Fed survey shows US recession may be over if you don’t count as
ridiculous funny money, funny assets,
funny books, funny data, etc.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Economic
activity is stabilizing or improving in most of the U.S., according to a new
government survey, adding to evidence that the worst recession since the 1930s
is over.
The Federal Reserve's
snapshot of economic conditions backs predictions by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
and most other analysts that the economy has started to grow again in the
current quarter.
In the survey released
Wednesday, all but one of the Fed's 12 regions indicated that economic activity
was "stable," showed "signs of stabilization" or had
"firmed." The one exception was the St. Louis region, which continued
to report that the pace of decline in economic activity appeared to be
"moderating."
Industrials, financials pull
stock market higher
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock
market extended its gains to a fourth day as the Federal Reserve said the
economy was stabilizing.
Industrial and financial
stocks led the advance Wednesday, which lifted the Dow Jones industrial average
50 points to 9,547.22 by the closing bell, having been up 80 points earlier.
Stocks briefly surrendered
their gains following the release of the Fed's report on regional economies,
which also found that consumer spending would rise but only because of car
purchases linked to the government's brief Cash for Clunkers program.
SEC defends $33M settlement
with Bank of America
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
regulators on Wednesday defended their proposed $33 million settlement with
Bank of America over bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch. But the Securities and
Exchange Commission said the bank didn't waive attorney-client privilege,
making it impossible to establish if its executives knowingly breached
securities laws.
Bank of America Corp., in
its own legal filing, insisted that it didn't waive the privilege and said
"there is no evidence that any individual is culpable."
The SEC reaffirmed as fair,
reasonable and adequate its proposed settlement over the bonus affair, which
arose after Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. for $50
billion in a hastily arranged deal a year ago. The SEC also said there was no
factual support to charge individual Bank of America executives in the case.
Apple CEO Jobs on stage,
discusses transplant
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Apple
Inc. CEO Steve Jobs returned Wednesday to the showman role that has helped
define his company leadership, taking the stage for the first time since his
medical leave to announce such new products as an iPod Nano that records video.
Jobs, who had a liver
transplant this spring from a young adult who died in a car accident, got a
vigorous standing ovation from many in the audience.
Looking thin and speaking
quietly and with a scratchy voice, the 54-year-old CEO urged everyone to become
organ donors.
Jobs had not appeared at
such a product launch event since last October. He bowed out of his usual
keynote at the year's largest Mac trade show in January and went on leave
shortly thereafter for nearly six months.
US job openings fall to
lowest level in 9 years
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Job
openings fell to the lowest level in nine years in July, according to a Labor
Department report Wednesday, as businesses remain reluctant to hire despite
signs the economy is improving.
The department's Job
Openings and Labor Turnover survey, or JOLTS report, found that businesses and
government advertised 2.4 million open positions on the last day in July, down
from 2.5 million in June. That's also the fewest openings since the department
began compiling the data in December 2000.
Still, jobs are being added
in some sectors, as companies seek more health care, technology and child care
workers.
The report underscores the
tough competition that jobless Americans face. With 14.5 million unemployed
people in July and only 2.4 million openings, that means there were six
unemployed people, on average, for every job opening.
Goldman CEO says pay
backlash is 'appropriate'
WASHINGTON (AP) -- After
years spent raking in millions as a top executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.,
Lloyd Blankfein said Wednesday that outsized banker pay encouraged excess and
worked "against the public interest."
The furor over bankers' pay
after last year's financial crisis often was "understandable and
appropriate," Blankfein told the Handelsblatt Banking Conference,
according to remarks prepared for delivery in Frankfurt, Germany.
Blankfein agreed last spring
not to take a bonus for his work in fiscal year 2008. But in 2008 he topped the
list of highest-paid Wall Street executives, with a pay package totaling $42.9
million, according to an Associated Press analysis. Most of that was in the
form of stocks and options awarded for his performance in 2007.
Oil finishes higher on
weakening US dollar
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices
finished higher for a second straight day Wednesday on continued weakening of
the U.S. dollar and as investors awaited the outcome of an OPEC meeting that is
expected to result in no change in production levels.
Benchmark crude for October
delivery rose 20 cents to settle at $71.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange after reaching as high as $72.52 earlier in the session.
On Tuesday, the contract
jumped $3.08 as the dollar fell to a low for the year against the euro.
Because crude is priced in
the U.S. currency, it essentially becomes cheaper when the dollar falls.
GM considers 4 options for
Germany-based Opel unit
DETROIT (AP) -- The new
General Motors Co. board is weighing four options for its German-based Opel
unit, including keeping the operation or letting it slide into bankruptcy
protection, a person familiar with the options said Wednesday.
The 13-member board, meeting
in Detroit on Wednesday, is also discussing whether it should accept bids from
a consortium of Magna International Inc. and Russia's Sberbank or a competing
offer from RHJ International, a Brussels-based investment house, the person
told The Associated Press.
A recommendation, which
would have to be approved by the trust overseeing Opel, could come later
tonight with a formal announcement Thursday.
McDonald's sales growth
slows in August
CHICAGO (AP) -- McDonald's
Corp., the world's largest fast-food chain, said Wednesday that its monthly
sales growth began to lose steam in August, partly because it was measuring
against a massive increase a year ago.
Deal-seeking customers have
flocked to McDonald's low-priced menu for the past year and the recession has
marched on, which has helped propel the burger chain while more expensive
sit-down restaurants have struggled.
But in August, McDonald's
sales in established restaurants rose 2.2 percent globally. The softer increase
shows that the company has in part become a victim of its own success, as it
compares sales figures with the same period last year when results climbed 8.5
percent.
Obama's mortgage relief
program growing
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama
administration's $50 billion mortgage relief program is finally picking up
speed after a sluggish and disappointing start: Nearly early one in five
eligible homeowners have been offered help so far.
The "Making Home
Affordable" plan was launched with great fanfare in March. As of last
month, lenders had sent out more than 571,000 offers to reduce borrowers'
monthly payments, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.
That's 19 percent of the
nearly 3 million U.S. homeowners eligible for a loan modification under the
plan, up from 15 percent at the end of July.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 49.88, or 0.5
percent, to 9,547.22. The index has added 267 points, or 2.9 percent, in four
days. It was the Dow's second-highest close of the year, just below its Aug. 27
close.
The broader Standard &
Poor's 500 index gained 7.98, or 0.8 percent, to 1,033.37, while the Nasdaq
composite rose 22.62, or 1.1 percent, to 2,060.39. It was the highest close for
the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq since October.
The Russell 2000 index of
smaller companies rose 10.02, or 1.7 percent, to 586.40.
Benchmark crude for October
delivery rose 20 cents to settle at $71.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange after reaching as high as $72.52 earlier in the session.
In other Nymex trading,
gasoline for October delivery was unchanged at $1.8281 a gallon while heating
oil rose 1.19 cents to $1.7944 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2.2 cents to $2.829
per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude rose
42 cents to $69.84 on the ICE Futures exchange.