Chrysler moves to eliminate 789 of 3,200 dealers
NEW YORK (AP) -- Chrysler
LLC wants to eliminate roughly a quarter of its 3,200 U.S. dealerships by early
next month, saying in a bankruptcy court filing Thursday that the network is
antiquated and has too many stores competing with each other.
The company, in a motion
filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, said it wants to shed 789
dealerships by June 9. Many of the dealers' sales are too low, the automaker
said, with just over 50 percent of dealers accounting for about 90 percent of the
company's U.S. sales.
Bank, technology stocks lure
in bargain hunters
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors
shoved aside jitters about the economy to do a little bargain hunting.
Stocks rose Thursday after
mostly falling for three days as traders scooped up beaten-down financial and
technology stocks. The buying was subdued after a worse-than-expected weekly
unemployment report added to concerns that the economic recovery might not come
as quickly as hoped.
The market is down sharply
this week as investors worry that the optimism that fed a massive spring rally
might have been premature. The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 46 points
to 8,331.32, but lagged gains by the S& P 500 and Nasdaq composite index.
Economy's improvement is
fitful, reports show
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A bit of
sour news Thursday -- in the form of increased jobless claims and higher
wholesale prices -- suggested the economy is moving in fits and starts even as
the recession eases.
Analysts said the pace of
unemployment claims should ease after auto industry layoffs are completed.
Inflation, meanwhile, remains under control, and any threat of a dangerous bout
of falling prices seems remote.
The number of new jobless
claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 637,000, from a revised 605,000 the
previous week, the Labor Department said. That exceeded analysts' expectations
of 610,000.
Free Lipitor, Viagra, other
drugs for jobless
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Pfizer
Inc. says it will provide 70 of its most widely prescribed prescription drugs
-- including Lipitor and Viagra -- for free to people who have lost their jobs
and health insurance.
The world's biggest
drugmaker said Thursday it will give away the medicines for up to a year to
Americans who lost jobs since Jan. 1 and have been on the Pfizer drug for three
months or more.
The announcement comes amid
massive job losses caused by the recession and a campaign in Washington to rein
in health care costs and extend coverage. The move could earn Pfizer some
goodwill in that debate after long being a target of critics of drug industry
prices and sales practices.
Wal-Mart profit flat on
impact of strong dollar
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) --
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which posted flat first-quarter earnings Thursday, will
spend another summer marketing its wares to families who want to have fun even
in hard times.
The world's largest retailer
plans to stick with the "staycation" theme it adopted last year, when
skyrocketing fuel and food prices kept people home. Now, it's unemployment
instead of inflation that's leaving people looking for something to do around
the house.
Groceries account for just
about half of Wal-Mart's U.S. sales, and the company has picked up market share
in the recession as shoppers focus on necessities.
Trustee: Nearly 9,000 claims
in Madoff scam
NEW YORK (AP) -- A
court-appointed trustee unraveling Bernard Madoff's massive fraud signaled
Thursday that he may go after the disgraced financier's family to pay victim
claims, which have grown to almost 9,000.
Legal action against the
family "is a matter that's being looked into," trustee Irving Picard
said during a telephone conference call with reporters.
Picard already has filed
lawsuits in bankruptcy court in Manhattan to try to force hedge funds and other
large investors to return $10.1 billion in fictitious profits paid by Madoff's
firm, alleging they should have known about the fraud. As of Wednesday, there
were 8,848 customers claiming losses, he said.
FTC sues cos. to halt auto
warranty 'robo-calls'
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
regulators filed suits Thursday against several companies they say are behind a
national wave of spam "robo-calls" that warn people their auto
warranties are expiring and offer new service plans.
Federal Trade Commission
officials said they asked a federal court in Chicago to halt the illegal
telemarketing campaign of "Your Car Warranty Has Expired." Officials
say as many as 1 billion of the nuisance calls have been made to Americans.
The FTC named Voice Touch
Inc. and Transcontinental Warranty Inc., which it called the telemarketer and
promoter of the scheme, respectively, in the lawsuits. The agency is seeking
injunctions forcing them to return allegedly ill-gotten gains.
Sony reports $1 bln annual
loss, first in 14 years
TOKYO (AP) -- Sony Corp.
reported its first annual net loss in 14 years and forecast a bigger loss this
year, saying the pressure from sliding sales, competition in gadget prices and
a strong yen was expected to continue.
The Japanese electronics and
entertainment company said Thursday it lost 165 billion yen ($1.72 billion) in
the January-March quarter, compared to a 29 billion yen profit for the same
period the previous year. That brought its full fiscal year loss to a 98.9
billion yen ($1 billion).
Sony, which makes Bravia
flat-panel TVs and Cyber-shot digital cameras, said it is closing three plants
in Japan to help turn its business around. It is also in the midst of cutting
16,000 workers.
Oil rises despite dismal
demand numbers
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices
hopped above $58 a barrel Thursday even though U.S. unemployment continued to
rise and a new report predicted the world's petroleum appetite will shrink even
more than expected this year.
Benchmark crude for June
delivery climbed 60 cents to settle at $58.62 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell as low as $56.55. In London, Brent prices lost
65 cents to settle at $56.69 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
And natural gas futures fell
despite a government report that showed storage levels did not rise as much as
expected last week. Stores of natural gas, a major energy source for power
plants, have been building since mid-March as factories shut down and people
lose jobs. They remain well above historical levels.
Blockbuster profit and
revenue sag; stock dives
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Blockbuster
Inc.'s first-quarter profit sagged as fewer people came to its stores to rent
videos, though the long-slumping company softened the blow by whittling the
size of its chain and shedding other expenses.
The results released
Thursday were the latest sign of the challenges facing Blockbuster as it
struggles to attract customers who are increasingly getting their videos
through the mail or high-speed Internet connections. Blockbuster shares plunged
27 cents -- nearly 24 percent -- in extended trading after finishing the
regular session at $1.14.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 46.43, or 0.6
percent, to 8,331.32.
The S&P 500 index rose
9.15, or 1 percent, to 893.07, while the Nasdaq rose 25.02, or 1.5 percent, to
1,689.21.
Benchmark crude for June
delivery climbed 60 cents to settle at $58.62 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell as low as $56.55. In London, Brent prices lost
65 cents to settle at $56.69 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
In other Nymex trading,
gasoline for June delivery added 3.49 cents to settle at $1.7237 a gallon as
the summer driving season was set to kick into gear with an expected increase
in Memorial Day traffic.
Heating oil added less than
a penny to settle at $1.4947 a gallon. Natural gas for June delivery dropped
4.1 cents to settle at $4.292 per 1,000 cubic feet.