On Thursday November 4, 2010, 6:15 pm EDT
Stocks rally around the
world after Fed action
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Global
stock markets staged an explosive rally Thursday, embracing a move by the
Federal Reserve to try to rejuvenate the U.S. economy by buying $600 billion in
Treasury bonds.
The Dow Jones industrial
average reached its highest point in more than two years, and stocks surged
from Tokyo to London.
Elsewhere around the world,
economic dominoes began to fall: The dollar sank. Oil prices surged. Asian
countries raised fears that their currencies would rise relative to the dollar,
making their exports more expensive.
Fed plan will let healthy
banks boost dividends
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Federal Reserve is preparing to let healthy banks boost dividends paid to
investors.
Banks would need to show
the Fed's bank examiners that they're in good financial health and that they
have adequate capital to absorb potential losses -- even after paying the
dividend. The Fed's new guidelines were described by a government official with
knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the
guidelines haven't been issued. They should be released within several weeks,
the official said.
The Fed oversees Wall
Street's biggest banks, including Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase
& Co., and Wells Fargo.
Retailers' modest October
may spur holiday deals
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shoppers
took a breather in October, resulting in lackluster gains for retailers and
raising the stakes on what is sure to be a competitive holiday season.
For Christmas shoppers,
that means that heavy discounts will be coming early and often.
For October, the
International Council of Shopping Centers index measuring revenue at stores
open at least a year showed a 1.6 percent increase in October, the weakest
performance since April's 0.8 percent increase.
Trucks outsell cars by
widest margin in 5 years
DETROIT (AP) -- Trucks
outsold cars by the highest margin in nearly five years in October, a small
sign that the economy may be starting to improve.
These trucks aren't the
tractor-trailers that haul freight. They were vehicles such as pickups, SUVs,
minivans and smaller SUVs, which made up 54 percent of all U.S. vehicle sales
according to industry tracker J.D. Power and Associates, while cars made up 46
percent of the market. That's the biggest margin of difference between the two
categories since December 2005, when trucks accounted for 56 percent of sales.
Strong truck sales make
economists giddy because it means people are willing to spend money again.
Small business owners feel comfortable enough to buy a new pickup truck or
delivery van for their company, and regular folks are confident enough in their
jobs and finances to take on beefy SUV payments.
GM touts China growth in
IPO sales pitch
DETROIT (AP) -- General
Motors Co.'s strength in China and its global growth potential are the focus of
the automaker's sales pitch as it shops for investors ahead of its initial
public offering this month.
GM executives plan to
travel around the world starting Friday to attract interest in GM common stock,
which will begin trading Nov. 18.
The executives will
emphasize that GM is the top seller of cars in China, where its sales have
grown 24-fold since 2000. China will pass the U.S. as the company's top market
this year for the first time.
Cable subscribers flee, but
is Internet to blame?
NEW YORK (AP) -- Cable
companies have been losing TV subscribers at an ever faster rate in the last
few months, and satellite TV isn't picking up the slack.
That could be a sign that
Internet TV services such as Netflix and Hulu are finally starting to entice
people to cancel cable, though company executives are pointing to the weak
economy and housing market for now.
Third-quarter results
reported Thursday by major cable TV companies show major losses, but don't
settle the question of what's causing them.
Stocks set highs for 2010
after boost from the Fed
NEW YORK (AP) -- The
Federal Reserve wanted to push interest rates lower and jump-start financial markets
with its $600 billion economic stimulus plan. So far the Fed is getting the
results it wants.
Long-term interest rates
sank and stock indexes hit new highs Thursday, a day after the Fed announced
its massive bond-buying plan. The Dow Jones industrial average soared nearly
220 points, reaching another high for the year. All three main stock indexes
have now reached 2010 highs this week.
After five straight days of
gains, the Dow Jones industrial average returned to levels last seen in early
September 2008, before the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the worst days of
the financial crisis.
Applications for jobless
aid rise sharply
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
number of people seeking jobless benefits jumped sharply last week, after two
straight weeks of declines.
The increase undermines
hopes that unemployment claims, after falling four times in the previous five
weeks, were on a sustained downward trend. That would signal layoffs were
slowing and hiring was picking up. Instead, claims remain stuck at an elevated
level.
The report comes a day
before the Labor Department is scheduled to release the jobs figures for
October. With claims dropping only modestly over the past month, economists
aren't expecting much progress. They forecast that the jobs report will show
employers added a net total of 60,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment
rate remained 9.6 percent for the third straight month.
Kraft Foods net income dips
in 3Q on ad spending
NORTHFIELD, Ill. (AP) --
Kraft Foods Inc.'s third-quarter net income fell more than 8 percent as it
spent more to promote its brands but saw a major revenue boost from its
acquisition of Cadbury PLC.
The company, based in
Northfield, Ill., reported Thursday that it earned $754 million, or 43 cents
per share for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That compares with $824 million,
or 55 cents per share, in the prior quarter. The company says results for the most
recent quarter include acquisition-related costs and other items of 4 cents per
share.
Revenue rose 26 percent to
$11.9 billion, largely because of its acquisition of Cadbury in February. The
company also raised prices across the board to cope with higher costs for
ingredients and other inputs.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 219.71 points,
or 2.0 percent, to close at 11,434.84. The broader S&P 500 index rose 23.10
points, or 1.9 percent, to 1,221.06, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite
gained 37.07 points, or 1.5 percent to 2,577.34.
Benchmark crude rose $1.80
to settle at $86.49 a barrel. Heating oil added 4.52 cents to settle at $2.3731
a gallon, gasoline gained 3.91 cents to settle at $2.1771 a gallon and natural
gas added 2 cents to settle at $3.856 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude
climbed by $1.62 to settle at $88 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.