On Tuesday June 8, 2010, 5:56 pm EDT
GM to keep 900 more dealerships than
planned
DETROIT (AP) -- About 900 General
Motors dealerships that the company had planned to cut loose appear to be
getting a reprieve.
GM North America President Mark Reuss
has told The Associated Press that the automaker should wind up with about
5,000 dealers in July. That's the end of a process that allows dealers to
appeal GM's decision.
The company originally planned to have
only 4,100 dealers across the country.
The decision reflects a shift in
strategy from GM's previous regime and could save thousands of jobs.
AP analysis: More factory jobs ease
economic pain
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Manufacturing job
gains in the Midwest helped lower the nation's economic stress in April to its
lowest point in five months, according to The Associated Press' monthly
analysis of conditions around the country.
Contributing to the improvement were
lower foreclosure rates in two states with beaten-down housing markets:
California and Florida.
Economic stress levels dipped in every
state except Louisiana and Nevada in April. They also declined in more than 90
percent of the nation's 3,141 counties, according to AP's Economic Stress
Index.
Job openings rise to highest level in
16 months
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Job openings jumped
in April to the highest level in 16 months, a sign that private employers may
boost hiring in coming months.
The number of jobs advertised at the
end of April rose to 3.1 million from 2.8 million in March, the Labor
Department said Tuesday. That's the most openings since December 2008.
Private employers accounted for the
entire net gain. The government's advertising for jobs decreased, despite the
hiring of hundreds of thousands of census workers in May.
Stocks climb, not slide, in volatile
last hour
NEW YORK (AP) -- Most stocks surged in
the final hour of trading Tuesday to give the Dow Jones industrials a gain of
123 points. That ended a two-day slump that sent the Dow down nearly 440 to a
seven-month low.
The market's rebound was choppy
although Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke set the tone for the day by
saying he didn't expect the economy to go back into recession. The Standard
& Poor's 500 index rose, but the Nasdaq composite index slipped as
chipmakers fell on downbeat analyst comments.
EU nations vow to reduce debt, tighten
controls
LUXEMBOURG (AP) -- European Union
nations vowed Tuesday to start cutting debt by next year at the latest and to
tighten oversight of each others' finances to regain credibility with markets
and rein in the debt crisis.
All but a handful of countries in the
27-nation bloc are violating EU deficit limits and their ability to reduce debt
is critical to maintaining trust in their economies, keeping borrowing costs
down, avoiding national defaults and restoring faith in the 16-country euro.
Despite the troubled outlook, the
currency union is set to grow after finance ministers on Tuesday cleared
Estonia, which has kept its spending under tight control, to join next year.
Swiss lawmakers reject deal with US in
UBS tax row
GENEVA (AP) -- Switzerland's effort to
end a tax-evasion dispute with Washington hit a major setback Tuesday when
lawmakers blocked a treaty that would have seen the largest Swiss bank give
U.S. authorities files on thousands of American clients.
The Swiss government and Washington had
painstakingly crafted the treaty last August to resolve a long-standing dispute
over UBS AG's alleged role in aiding tax evasion, but 104 nationalist and
left-wing lawmakers in Switzerland's lower house, the National Council, voted
against the deal, compared to 76 in favor, after their demanded amendments were
refused. Sixteen lawmakers abstained.
McDonald's sales climb, but euro may
hit profit
CHICAGO (AP) -- McDonald's Corp.
extended its winning streak in May as customers bought more of the fast-food
chain's cheap eats and took to its new iced-coffee line, the world's largest
burger chain said Tuesday.
McDonald's also said it will take a hit
to its full-year profit because of the weak euro, which accounts for about 25
percent of its operating income. The burger chain said the effect will be
minimal in the second quarter.
Sales in locations open at least a year
rose 4.8 percent around the globe last month. The measure rose 3.4 percent in
the U.S. to extend a streak of gains recorded since February.
UK warned of 'formidable' fiscal
challenge
LONDON (AP) -- Britain's government
pledged Tuesday to slash spending faster as a leading ratings agency warned
that the country faces a "formidable" fiscal challenge and must bring
forward public sector cuts to keep its top credit rating.
Treasury chief George Osborne told
lawmakers that he was determined to mute any doubts about Britain's
creditworthiness.
Britain's budget deficit is forecast to
reach 10.4 percent of gross domestic product this year, while debt as a
percentage of GDP was 62 percent in the 2009/10 fiscal year.
GM recalling 1.5M vehicles over fire
concerns
WASHINGTON (AP) -- General Motors Co.
said Tuesday it was recalling about 1.5 million vehicles worldwide to address a
problem with a heated windshield wiper fluid system that could lead to a fire,
its second recall over the issue in two years.
The recall affects several pickup
trucks, sport utility vehicles, crossovers and passenger car models from the
2006 to 2009 model years. GM conducted a similar recall in 2008 but came across
new reports of fires in vehicles that had been fixed.
GM said it would disable the heated
washer fluid system module that could lead to fires. The Detroit automaker will
pay owners and those leasing vehicles $100 each since the feature is being
disabled.
Casey's tells shareholders to reject
buyout offer
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) -- Casey's General
Stores Inc. urged its shareholders Tuesday to reject a hostile $1.9 billion
buyout offer from the owner of Circle K convenience stores.
In a statement, Casey's board said the
$36-per-share bid from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. was too low and
wasn't in Casey's best interest.
Casey's, based in Iowa, operates a
chain of about 1,500 convenience stores, most of them in the Midwest.
Couche-Tard has about 3,500 U.S. stores, including the Circle K chain.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 123.49, or 1.3 percent, to
9,939.98. The Dow had fallen 4.3 percent in the two prior days to its lowest
level since Nov. 4.
The S&P 500 index rose 11.53, or
1.1 percent, to 1,062.00. It also fell Monday to its lowest close since
November. The S&P's two-day slide of 5.4 percent was its steepest since
March 2009.
The Nasdaq fell 3.33, or 0.2 percent,
to 2,170.57.
Benchmark crude for July delivery rose
55 cents to settle at $71.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in July energy
contracts, heating oil fell 0.30 cent to settle at $1.9653 a gallon, and
gasoline lost 0.58 cent to settle at $1.9891 a gallon. Natural gas was down
10.8 cents to settle at $4.808 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Brent crude rose 18 cents to settle at
$72.30 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.
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