Consumer confidence soars past forecasts in April
The findings released Tuesday offered hope that families could
open their wallets after months of austerity, but experts cautioned that
shoppers were unlikely to splurge while layoffs are still looming.
The Consumer Confidence Index, measured by the Conference Board,
soared to 39.2 from a revised 26.9 in March. That is the highest reading since
November's 44.7 and far surpasses economists' expectations for 29.5.
Home prices post 18.6 percent annual drop in Feb.
NEW YORK (AP) -- In another sign the housing crisis could be
reaching the bottom, home prices dropped sharply in February but for the first
time in 25 months the decline was not a record.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller
index released Tuesday showed home prices in 20 major cities tumbled by 18.6
percent from February 2008. That was slightly better than January's 19 percent
and the first time since January 2007 the index didn't set a record.
Jump in consumer confidence pulls stocks from lows
Stocks ended with only modest losses and well off their lows.
Concerns about the viability of banks and the spread of swine flu were balanced
by news from the Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index
surged to its highest level since November.
IBM Corp.'s decision to boost its dividend and spend more to buy
back stock also gave the market a shot of confidence.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 8.05, or 0.1 percent, to
8,016.95.
Chrysler agreements make liquidation less likely
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With just two days left before a
government-imposed restructuring deadline, Chrysler LLC took a step away from
the brink of bankruptcy Tuesday when its biggest lenders reached a deal with
the Treasury Department to slash the teetering automaker's debt.
Yet Chrysler's fate remains far from assured. If the company's
smaller creditors don't get on board, a bankruptcy filing remains a
possibility.
But now that Chrysler has a tentative agreement with the United
Auto Workers and is closing in on a pact with Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA, Chrysler has cleared nearly all the hurdles ahead of
its Thursday deadline.
GM to force more than 1,000 dealers to close
DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. told its dealers Tuesday
that it will force 1,000 to 1,200 underperforming locations to close their
doors as the automaker tries to thin dealer ranks to make the remaining outlets
more profitable.
GM told the dealers about the plan in a video conference,
according to a dealer who spoke on condition of anonymity because the video
conference was private. It is part of the company's plan announced Monday to
cut more than 2,600 dealers by 2010.
The company expects to lose 500 Hummer and Saturn dealers when
those brands close or are sold, and it expects 400 dealers to close
voluntarily. Another 500 would be consolidated into other dealerships,
according to the dealer.
BofA,
Citi may need to raise more capital
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. will
need to raise more capital based on preliminary results of their government-run
"stress tests" -- unless they succeed in appealing the findings,
according to two people familiar with the matter.
The banks are making their arguments to regulators, said these
people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they have been ordered not
to discuss it. Among their points could be that regulators don't fully
understand the banks' operations, they said.
Obama administration expands housing aid plan
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration said Tuesday it is
expanding its plan to stem the housing crisis by offering mortgage lenders
incentives to lower borrowers' bills on second mortgages.
During the housing boom, mortgages were extended to borrowers
with poor credit scores and people who didn't provide proof of their incomes or
assets.
But those loans, which are attached to about half of all troubled
mortgages, have been an obstacle to efforts to alleviate the housing crisis.
Strong dollar hurts Pfizer, Bristol-Myers results
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Pfizer Inc. reported lower first-quarter
profit Tuesday as sales suffered for drugs including the blockbuster Lipitor,
while rival Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. was a rare bright spot among drugmakers this quarter, posting an increase in sales.
Still, both companies saw their profits dip in the quarter,
Pfizer because heavy cost-cutting wasn't enough to offset an 8 percent drop in
revenue and a higher tax rate, Bristol-Myers because of higher taxes on top of
a sizable litigation charge.
Farmers worry `swine flu' nickname may sink profit
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Like the virus
itself, the name "swine flu" is spreading quickly. For the pork
purveyors and hog farmers who make up the nation's $15 billion pork industry,
that's a disaster.
The swine flu strain that is spreading is a never-before-seen
hybrid of human, swine and bird influenza but is widely known as swine flu.
Though it is suspected of killing more than 150 people in
Court: FCC 'fleeting expletive' rule OK -- for now
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court deleted expletives left and
right Tuesday in narrowly upholding a government policy that threatens
broadcasters with fines over the use of even a single curse word on live
television.
But in six separate opinions that used none of the offending
words over 69 pages, the justices suggested they could yet find the Federal
Communications Commission's "fleeting expletives" policy
unconstitutional. The court said a federal appeals court should weigh whether
it violates First Amendment guarantees of free speech.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 8.05, or 0.1 percent, to
8,016.95
Broader stock indicators also lost ground. The Standard &
Poor's 500 index fell 2.35, or 0.3 percent, to 866.16, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 5.60,
or 0.3 percent, to 1,673.81.
Benchmark crude for June delivery slipped 22 cents to settle at
$49.92 a barrel on the
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for
May delivery fell less than a penny to settle at $1.3977 a gallon and heating
oil also lost less than a penny to settle at $1.3167 a gallon. Natural gas for
May delivery rose 6.8 cents to settle at $3.321 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In