevision systems, federal
regulators are demanding information from both companies about the details of
their negotiations.
Roughly 3 million
Cablevision subscribers in the New York area have been cut off from baseball
playoffs, "House" and other popular Fox shows since Fox pulled its
programming a week ago in a battle over the fees that Cablevision pays.
With the blackout entering
its second week, the Federal Communications Commission sent letters Friday to
executives at Cablevision Systems Corp. and News Corp., which owns Fox. The FCC
is asking the companies to describe how they are meeting a government mandate
to negotiate in "good faith" and provide details about their efforts
to reach a deal. The agency is also asking both companies to provide any
evidence that the other side is not bargaining in good faith.
Honeywell 3Q earnings fall
due to pension charge
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) -- A
noncash pension charge pushed Honeywell International Inc.'s third-quarter
earnings down 18 percent, but the company reported a strong revenue increase on
sales of automotive turbochargers, general industrial products and commercial
aviation equipment.
The technology and
manufacturing company beat Wall Street estimates and it boosted its earnings
forecast for the year.
Honeywell on Friday
reported net income of $499 million, or 64 cents per share, compared with $608
million, or 80 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the
quarter grew by 9 percent to $8.39 billion.
Caterpillar to buy German
engine firm for $810M
Caterpillar's plans to
acquire German engine maker, MWM Holding GmbH, should invigorate its engine
division and help the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment
continue to grow.
Caterpillar Inc. said
Friday that it would pay private-equity firm 3i for 580 million euros, or about
$810 million, in cash for MWM.
Caterpillar said the deal
will help it significantly expand options for customers of its electric power
division. MWM, which stands for Motoren-Werke Mannheim, specializes in
combustion engines for natural gas, special gases and diesel.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 14.01, or 0.1 percent, to 11,132.56. The Standard and Poor's 500
index rose 2.82, or 0.2 percent, to 1,183.08, and the Nasdaq composite index
rose 19.72, or 0.8 percent, to 2,479.39. Each index finished the week with
gains.
Benchmark crude for
December delivery rose $1.13 to settle at $81.69 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
November contracts, heating oil added 3.71 cents to settle at $2.2516 a gallon,
gasoline gained 2.28 cents to settle at $2.0638 a gallon. Natural gas fell 3.6
cents to settle at $3.332 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude rose
$1.13 to settle at $82.96 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.