On Thursday December 30, 2010, 6:37 pm EST
Fewer join unemployment
rolls; good sign for 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Far
fewer people are applying for unemployment benefits as the year ends, raising
hopes for a healthier job market in 2011.
Applications are at their
lowest level since July 2008, the Labor Department says. They fell to 388,000
in the week ending Dec. 25, bringing the four-week average to 414,000. Until
mid-October, the four-week average had been stuck above 450,000 most of the
year.
Economists say the number
of people applying for unemployment benefits predicts where the job market will
go over the next few months -- so much so that they use this data to help
forecast economic growth.
Rise in signed contracts
gives housing market lift
NEW YORK (AP) -- People are
starting to buy homes again, lifting a battered industry that is bracing for
its worst sales year in more than a decade.
Signed contracts to
purchase homes rose in November, the fourth increase in five months. That
should give the housing market a boost in the first few months of the new year
because there's usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a
completed deal.
Economists cautioned that a
major reason for the jump is that people are buying foreclosed homes, which
sell at steep discounts and weigh on the broader market. Another obstacle is
the sudden spike in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, which only weeks ago had
fallen to a 40-year low.
Still, many economists
expect sales to gradually rise next year as the economy adds more jobs and home
prices stabilize.
Ex-car czar Rattner settles
NY probe for $10M
NEW YORK (AP) -- The
investment banker who helped lead the Obama administration's auto industry
overhaul has agreed to pay $10 million to settle influence-peddling allegations
in New York.
Former "car czar"
Steven Rattner admitted no wrongdoing as part of the deal, which was announced
by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Thursday.
Cuomo's office had filed
civil lawsuits against Rattner in November, accusing him of paying kickbacks to
help his company land $150 million in state pension fund investments in 2004
and 2005. He denied the charges.
The attorney general had
initially sought $26 million in fines and penalties and a lifetime ban from the
securities industry. The settlement announced Thursday only bars Rattner from
doing further business with any public pension fund in the state for five
years.
Chrysler, Ford recall
thousands of trucks and SUVs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chrysler
recalled about 150,000 trucks and SUVs on Thursday to address steering, air bag
and potential stalling problems, while Ford recalled nearly 15,000 trucks and
crossovers because of electrical issues.
Chrysler Group LLC said it
was conducting three separate recalls to fix the problems, which were posted on
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website.
The first recall covers
about 22,000 Dodge Ram trucks from the 2008-2011 model years to address
steering problems. The second involves about 65,000 2009 model year Dodge
Journey SUVs to fix side air bags that might not deploy. The last recall
includes about 57,000 Ram 1500 trucks from the 2011 model year to fix
components in rear axles that could cause the trucks to stall.
Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co.
said it was recalling some 2011 model year Ford F150, F250, F350, F450 and F550
pickup trucks and 2011 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers to address
potential electrical shorts that could lead to fires in unattended vehicles.
Treasury takes step to sell
stake in auto lender
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Treasury Department says it has taken a step to recover the taxpayer funds
invested in Ally Financial, the auto lender formerly known as GMAC.
The government is
converting about a third of its $17.2 billion investment from preferred
securities to common stock. That should make it easier to sell its stake,
Treasury officials said. The conversion increases the government's ownership of
Ally to 74 percent from 56 percent.
The Treasury Department
first bailed out the company in late 2008, as part of the Bush administration's
assistance to the U.S. auto industry. The Obama administration invested
additional sums in May and December 2009.
Hearst, DirecTV reach deal
on programming fees
NEW YORK (AP) -- Hearst and
DirecTV say they've signed a new contract on programming fees. Without a deal
by Friday, DirecTV subscribers around the country could have lost one of their
network TV channels.
Hearst Corp. owns 29 local
TV stations in Boston, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and other markets. They include
affiliates of all the major networks aside from Fox.
The company says it reached
a deal Thursday with DirecTV on how much the satellite company will pay for the
right to include those stations in its channel lineup after midnight Friday.
Terms have not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, Sinclair
Broadcast Group is still wrangling with Time Warner Cable Inc. over the same
issue. Its 33 stations could go dark for Time Warner customers after the same
New Year's deadline.
German Q3 exports up by
21.5 pct on the year
BERLIN (AP) -- Germany's
export boom continued in the third quarter of the year, rising by 21.5 percent
to euro245 billion ($322 billion) from euro202 billion a year earlier, official
figures showed Thursday.
A more detailed look at the
figures showed that trade with other European Union members rose by 16.5
percent and amounted to almost 60 percent of all exports between July and
September, Germany's Federal Statistical Office said. They totaled euro144
billion.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones Industrial
average was off 15.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 11,569.7. The S&P 500
edged down 1.9, or 0.2 percent, to 1,257.88. The technology-focused Nasdaq
composite index fell 3.95, or 0.2 percent, to 2,662.98.
Benchmark crude for
February delivery lost $1.28 to settle at $89.84 per barrel. It was the first
time in more than a week that oil settled below $90.
On the Nymex, natural gas
rose 5.1 cents to settle at $4.338 per 1,000 cubic feet. In other energy
trading, heating oil gave up 3.61 cents to settle at $2.4854 per gallon.
Gasoline gained 0.14 cent to settle at $2.3918 per gallon.
In London, Brent crude fell
$1.05 to settle at $93.09 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.