Rising home sales likely to cool
despite low rates WASHINGTON (AP) -- A now-expired
homebuyer tax credit and low mortgage rates helped boost sales of previously
occupied homes in April. The improvements aren't likely to last. The tax credit is now gone. And
economists caution that Americans are facing so many financial obstacles that
falling rates alone won't be enough to lift the housing market. "Although mortgage rates have
fallen sharply, the combination of high unemployment, heavy indebtedness and
tight credit suggest to us that demand will stumble," said Paul Dales, an
economist at Capital Economics. Late slide in financial stocks hits
stock market NEW YORK (AP) -- Financial companies
dragged stocks lower Monday as already anxious investors grew even more
uncertain about the U.S. government's financial overhaul plan and debt problems
in Europe. The Dow Jones industrial average slid
80 points in the final 15 minutes of trading to end with a loss of almost 127.
It was the lowest close for the Dow since February. All major indexes fell more
than 1 percent. Investors are worried about limits that
could be placed on U.S. banks in a final version of the financial overhaul
bill. A bill that passed the Senate last week is now being reconciled with the
House version. The late drop illustrates how jittery traders are in particular
about what will happen in Europe. Regulators probe firms' role in stock
plunge WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators
said Monday they are looking at whether big trading firms abandoned the market
during the massive sell-off on May 6 rather than providing cash support
required under law. Staff of the Securities and Exchange
Commission said the possible retreat of big "liquidity providers"
during the market plunge is an area of focus in the investigation. Major
securities firms are required by law to remain in the market by buying and
selling stocks; high-speed electronic trading firms are not. Some firms that act as liquidity
providers stopped doing so during the freefall, the SEC officials found. China taking tough line as dialogue
with US begins BEIJING (AP) -- China showed its
growing assertiveness Monday as it launched high-level talks with Washington,
saying it will carry out currency reform at its own pace and calling for an end
to U.S. curbs on high-tech exports. Beijing also called on Washington to
simplify foreign investment rules that it says are hampering Chinese companies
and defended a policy to promote domestic technology that its trading partners
say might hurt foreign companies. At an opening ceremony for the
strategic talks, President Hu Jintao promised changes in exchange rate controls
that Washington and others say keep China's yuan undervalued and distort trade.
But he gave no indication when it might happen. Campbell Soup net income down, revenue
rises 7 pct The Campbell Soup Co.'s third-quarter
revenue rose almost 7 percent -- its biggest quarterly increase since 2008. But
one-time expenses took a bite out of its net income. The 3.4 percent decline in net income
reported Monday by the world's largest soup maker represented a reversal of a
recent trend in which Campbell managed to increase net income by cutting
expenses in quarters when sales have been down or just barely higher. The Camden, N.J., company reported net
income fell to $168 million, or 49 cents per share, in the three months ended
May 2, down from $174 million, or 49 cents a share, a year ago. FDA fines Genzyme $175M for
manufacturing problems WASHINGTON (AP) -- Biotech drugmaker
Genzyme Corp. has agreed to pay a $175 million penalty to federal regulators in
connection with long-standing manufacturing problems that have already cost the
company millions. The payment, which Genzyme disclosed
last month when it reported its first-quarter performance, is the return of
"unlawful profits" from the sale of products made at the plant, the
Food and Drug Administration said in a statement released Monday. The FDA also said the company signed a
legal agreement to fix problems at its biotech drug plant in the Allston
neighborhood of Boston. Under terms of the consent decree, Genzyme must map out
a plan for overhauling the plant and stick to a preset timetable or face
additional fines. Thrifts post 1Q net income of $1.82B WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. thrifts posted
a first-quarter profit in the latest sign the industry is stabilizing as the
economy recovers, the government reported Monday. The federal Office of Thrift
Supervision said savings and loans had net income of $1.82 billion in the
January-March period. That compared with a net loss of $1.62 billion a year
earlier. It was the thrift industry's third
profitable quarter in a row. The Treasury Department agency said the industry's
net income in the latest quarter was the highest since the April-June quarter
of 2007. Toyota stops sale of Lexus LS as it
awaits part NEW YORK (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp. has
stopped sales of the Lexus LS sedan for about three weeks while it works to get
parts to dealers to fix a problem with the vehicle's steering system, a
spokesman said Monday. Toyota on Friday recalled about 3,800
2009 and 2010 LS 460 and LS 600h sedans in the U.S. to fix a problem in which
the steering wheel briefly shifts out of alignment with the wheels when it is
turned to the extreme right or left and then quickly re-centered, such as in a
tight U-turn. Toyota said it will remedy the problem by replacing the computer
processor in the vehicle's variable gear ratio steering system. Gentiva Health plans nearly $1B Odyssey
buy ATLANTA (AP) -- Home health provider
Gentiva Health Services Inc. said Monday it plans to spend nearly $1 billion in
cash to buy hospice firm Odyssey HealthCare Inc. in a move to create the
nation's largest provider of home health and hospice care. Atlanta-based Gentiva said it will pay
$27 per share for Odyssey stock, marking a 40 percent premium to the shares'
closing price Friday. Based on Odyssey's 33.8 million shares outstanding at
March 31, the deal is valued at $912.3 million. The boards of both companies have
approved the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter,
pending approval by regulators and Odyssey stockholders. IBM to buy AT&T's Sterling unit for
$1.4B NEW YORK (AP) -- IBM Corp. said Monday
that it is buying AT&T Inc.'s Sterling Commerce unit, which makes software
that helps businesses buy and sell to each other, for $1.4 billion. The deal would be IBM Corp.'s largest
acquisition since it bought business software maker Cognos in 2008. Sterling runs "collaboration
networks" where companies can interact with vendors. It has 18,000 clients
worldwide, IBM and AT&T said. Customers include H.J. Heinz Co., Motorola
Inc., Boise Cascade LLC and Boston Market Corp. The parties would not provide a
figure for the unit's annual revenue. By The Associated Press The Dow fell 126.82, or 1.2 percent, to
10,066.57, its lowest close since Feb. 10. The broader Standard & Poor's 500
index fell 14.04, or 1.3 percent, to 1,073.65, and the technology-dominated
Nasdaq composite index fell 15.49, or 0.7 percent, to 2,213.55. Oil prices, which have fallen more than
19 percent since hitting an 18-month high of $87.15 per barrel just three weeks
ago, rose slightly. Benchmark crude for July delivery gained 17 cents to settle
at $70.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In other Nymex trading in June
contracts, heating oil added 0.26 cent to settle at $1.8993 gallon, and
gasoline rose 0.96 cent to settle at $1.9708 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1.8
cents to settle at $4.017 per 1,000 cubic feet. The Brent crude July contact in London
fell 51 cents to settle at $71.17 on the ICE futures exchange.