On Tuesday November 30, 2010, 6:16 pm EST
Cut-off of jobless aid
would lower economic growth
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If
Congress lets unemployment benefits expire this week for the long-term
unemployed, they won't be the only ones to feel the pain. The overall economy
would suffer, too.
Unemployment benefits help
drive the economy because the jobless tend to spend every dollar they get,
pumping cash into businesses. A cut-off of aid for millions of people
unemployed for more than six months could squeeze a fragile economy, analysts
say.
Among the consequences they
envision over the next year are slower economic growth, more job losses and
hundreds of thousands more people falling into poverty.
EU launches antitrust probe
into Google
BRUSSELS (AP) -- European
Union regulators will probe whether Google Inc. has been manipulating its
search results to stifle competition, funnel more traffic to its own services
and protect its global stranglehold of the online search market.
The European Commission's
move, announced Tuesday, is the first formal investigation by a major
regulatory agency into these issues and could potentially result in billions in
fines, as in the recent cases of Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp.
Several competitors, one
owned by Microsoft, say that links to their services appear too low on Google's
general search results. They also claim that when Google offers similar
services, such as online price comparison, it puts its own links higher on the
sponsored search results, the ones companies have to pay for.
Merck names Frazier CEO to
succeed Clark
NEW YORK (AP) -- Merck
& Co. on Tuesday named as its new CEO the executive who engineered the
company's legal strategy following the Vioxx recall, which culminated in a
multibillion dollar nationwide settlement.
The promotion puts Kenneth
C. Frazier in the top spot as Merck absorbs Schering-Plough. The $41 billion
acquisition added a strong lineup of drugs to bolster Merck's pipeline.
Frazier, 55, is currently
Merck's president and will become a board member as part of the promotion. He
was named president in April after working three years as head of Merck's
global pharmaceuticals and vaccines business, the company's most lucrative
unit.
Wary meeting: Obama, GOP
leaders pledge tax talks
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Heralding a new era of divided government, President Barack Obama and
congressional Republicans pledged warily to seek common ground on tax cuts and
reduced spending Tuesday in their first meeting since tumultuous midterm
elections.
No substantive agreements
on essential year-end legislation emerged from the session, and none had been
expected. Instead, the meeting was a classic capital blend of substance and
style, offering a chance for Obama, House Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner and
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell to become more comfortable in one another's
presence.
Motorola to break into 2 on
Jan. 4
NEW YORK (AP) -- Motorola
Inc. will split into two companies effective Jan. 4, finalizing the breakup of
one of the founders of the U.S. electronics industry.
Motorola is splitting its
consumer-oriented side, which makes cell phones and cable set-top boxes, from
the side that sells police radios and barcode scanners to government and
corporate customers.
Shareholders of record on
Dec. 21 will receive shares in both the consumer business, Motorola Mobility,
and the professional business, Motorola Solutions.
The breakup is motivated by
the desire to present two simple stories to investors, rather than one
complicated one.
Stocks fall as euro
concerns continue
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
ended November on a down note Tuesday, notching their first monthly losses
since August.
The Dow Jones industrial
average lost 46 points. It had been down as many as 110 points earlier in the
day. The index pared most of its losses after President Barack Obama and
Republican lawmakers promised to seek a compromise before the end of the year
on extending Bush-era tax cuts.
Extending the cuts would
motivate investors to hold stocks since they wouldn't be subject to higher
capital gains taxes next year. It would also encourage companies to continue
paying dividends, which are taxed at a more favorable rate.
The Dow ended November with
a loss of 1 percent. It had rallied through September and October on hopes that
a bond-buying program by the Federal Reserve would boost the economy.
Optimism for '11 pushes
consumer confidence higher
NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans'
confidence in the economy rose to a five-month high in November, showing
increased optimism for the first half of next year.
The report offered some
comfort to the nation's retailers during the holiday shopping season, but
shoppers still remain downbeat as they grapple with a high unemployment rate.
Moreover, the latest report on housing, released Tuesday, showed that home
prices weakened in September.
The Conference Board, a
private research group based in New York, said Tuesday that its Consumer
Confidence Index rose to 54.1 in November, up from a revised 49.9 in October.
The November reading is the
highest since June. Still, it takes a level of 90 to indicate a healthy
economy, which hasn't been approached since the recession began in December
2007.
Home prices falling faster
in most metro areas
NEW YORK (AP) -- Millions
of foreclosures and weak demand from buyers are forcing home prices down in
most major U.S. cities.
Prices are falling even in
places like San Francisco and San Diego, which had posted strong increases just
a few months ago. Analysts say many markets won't improve until they see fewer
foreclosures and more job gains.
A report Tuesday
underscored the weakness. Home prices declined in 18 of the 20 cities,
according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index. Prices fell 0.7 percent in
September from August, marking the second straight monthly drop.
The biggest weight on
prices going forward is foreclosures, which sell at steep discounts and lower
nearby property values.
B&N loss narrows;
e-book push weighs on outlook
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of
Barnes & Noble Inc. fell sharply before rebounding on Tuesday after the
book seller reported a quarterly loss resulting from steep costs to develop its
Nook e-reader and weak physical book sales.
The company also forecast
holiday quarter net income below analyst expectations. Shares fell 85 cents, or
5.7 percent, to $14.02.
Barnes & Noble is
investing heavily in its e-readers, including the new Nookcolor, an associated
book store and content such as children's books as it tries to retool itself
for the future.
Europe debt fears pile
pressure on Spain, others
MADRID (AP) -- Europe's
debt crisis cast its gloom over larger countries like Spain on Tuesday as
investors sold off government bonds on worries that the common currency region
will be strained by more expensive bailouts.
Yields on Spanish, Italian
and Portuguese bonds hit or traded near euro-era highs.
Spain and Portugal, deemed
the next weakest links in the eurozone economy, have continually denied they
will need outside help but investors have become increasingly skeptical that
the series of bailouts will stop.
At the heart of the problem
is that the austerity measures these countries need to take to reduce their
deficits threaten to backfire by weakening economic growth and hurting state
revenues. That is what's happening in Greece, which has been able to
drastically cut its spending but is struggling to raise tax income as economic
and corporate activity wilts.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 46.47, or 0.4 percent, to close at 11,006.02.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index fell 7.21 or 0.6 percent, to 1,180.55. The Nasdaq composite index
dropped 26.99, or 1.1 percent, to 2,498.23.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2
percent in November, the Nasdaq 0.4 percent.
Benchmark oil for January
delivery gave up $1.62 to settle Tuesday at $84.11 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Since Nov. 1, oil has drifted between $81 a barrel and $88
a barrel but remains up about 6.6 percent on the year.
Among energy products, the
top performer for November was gasoline, which rose nearly 7 percent. Heating
oil climbed 4.6 percent while natural gas added 3.9 percent.
In other early Nymex
trading in December contracts, heating oil fell 4.12 cents to $2.3169 a gallon
and gasoline lost 1.94 cents at $2.2652 a gallon.
Natural gas for January delivery
gave up 3 cents to $4.180 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude lost
$1.53 to $85.92 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.