WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House
has voted to rush an additional $2 billion into the popular but financially
strapped "cash for clunkers" car purchase program.
House members acted within
hours of learning from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that the program was
running out of money.
Called the Car Allowance
Rebate System, or CARS, the program is designed to help the economy and the
environment by spurring new car sales. Car owners can receive federal subsidies
of up to $4,500 for trading in their old cars for new ones that achieve
significantly higher gas mileage.
The Senate was not scheduled
to vote on Friday but lawmakers hoped to win approval for additional funding
next week.
Recession eases; GDP dip
smaller than expected
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy
sank at a pace of just 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, a new
government report shows. It was a better-than-expected showing that provided
the strongest signal yet that the longest recession since World War II is
finally winding down.
The dip in gross domestic
product for the April-to-June period, reported by the Commerce Department on
Friday, comes after the economy was in a free fall, tumbling at an annual rate
of 6.4 percent in the first three months of this year. That was the sharpest downhill
slide in nearly three decades.
The economy has now
contracted for a record four straight quarters for the first time on records
dating to 1947. That underscores the grim toll of the recession on consumers
and companies.
Profit reports push Dow to best
July in 20 years
New hope for the economy
just gave the stock market its best July in 20 years.
Investors placed big bets
over the last month that the profit machine at U.S. companies will continue to
rev higher, and that the longest recession since World War II is finally easing
its grip. If that turns out to be wrong, the huge gains of July means there
will be an even bigger price to pay if companies don't deliver.
The Dow surged 725 points,
or 8.6 percent, for the month, with most of the gains arriving in bursts in the
final 15 days. The extraordinary run shaped July into the best month for the
blue chips since October 2002 and the best July since 1989.
The broader Standard &
Poor's 500 index, a benchmark for many mutual funds, also ran at a strong pace
and July was its best performance since 1997. Even with the gains, the S&P
is still down 37 percent from its peak in October 2007.
House votes to clamp limits
on Wall Street bonuses
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bowing to
populist anger, the House voted Friday to prohibit pay and bonus packages that
encourage bankers and traders to take risks so big they could bring down the
entire economy.
Passage of the bill on a
237-185 vote followed the disclosure a day earlier that nine of the nation's
biggest banks, which are receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout aid,
paid individual bonuses of $1 million or more to nearly 5,000 employees.
Aware of voter outrage about
the bonuses, Republicans were reluctant in Friday's debate to push back, even
though they voted overwhelmingly against the bill.
The White House and Senate
Democrats haven't endorsed the measure, leaving its prospects uncertain. The
Senate Banking Committee planned to take up the proposal in the fall as part of
a broader bill overhauling financial regulations.
US, Swiss near settling in
UBS tax evasion case
MIAMI (AP) -- Days before a
high-stakes trial with implications for bankers worldwide, the U.S. and Swiss
governments said Friday they reached a hard-fought settlement in the U.S.
effort to get names of thousands of wealthy Americans suspected of evading
taxes by hiding billions of dollars with Swiss banking giant UBS AG.
Both governments and UBS
said details would remain confidential until a written settlement was
finalized, likely within the next week.
A trial scheduled to begin
Monday was canceled by U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold, who set an Aug. 7
conference call to go over a proposed final agreement.
Major oil companies review
spending; demand wanes
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil
companies are taking a hard look at their finances following a woeful six
months in which slumping energy demand slashed profits for every international
integrated crude producer.
Oil majors, including Exxon
Mobil, French petroleum giant Total SA saw crude production fall during the
second quarter. To cope with low energy prices, Royal Dutch Shell said it will
cut jobs and capital spending, and Chevron Corp. said it will stop natural gas
drilling operations in North America.
Chevron and Total on Friday
were the latest oil majors to report that profits had tumbled by more than 50
percent, though neither said they would cut capital expenditures.
The decision to cut
spending, or even consider it several months ago would certainly have raised
concerns about a price spike should the global economy rebound. In the current
environment, cutting capital spending may be inevitable.
Court orders shorter
sentence for ex-Qwest CEO
DENVER (AP) -- An appeals
court has ordered a new, shorter sentence for ex-Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio, saying his
6-year term for insider trading was too long.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals ruled Friday that the trial judge overstated the amount of Nacchio's
alleged financial gain.
Nacchio was convicted in
2007 of 19 counts of insider trading and acquitted on 23 counts. Prosecutors
alleged he sold $52 million in Qwest Communications International stock based
on nonpublic information that the Denver-based telecommunications company was
at risk.
A three-judge panel at the
10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Friday agreed with Nacchio's lawyers
that the $52 million figure was too high. Instead, the figure used should have
been Nacchio's net profit resulting from illegal insider trading.
The appeals court did not
say exactly what Nacchio's sentence or fine should be, sending those
determinations back to a lower court.
Minimal damages sought in
Mass. song-download case
BOSTON (AP) -- A lawyer for
a Boston University student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing
music urged a federal jury Friday to "send a message" to the music
industry by awarding only minimal damages.
The jury began deliberating
the case Friday afternoon.
After Joel Tenenbaum, 25,
admitted Thursday he is liable for damages for 30 songs at issue in the case,
U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner ruled that the jury must consider only
whether his copyright infringement was willful and how much in damages to award
four recording labels that sued him over the illegal file-sharing.
Employment costs rise 1.8
pct in past 12 months
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Employment compensation for U.S. workers has grown over the past 12 months by
the lowest amount on record, reflecting the severe recession that has gripped
the country.
The Labor Department said
Friday that employment costs rose by 1.8 percent for the 12 months ending in
June, the smallest annual gain on records that go back to 1982.
The department said that for
the April-June quarter, its Employment Cost Index rose by just 0.4 percent,
just slightly above the 0.3 percent rise in the first quarter, which had been
the smallest quarterly gain on record.
Companies, struggling to
cope during the current hard times, have been laying off workers, trimming wage
gains and holding down overtime to save costs.
Oil prices up, but decline
for the month
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices
posted their first monthly decline since January with summer driving season
petering out and petroleum stockpiles piling up.
Analysts said the flattening
of oil prices in July could be a prelude to an extended drop.
Crude ended July 44 cents a
barrel cheaper than the month before. The last time that happened was six
months ago.
Volatile oil markets this
week show just how tricky it's been to put a price on energy when there are so
many questions about the pace of any economic recovery that could boost demand.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrials
rose a modest 17.15, or 0.2 percent, to 9,171.61. The S&P 500 index rose
0.73, or 0.1 percent, to 987.48, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 5.80, or
0.3 percent, to 1,978.50.
Benchmark crude for
September delivery rose $2.51 to settle at $69.45 a barrel Friday on the New
York Mercantile Exchange, after dipping 3 percent earlier in the day. Prices
have swung wildly for days.
In other Nymex trading,
gasoline for August delivery added 5.73 cents to settle at $2.0448 a gallon and
heating oil rose 2.51 cents to settle at $1.7938 a gallon. Natural gas for
August delivery fell 9 cents to settle at $3.653 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices
climbed $1.59 to settle at $71.70 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.