On Friday June 11, 2010, 5:45 pm EDT
Less spending by Americans could slow
recovery
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans are
pulling back on their spending, a trend that could slow the economic recovery
if it continues.
A sharp 1.2 percent drop in retail
sales points to still-wary shoppers and could lead economists to curtail their
expectations for growth.
Analysts cautioned against overreacting
to Friday's Commerce Department report. It could signal a return to modest
growth after two unusually strong months fueled by tax refunds, rebates for
energy-efficient appliances and higher gas prices.
New oil spill total is bad news for BP,
wildlife
GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) -- The
mind-boggling news that the oil leak at the bottom of the sea may be twice as
big as previously thought could have major repercussions for both the
environment and BP's financial health, killing more marine life and
dramatically increasing the amount the company must pay in fines and damages.
Scientists now say the blown-out well
could have been spewing as much as 2 million gallons of crude before a
cut-and-cap maneuver started capturing some of the flow, meaning more than 100
million gallons may have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since the start of the
disaster in April.
That is more than nine times the size
of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, previously the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
J&J execs briefed on "phantom
recall" of Motrin
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Johnson &
Johnson executives were briefed on an outside contractor's plan to buy up
defective painkillers instead of issuing a recall, documents obtained by The
Associated Press on Friday indicate.
E-mails sent to J&J last spring by
contractor Inmar show the company was informed that the plan to purchase
thousands of packets of Motrin could "draw scrutiny," in the words
one Inmar executive.
Congressional investigators have been
probing J&J's handling of problems with its Motrin tablets that emerged
last year.
BP's failures on the Gulf made worse by
PR woes
HOUSTON (AP) -- BP is already fighting
an oil gusher it can't contain and watching its mighty market value wither
away. Its own bumbling public-relations efforts are making a big mess worse.
Not only has it made a series of gaffes
-- none greater than the CEO's complaint that "I'd like my life back"
-- the company hasn't even followed its own internal guidelines for damage
control after a spill.
Executives have quibbled about the
existence of undersea plumes of oil, downplayed the potential damage early in
the crisis and made far-too-optimistic predictions for when the spill could be
stopped. BP's steadiest public presence has been the ever-present live TV shot
of the untamed gusher.
Dow posts first weekly gain in nearly a
month
The Dow Jones industrial average has
logged its first winning week in a month.
The Dow rose 39 points Friday and ended
the week with a gain of 2.8 percent. The market slid in morning trading on
disappointing retail sales numbers but pared its losses after a report found
consumers are gaining confidence in the economy.
Treasury prices climbed, pushing down
interest rates, after spiking on Thursday.
Google tells lawmakers it never used
Wi-Fi data
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Google Inc. is
telling lawmakers that it never dissected or used any of the information that
it accidentally sucked up while collecting data about public Wi-Fi networks in
more than 30 countries.
In a letter to three key members of the
House Commerce Committee, the company apologized for collecting fragments of
e-mails, search requests and other online activities over unencrypted Wi-Fi
networks.
The company got the information while
photographing neighborhoods for its "Street View" mapping feature.
Carl Icahn steps up fight with Lions
Gate
NEW YORK (AP) -- Billionaire investor
Carl Icahn stepped up his effort to take control of the boutique movie studio
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. on Friday, saying he will put up his own slate
of candidates to replace the company's board.
Icahn, who has a roughly 19 percent
stake in Lions Gate, has been tussling with management since last year.
In a lengthy open letter to the
company's board Friday, Icahn jabbed at Lions Gate's directors for allowing its
stock price to sink and for trying to block his efforts to buy up the company's
shares. He said he hopes a new board will move quickly to replace management.
FDA takes issue with genetic tests from
5 firms
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug
Administration has put five genetic test makers on notice that they must get
federal approval before marketing their products for use by consumers.
The regulatory letters posted online
Friday are the first sign that the government agency plans to crack down on
companies marketing products that claim to predict inheritable diseases using
DNA samples.
The FDA letters notify each company
that their products are considered medical devices and therefore must be
federally approved as safe and effective.
The letters posted online deal with
specific technologies from: 23andMe Inc., deCODE Genetics, Illumina, Navigenics
and Knome Inc.
BP's shares climb for a second day in a
row
BP shares moved higher for a second
straight day Friday as investors apparently dismissed new estimates that the
oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could be far worse than previously thought and
the company may defer its second-quarter dividend.
BP shares rose $1.19, or 3.6 percent,
to close at $33.97 in New York. The shares went as high as $34.46 during the
session.
The stock jumped 12.3 percent on
Thursday after a 15.8 percent slide to $29 on Wednesday, its worst drop since
the spill began back in April. Prices hadn't been that low since 1996.
Analysts have said that the stock has
been oversold on fears that the costs of the spill will wipe out the company.
Reliance Ind. pays $1B for India
broadband winner
MUMBAI, India (AP) -- Reliance
Industries will pay 48 billion rupees ($1 billion) for a 95 percent stake in Infotel
Broadband, the only company to win pan-India broadband wireless spectrum in a
government auction Friday.
The announcement from India's most
valuable company came hours after the government closed the 16-day bidding
process, which the Press Trust of India said yielded 383 billion rupees ($8.2
billion) in spectrum fees.
Add that haul to the $14.6 billion
India raked in from third-generation spectrum auctions less than a month ago,
and the central government could shave a chunk off its projected 4.0 trillion
rupee ($85.5 billion) fiscal deficit.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average rose
38.54, or 0.4 percent, to 10,211.07. It had fallen nearly 90 points in morning
trading. The Dow's climb of 279 points, or 2.8 percent, during the week was its
best since the week ended Feb. 19.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index
rose 4.76, or 0.4 percent, to 1,091.60, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite
index rose 24.89, or 1.1 percent, to 2,243.60.
For the week, the S&P 500 index
rose 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.1 percent.
Benchmark crude for July delivery
dropped $1.70 to close at $73.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in July
contracts, heating oil lost 2.75 cents to settle at $2.0053 a gallon, while
gasoline fell 2.08 cents to settle at $2.0497 a gallon. Natural gas gained 13.4
cents to settle at $4.781 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Brent crude fell 94 cents to settle at
$74.35 on the ICE futures exchange.