Administration unveils financial system overhaul
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled
a sweeping overhaul of the financial system designed to impose greater
regulation on major players like hedge funds.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
told lawmakers that the changes are needed to fix the flaws exposed by the
current financial crisis, the worst to hit the country in seven decades.
Jobless rolls swell again as recession persists
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the 10th week in
a row, the number of people receiving jobless benefits grew. It now stands at
nearly 5.6 million, the government said -- an indication that the labor market
is still grim.
New claims for unemployment benefits rose again as well, to a
seasonally adjusted 652,000, up from 644,000 the week before. The government also
said the economy shrank at a 6.3 percent annual clip in the fourth quarter,
slightly faster than its previous estimate.
Stocks rise on relief over earnings, debt auction
Strong demand for government debt at the Treasury Department's
latest auction also lifted the stocks. The Dow jumped 174.75, or 2.3 percent,
to 7,924.56, its highest close since Feb. 12.
Best Buy Co., ConAgra Foods Inc., and Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Inc. all turned in quarterly profits that beat analysts' modest expectations.
Best Buy 4Q profit dips, adj. results top Street
CHICAGO (AP) -- Consumers snapped up surprising numbers of
flat-screen televisions, laptops, digital cameras and cell phones during the
fourth quarter, helping Best Buy Co. Inc. boost sales by 10 percent, the
company reported Thursday.
The quarter's sales were strongest in February, and the world's
largest consumer electronics retailer said same-store sales might have been
even better if a plan to scale back inventory hadn't left some stores short of
TVs and digital cameras shoppers were seeking.
GM says 7,500 hourly workers decide to leave
DETROIT (AP) -- About 7,500 General Motors Corp. workers --
roughly 12 percent of the automaker's U.S. hourly work force -- have signed up
to take buyout and early retirement incentives to leave the company, GM said
Thursday.
Also, Chrysler LLC said Thursday it would extend its deadline to
entice blue-collar workers to leave. The old deadline was Friday.
GM offered $20,000 cash and a $25,000 voucher to buy a car to all
of its 62,400 hourly
Mortgage rates drop to record low
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week to
the lowest level on record after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to
assist the staggering
Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that average
rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 4.85 percent this week, from
4.98 percent last week. It was the lowest in the history of Freddie Mac's
survey, which dates back to 1971 and was down a full percentage point from a
year ago.
AIG aircraft unit says Fed approves financing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The New York Federal Reserve has signed
off on American International Group Inc.'s latest cash infusion for its aircraft
leasing unit, a lifeline aimed at keeping it in business until it can be sold.
International Lease Finance Corp., one of the world's largest
buyers of airliners, had warned that a failure to come up with new loans from
AIG or someone else could threaten its survival.
AIG had already loaned $800 million to the unit to cover its
March spending. And on Thursday, ILFC Chief Financial Officer Alan Lund told
The Associated Press that another $900 million AIG loan for April was approved
late Wednesday by the
IRS squeezes Swiss bank clients for evidence
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The IRS is ratcheting
up the pressure on Americans who kept secret Swiss bank accounts, giving them
six months to come clean and cough up any evidence against their advisers or
bankers.
Tax lawyers told The Associated Press Thursday that demands for
information and evidence have increased sharply since the government sued UBS
AG to try to get the names of tens of thousands of
Crude closes above $54 for first time this year
Analysts have struggled to explain the recent surge in energy
prices, especially as reports continue to pour out from the federal government
showing that the
New York Times plans temporary pay cut, layoffs
The company's flagship newspaper reported on its Web site Thursday
that the cuts will hit most nonunion workers and run from April through
December. Employees will receive 10 days off in return.
The Times reported that union employees have been asked to take
the cut voluntarily to avoid potential layoffs at the company, which has been
struggling with an industrywide advertising downturn.
By The Associated Press
The Dow jumped 174.75, or 2.3 percent, at 7,924.56.
Broader stock indicators also gained. The Standard & Poor's
500 index rose 18.98, or 2.3 percent, to 832.86, and the Nasdaq rose 58.05, or 3.8 percent, to 1,587.00.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.78, or 4.4
percent, to 445.30.
Benchmark crude for May delivery rose
$1.57 to settle at $54.34 a barrel on the
In
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for
April delivery gained 3.61 cents to settle at $1.5311 a gallon, while heating
oil rose 1.66 cents to settle at $1.4813 a gallon. Natural gas for April
delivery tumbled 38 cents on the