On Wednesday December 15, 2010, 6:39 pm EST
Stores try to create
shopping surge in final days
NEW YORK (AP) -- You won't
find uncommonly deep discounts, but you won't have to worry about finding
something to buy, either. For the first time in three years, the Christmas
season is looking brighter for stores and shoppers alike.
With plenty of dollars
remaining to be spent, stores are trying to attract late shoppers with measured
discounts and other gimmicks, including pulling all-nighters and pushing more
last-minute gifts.
Consumers are more primed
to spend than they have been in several years. Projections for holiday spending
are starting to approach pre-recession levels. The National Retail Federation
and research firm ShopperTrak both raised their holiday forecasts this week.
Obama, CEOs: Better
relations to boost economy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dogged
by high unemployment, President Barack Obama reached out to business leaders
Wednesday, seeking to forge a new bond while prodding them to shake loose
untapped corporate cash and create more jobs.
Obama cast himself as a
business booster during a nearly five-hour meeting with 20 corporate CEOs,
sharing a buffet lunch while urging them to put more than $1.9 trillion to work
for the economy.
Such round-table discussions
with corporate and financial sector CEOs are not new for Obama. But this
closely watched session represented something of a reset for the president as
he seeks common ground with a business community that has bristled over his
administration's approach to health care, financial regulations and executives'
bonuses.
Factory output, low prices
give economy boost
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
economy appears to be settling into a period of moderate but enduring growth.
Factories are producing
more goods, retail prices are low, and the malls are full ahead of the
holidays.
Still, the housing market
remains a major drag on the economic recovery. Builders, who are competing with
millions of foreclosed properties, are pessimistic about their prospects over
the next six months.
The latest government and
private-sector reports support a more optimistic but measured view that the
economy is growing at a faster rate, and that 2011 will be better than most
economists thought just months ago.
Halfway home: Senate sends
tax-rate bill to House
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a
reach across party lines, the Senate overwhelmingly passed sweeping legislation
Wednesday to prevent a Jan. 1 income tax increase for millions and to renew
jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. A House vote is expected by
Thursday.
Within moments of the 81-19
Senate vote, President Barack Obama urged the House to follow suit without
making any changes -- a slap at rebellious liberals working to stiffen the terms
of an estate tax provision they characterize as a giveaway to millionaires and
billionaires.
At its core, the
legislation provides a two-year extension of the tax cuts at all income levels
that Congress approved while George W. Bush was president. Without action, they
will expire on Dec. 31.
Stocks fall as euro worries
overshadow US growth
NEW YORK (AP) -- Early
gains in the stock market evaporated Wednesday after worries about Europe's
debt crisis overshadowed signs of growth in the U.S. Bond prices fell, sending
long-term interest rates higher again.
The euro fell 1.2 percent
against the dollar after Moody's said that it may lower Spain's credit rating.
The stronger dollar hurts U.S. companies that do a lot of business overseas.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index, the broadest measure of large U.S.
companies, fell 0.5 percent.
Stock prices started the
day higher after reports showed that the U.S. manufacturing industry is growing
and inflation remains under control. The Federal Reserve said U.S. factory output
rose for the fifth straight month in November. A separate report showed that
consumer prices stayed flat last month.
Feds sue BP, other
companies for oil spill damages
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The
Justice Department sued BP and several other companies involved in the Gulf oil
spill Wednesday, an opening salvo in the government's effort to get billions of
dollars for untold economic and environmental damage.
The government accuses the
companies of disregarding federal safety regulations in drilling the well that
blew out April 20 and triggered a deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon
rig. The lawsuit is separate from a Justice Department criminal probe that has
not resulted in any charges.
The federal lawsuit filed
in New Orleans names BP, rig owner Transocean and some other companies involved
in the ill-fated drilling project, but not Halliburton -- the project's cement
contractor -- or the maker of a key cutoff valve that failed. Both could be
added later.
Time honor caps
celebrity-making of Zuckerberg
NEW YORK (AP) -- Before
2010, Mark Zuckerberg, the 26-year-old co-founder and CEO of Facebook, was
primarily known as a mysterious, sweatshirted figure, a Silicon Valley
wunderkind familiar mainly to those in tech circles.
But this year, Zuckerberg
has been thrust into pop culture ubiquity, appearing on screens of all shapes
and sizes, from "Oprah" to one of the year's most acclaimed films.
On Wednesday, his public
ascent was solidified by Time magazine, which named him its "Person of the
Year." He's the youngest choice for the honor since the first one chosen,
Charles Lindbergh in 1927.
Dynegy accepts $665M offer
from Carl Icahn
NEW YORK (AP) --
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn appears to have wrested Dynegy Inc. away from
The Blackstone Group, as the Houston power plant operator on Wednesday accepted
Icahn's bid to buy the company for $5.50 per share.
Icahn, who owns a 9.9
percent stake in Dynegy, had opposed Blackstone's offer of $5 per share. He bid
10 percent higher at $665 million, and Dynegy said Icahn would support even
sweeter deals from other players.
Dynegy operates natural
gas, coal and fuel oil plants and sells wholesale power to utilities and
municipalities in the Midwest, the Northeast and the West. It had been
considering a takeover for several months as natural gas prices slumped and the
company was forced to book millions of dollars in asset impairment charges.
Dynegy reported a net loss of $1.25 billion in 2009 and another $70 million
loss in the first nine months of this year. Dynegy also holds $3.95 billion in
debt.
J&J adds vice chairmen
to leadership
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) --
Health care company Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday named the leaders of two
key divisions as vice chairmen of the executive committee, a move seen by some
on Wall Street as planning for Chairman and CEO William Weldon's eventual
departure.
Sheri McCoy, chairwoman of
the worldwide pharmaceuticals division, and Alex Gorsky, chairman of worldwide
medical devices and diagnostics, will join Weldon in an expanded office of the
chairman effective Jan. 3.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 19.07 or 0.2 percent, to 11,457.47.
The broader Standard &
Poor's 500 index fell 6.36, or 0.5 percent, to 1,235.23.
The Nasdaq composite index
fell 10.5, or 0.4 percent, to 2,617.22.
Benchmark oil for January
delivery rose 34 cents to settle at $88.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil gained 1.56 cents to settle at $2.4835 a gallon, gasoline futures
picked up 1.28 cents to settle at $2.3092 a gallon and natural gas lost 3.3
cents to settle at $4.222 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude rose
99 cents to settle at $92.20 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.