On Wednesday May 5, 2010, 5:45 pm EDT
3 die in Athens riot over cutbacks,
debt crisis
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Rioting over
harsh austerity measures left three people dead in a torched Athens bank and
clouds of tear gas drifting past parliament, in an outburst of anger that
underlined the long and difficult struggle Greece faces to stick with painful
cutbacks that come with an international bailout.
The deaths were the first during a
protest in Greece in nearly 20 years.
Fear that the bailout won't stop the
debt crisis from spreading to other financially troubled EU countries like
Portugal and Spain intensified amid the violence Wednesday, as credit ratings
agency Moody's put Portugal on watch for a possible downgrade.
Government debt explosion hits turning
point
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government's
explosive borrowing has hit a turning point: It's expected to drop 18 percent
this year after last year's record high.
The brighter picture is due to higher
tax revenue and less government spending as the economy has improved.
The Obama administration still expects
this year's deficit to set another high: $1.56 trillion. Even if, as expected,
that number declines a bit when the administration issues a revised estimate
this summer, it isn't likely to drop below $1.4 trillion. That would match last
year's all-time record.
Stocks extend decline on European debt
worries
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market
extended its slide Wednesday after investors couldn't shake their concerns
about European countries' big debt loads.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended
with a loss of 60 points to put its two-day drop at 285 points. The Dow halved
its loss by the close but finished off its highs.
Treasury prices rose and pushed down
interest rates in the bond market for a second day.
A drop in the euro and a rise in the
dollar continued to ram markets around the world. The stronger dollar hurts
U.S. stocks by cutting into profits of U.S. companies that do business abroad. A
higher dollar also hurts commodity prices by reducing demand from foreign
buyers.
Crews prepare to take contraption to
Gulf oil leak
PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) -- A 12-man
crew was making final preparations Wednesday to take a 100-ton contraption 50
miles off the Louisiana coast in an unprecedented attempt to help funnel out
oil spewing from the bottom of the Gulf of
The giant-concrete-and-steel box is the
best short-term solution to bottling up the disastrous oil spill that threatens
sealife and livelihoods along the Gulf Coast.
BP PLC chief operating office Doug
Suttles said it would take about two days to put it precisely on the seafloor.
The pipes and tubing were to be hooked
to a ship over the weekend, and if successful, the oil would eventually be
brought to shore. The boat, a 280-foot vessel named the Joe Griffin, was
expected to start its 100-mile trip around the Mississippi Delta later
Wednesday.
Washington Post Co. looking to sell
Newsweek
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Washington Post
Co. is putting Newsweek up for sale in hopes that another owner can figure out
how to stem losses at the 77-year-old weekly magazine.
The publishing industry has been
struggling as businesses cut back on ad budgets during the recession. But
Newsweek, along with Time magazine and U.S. News & World Report, faces a
particular challenge finding a relevant niche in the age of up-to-the-second
online news. Once handy digests of the week's events, they have been assailed
by competitors on the Web that pump out a constant stream of news and
commentary.
Trade group says service sector grows
in April
NEW YORK (AP) -- The service sector
expanded in April, with business activity accelerating at the strongest pace in
four years.
The Institute for Supply Management, a
trade group of purchasing executives, said its service sector index read 55.4
in April, the same level as in March. It's the fourth straight month of growth.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters
had expected a stronger reading of 56. A level above 50 indicates growth.
The service sector accounts for 80
percent of U.S. jobs in areas such as health care, retail and financial
services. It has lagged behind the smaller manufacturing sector in the recovery
as consumers curtailed their spending.
GM replaces marketing chief in latest
shake-up
NEW YORK (AP) --
Joel Ewanick, 49, will take over as
vice president of U.S. marketing from Susan Docherty starting May 24. Docherty
had run both sales and marketing at GM, but saw her duties shrink to just
marketing in March as top GM executives expressed dissatisfaction with
advertising and marketing efforts. GM said Wednesday it still deciding what her
new role will be.
Ewanick spent three years as vice
president for marketing at Hyundai's U.S. subsidiary, where he led several
campaigns that were instrumental in boosting the Korean automaker's U.S. market
share.
Prudential delays $21 billion cash call
LONDON (AP) -- British insurer
Prudential PLC on Wednesday delayed a planned $21 billion rights issue, raising
fears about the $35.5 billion takeover of Asia-based life insurer AIA Group.
The insurer had planned to detail on
Wednesday the pricing of the cash call and of the acquisition it is intended to
fund, but instead said it was continuing discussions with the Financial
Services Authority about the terms of the deal, particularly the capital
position of the enlarged group.
The announcement, coming amid turmoil
in world stock markets, saw Prudential's shares close down 1.7 percent to 549
pence ($8.29) in London.
Transocean reports slide in 1Q net
income
NEW YORK (AP) -- Transocean Ltd., owner
of the oil platform that exploded in the Gulf of
The company cited lower contract
revenues for rigs that both drill in deeper waters and those that drill closer
to shore.
The results do not include charges
related to the Deepwater Horizon rig, which Transocean leased to BP PLC. It
exploded on April 20 and sank about 41 miles off the Louisiana coast. The well
ruptured and has been gushing an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil each day.
Oil settles below $80 as dollar gains
more on euro
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices fell below
$80 a barrel Wednesday as the dollar gained strength and a government report
showed that crude supplies rose more than expected.
Benchmark crude lost $2.77 to settle at
$79.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the second day of sharp
declines. The June contract fell by 4 percent on Tuesday.
The dollar gained again on the euro,
which fell to a 14-month low against the dollar. Because oil is bought and sold
in dollars, they often move in opposite directions. The value of the dollar
dictates how much oil investors can afford.
By The Associated Press
The Dow fell 59.94, or 0.6 percent, to
10,866.83. It had been up as much as 20 points and down nearly 112 points.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500
index fell 9.42, or 0.8 percent, to 1,164.18, while the
Bond prices rose. The yield on the
benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.56 percent from 3.60 percent late
Tuesday.
Benchmark crude lost $2.77 to settle at
$79.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the second day of sharp
declines. The June contract fell by 4 percent on Tuesday.
In Nymex trading gasoline lost 10.18
cents to settle at $2.2204 per gallon, and heating oil gave up 7.50 cents to
settle at $2.1845 a gallon. Natural gas fell 2.2 cents to settle at $3.991 per
1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude was down $3.06
to settle at $82.61 on the ICE futures exchange.