February
wholesale prices drop 0.6 percent
WASHINGTON (AP) - Prices at
the wholesale level plunged in February by the largest amount in seven months
as a big drop in energy prices offset higher food costs.
The Labor Department said
Wednesday that wholesale inflation dropped 0.6 percent in February, much larger
than the 0.2 percent decline economists had expected. Excluding food and
energy, prices edged up a slight 0.1 percent, in line with expectations.
The deep recession and weak
economic rebound are keeping inflation at bay and giving the Federal Reserve
leeway to maintain record low interest rates in an effort to build momentum
from stronger economic growth.
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Stocks climb after Fed
pledges to hold rates low
NEW YORK (AP) - The stock
market continued its slow but steady advance of the past month as investors
grew more confident that interest rates will remain at low levels.
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 48 points to 10,733.67 in its seventh straight advance and closed
at a new high for 2010. The gain means the Dow has joined the Standard &
Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq composite index in reaching the best levels since
2008.
The catalyst for this
latest gain was the Fed's decision Tuesday to hold its key lending rate at a
record low of essentially zero. A government report that prices at the
wholesale level fell by the biggest amount in seven months boosted investors'
belief that inflation is in fact being contained. That allows the Fed to keep
rates low.
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Fed boss makes case to keep
all banking duties
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged Congress Wednesday to let the Fed keep all
of its banking oversight, arguing that information gleaned from that process
helps the central bank guide the economy.
Testifying at a House
hearing, Bernanke waged a fresh battle against Senate efforts to scale back the
Fed's role in overseeing the nation's banks.
The Fed boss argued that
policymakers factor information they get from the Fed's role as bank regulator
into their decisions on interest rates. And, Bernanke said its banking duties
give the Fed insights into the health of the entire banking system.
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SEC boss: Agency examining
companies
WASHINGTON (AP) - The head
of the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed Wednesday the agency is
investigating several companies' actions in the run-up to the financial crisis
of 2008.
SEC Chairman Mary
Schapiro said "it would be safe to assume" that the agency
is looking very closely at the conduct of a number of firms during this time.
She did not name the companies.
Schapiro spoke in testimony
to a House Appropriations subcommittee weighing the agency's request for about
$1.3 billion for the budget year starting Oct. 1, a 12 percent increase from
the current year.
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New CFO says GM has chance
to make 2010 profit
DETROIT (AP) - If the
economy cooperates and auto sales recover a bit, General Motors Co. has a
reasonable chance of turning a full-year profit in 2010, its new chief
financial officer said Wednesday.
Former
Microsoft Corp. CFO Chris Liddell, at his first meeting with reporters in
Detroit, said the automaker is making money in Brazil and China, in the middle
in North America and struggling in Europe.
A full-year profit for GM,
which left bankruptcy protection in July, would be the company's first since
2004 when it made $2.7 billion. It has posted more than $88 billion in losses
since then.
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Senate OKs jobs bill for
Obama's signature
WASHINGTON (AP) - Companies
that hire unemployed workers will get a temporary payroll tax holiday under a
bill that easily won congressional approval Wednesday in what Democrats hope is
just the first of several election-year measures aimed at boosting hiring.
The 68-29 bipartisan vote
in the Senate sent the legislation to the White House, where President Barack
Obama was expected to sign it into law Thursday. Eleven Republicans voted for
the legislation, an impressive tally considering the politically charged
atmosphere on Capitol Hill.
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NJ: Asian casino boss has
mob ties in China
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -
New Jersey casino regulators said Wednesday that they have evidence Stanley Ho,
the Asian casino magnate, has extensive ties to organized crime in China.
Their suspicions led MGM
Mirage to agree last week to sell its half of Atlantic City's top casino -
rather than abandon the lucrative Chinese market, where it has a joint venture
with Ho's daughter.
Considered the father of
modern gambling in China, Ho lets criminal gangs "operate and thrive"
inside his casinos, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement said in a
report issued to the casino last May and made public Wednesday. The division
found that Pansy Ho, his daughter, is dependent on him and his money and
remains under his influence.
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Toyota official: Prius in
NY crash yielding data
HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) -
Investigators from Toyota and the U.S. government inspected a crashed 2005
Prius in a suburb of New York City on Wednesday to see if a black box-like
device or its wreckage could point to problems with the brakes or accelerator.
The black box, known as an
event data recorder, yielded information on engine speed and pedal position,
Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Wade Hoyt said. Investigators were still
downloading additional data, he said.
A housekeeper who was
driving the car told police that it sped up on its own as she eased forward
down her employer's driveway on March 9 and hit a wall across the street. She
was not hurt. Harrison Police Department Capt. Anthony Marraccini said driver
error had not been ruled out or indicated.
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Oil nears $83 as crude
supplies grow
NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices
settled near $83 a barrel Wednesday after crude inventories grew less than
expected last week, and the stock market rose on the Fed's promise to keep
interest rates at record lows.
Benchmark crude for April
delivery rose $1.23 cents to settle at $82.93 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
The Energy Information
Administration said crude inventories rose last week by a million barrels to
344 million barrels. Analysts expected a build of 1.9 million barrels.
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Blockbuster shares tumble
after bankruptcy warning
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of
Blockbuster Inc. sank 30 percent Wednesday after the video rental chain warned
that it may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Competition from
DVD-by-mail company Netflix Inc. and DVD vending machines operated by Coinstar
Inc. have eroded the Dallas company's revenue even as it staggers under a heavy
debt load.
Blockbuster Inc. said in a
regulatory filing late Tuesday that it was suffering "significant
liquidity constraints," and could have to file for bankruptcy protection
if it was unable to convince creditors to restructure a big chunk of its debt
or its business continued to deteriorate.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 47.69, or 0.5
percent, to 10,733.67. The Dow topped its earlier high for 2010 of 10,725.43
from Jan. 19. It is at its highest point since Oct. 1, 2008.
The S&P 500 index rose
6.75, or 0.6 percent, to 1,166.21. That's the highest close since Sept. 30,
2008. The Nasdaq rose 11.08, or 0.5 percent, to 2,389.09, its best level since
Aug. 28, 2008.
Benchmark crude for April
delivery rose $1.23 cents to settle at $82.93 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
April contracts, heating oil rose 2.52 cents to settle at $2.1395 a gallon, and
gasoline gained 3.47 cents to settle at $2.3097 a gallon. Natural gas fell 4.4
cents to settle at $4.303 per 1,000 cubic feet. Earlier it hit a new 52-week
low of $4.280.
In London, Brent crude rose
$1.43 to settle at $81.96 on the ICE futures exchange.