On Wednesday October 27, 2010, 6:10 pm EDT
New home sales rise after
dismal summer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of
new homes improved last month after the worst summer in nearly five decades,
but not enough to lift the struggling economy.
The Commerce Department
says new home sales in September grew 6.6 percent from a month earlier to a
seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 307,000. Even with the increase, the
past five months have been the worst for new home sales on records dating back
to 1963.
Durable goods orders rise,
business spending cools
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A surge
in demand for commercial aircraft lifted orders for big-ticket manufactured
goods in September, but businesses spent less on products that would signal
expansion.
The Commerce Department said
orders for durable goods rose 3.3 percent last month. Overall, it was the best
showing since January. But excluding transportation, orders fell 0.8 percent
after having risen 1.9 percent in August.
Spending by companies on
capital goods excluding aircraft dropped 0.6 percent after rising 4.8 percent
in August. The category, which is viewed as a good proxy for business
investment in the economy, has declined in two of the past three months.
The new report suggests
manufacturing is moving forward but at a slower pace than earlier this year.
Stocks fall amid questions
about Fed plan
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock
prices fell Wednesday as concerns grew over whether the Federal Reserve's plans
to buy Treasury bonds might be smaller and slower than anticipated.
Another day of mixed
earnings and economic reports also dragged down the shares of companies outside
of the technology industry. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 43 points. It
had fallen nearly 150 points before paring much of its losses in the late afternoon.
Stocks had been rising in
recent weeks due to a number of better-then-expected earnings reports and
mounting expectations that the Fed would embark on another round of bond-buying
to stimulate the economy.
Traders have been
anticipating the Fed would buy between $500 billion and $1 trillion in
Treasurys to drive interest rates lower and encourage lending and spending. A
report in The Wall Street Journal said the Fed's bond purchases might amount to
a few hundred billion dollars over several months, which would fall short of
those predictions.
Procter & Gamble
increasing sales with big brands, new products
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Procter
& Gamble Co., which makes Pantene shampoo and Pampers diapers, said
Wednesday that quarterly revenue grew nearly 2 percent on high volumes in its
latest quarter, and forecast growing sales for the rest of the year. The
consumer products company is slowly luring back budget-battered consumers to
its big brands, while attracting new buyers around the globe by getting more products
into emerging markets such as India and China.
ConocoPhillips 3Q earnings
more than double
NEW YORK (AP) --
ConocoPhillips on Wednesday said earnings more than doubled for the third
straight quarter as oil prices rebounded from their 2009 lows.
The Houston oil company is
the first major integrated company to report income for the July-September
period, and its hefty profit suggests that Big Oil will be able to shrug off
expenses from the Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium and low natural gas prices.
Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell will announce their quarterly earnings on
Thursday. Chevron reports on Friday.
Integrated oil companies
are involved in all phases of the business, from exploration and production to
refining and marketing.
Whirlpool 3Q profit falls
as U.S. demand falters
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP)
-- Whirlpool Corp., the world's biggest appliance maker, said Wednesday that
price competition pulled its third-quarter revenue and shipments down 3 percent
in the U.S. and kept revenue nearly flat worldwide, compared with a year
earlier.
The maker of Maytag,
KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Whirlpool and store-brand appliances saw demand rebound
last winter with the arrival of federal rebates on energy-efficient appliances.
And it still expects U.S. shipments to rise 3 percent overall for the year.
The company's third-quarter
earnings fell 9 percent as it tried to keep pace with rivals such as LG and
Samsung.
China official says dollar
printing causing inflation
SHANGHAI (AP) --
Out-of-control printing of the U.S. dollar is forcing inflation on China,
pushing up prices for commodities and labor, trade minister Chen Deming says in
an escalation of rhetoric over currency and other tensions ahead of key
international meetings.
Beijing has been chafing at
U.S. pressure over its currency and massive imbalances in trade and investment
that are symptomatic of deeper problems in the world economy -- Asia and
China's addiction to weak currencies to boost their export-reliant economies
and the legacy of debt-fueled consumption in the U.S.
Fearing a trade war that
could send the world economy into reverse, finance chiefs from the Group of 20
leading advanced and developed nations last weekend vowed to avoid weakening
their currencies. But they did not set specific targets for reducing imbalances
such as China's huge trade surplus and the U.S. trade deficit.
Wells Fargo admits mistakes
in 55K foreclosures
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wells
Fargo & Co. said it made mistakes in 55,000 foreclosure cases and promises
to fix them.
The San Francisco-based
company says it is plans to refile the documents by mid-November. The company
describes the mistakes as technical and says it sees no need to halt the
foreclosure process.
A spokeswoman said the bank
doesn't believe that there are instances in which the foreclosures would not
have occurred.
The documents are being
refiled in the 23 states where a judge's approval is needed to complete a
foreclosure.
European airlines say US
security goes overboard
LONDON (AP) -- European air
officials accused the United States of imposing useless and overly intrusive
travel security measures, calling Wednesday for the Obama administration to
reexamine policies ranging from online security checks to X-raying shoes.
British Airways' chairman
made the first in a wave of complaints, saying in a speech to airport operators
that removing shoes and taking laptops out of bags were "completely
redundant" measures demanded by the U.S.
He was joined less than 24
hours later by British pilots, the owner of Heathrow airport, other European
airlines, and the European Union. The EU submitted formal objections to a
program that requires U.S.-bound travelers from 35 nations to complete online
security clearance before departure. It called the system burdensome and said
it could violate travelers' privacy.
NJ governor says he's
standing by decision to scrap tunnel
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Gov.
Chris Christie cited New Jersey's lack of money Wednesday in standing by his
decision to kill a train tunnel connecting his state to New York City, a move
that will force the state to repay up to $350 million it was given to start the
nation's biggest public works project.
Christie, a rising star in
the Republican Party for his fearless budget-slashing, has argued that his cash-strapped
state can't afford to pay for any overruns on the $9 billion-plus rail tunnel
under the Hudson River. The state is on the hook for $2.7 billion plus
overruns.
"In the end, my
decision does not change," Christie said. "I cannot place upon the citizens
of New Jersey an open-ended letter of credit, and that's what this project
represents."
The federal government and
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were each set to contribute $3
billion to the project, dubbed ARC for "Access to the Region's Core."
Now, New Jersey is likely
to have to repay the federal government $350 million of the $600 million
already spent getting the project started. It's also likely New York City will
make a bid for the $3 billion in committed Port Authority funds to help
complete the city's Second Avenue subway and rail access to Grand Central
Station from Long Island.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 43.18, or 0.4 percent, to 11,126.28, despite trading as much as
150 points lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.19, or 0.3
percent, to 1,182.45. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite index was the
only broad market index to rise, gaining 5.97, or 0.2 percent, to 2,503.26.
Benchmark crude for
December delivery fell 61 cents to settle at $81.94 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil slipped 1.17 cents to close at $2.2383 a gallon and gasoline rose
0.80 cent to $2.1020 a gallon. Natural gas lost 6.2 cents to close at $3.292
per 1,000 cubic feet. Wednesday was the last trading day for the November
natural gas contract, and most interest shifted to the December contract, which
settled 0.3 cent lower at $3.763 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude fell
43 cents to settle at $83.23 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.