Sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.1 percent in October,
according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally,
compared with a 4.2 percent drop in October 2008. The October results beat
estimates for a 1 percent gain and followed a surprising 0.6 percent increase
in September.
Productivity gains may be bad news for job seekers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Companies across the economy are finding ways
to do more with fewer workers, dimming hopes that hiring will take off anytime
soon.
Employers became leaner and more efficient in the third quarter.
Wages, meantime, remain flat or falling. The result is that productivity --
output per hour of work -- jumped at the fastest pace in six years.
The good news for companies, though, may be bad news for the
jobless. As long as companies can get their workers to produce more, they have
little reason to hire -- at least until consumer spending picks up. And the
squeeze on incomes could depress consumer spending, putting the economic
recovery at risk.
Stocks surge on jobs data, Cisco forecast
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 200 points Thursday to
its first close above 10,000 in two weeks, while the Nasdaq
composite index led major indexes with a gain of 2.4 percent after Cisco, the
maker of computer-networking gear, predicted its revenue would grow.
Five stocks rose for every one that fell on the
Fannie Mae seeks $15 bln in
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fannie Mae is asking for an additional $15
billion in government aid after posting another big loss in the third quarter
as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps rising.
The government-controlled company continued to see a dramatic
surge of borrowers fall behind as the unemployment rate climbs. At the end of
last month, about 4.7 percent of Fannie Mae's borrowers had missed at least
three payments. That's nearly triple last year's level.
Seized by federal regulators 14 months ago, the problems at
Fannie Mae and sibling company Freddie Mac have proven far worse than most
experts had foreseen. Fannie Mae's request Thursday will bring the tab for
rescuing both companies to about $111 billion. The government has promised up
to $400 billion in assistance.
Banks borrow more from emergency Fed program
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Banks borrowed slightly more from the Federal
Reserve's emergency lending program over the past week, while reducing their
use of other credit programs designed to ease the financial crisis.
The Fed said commercial banks averaged $22.6 billion in daily
borrowing over the week that ended Wednesday. That's up $32 million from the
week ended Oct. 28, but is far less than the $110 billion they borrowed a year
ago at the height of the financial crisis.
The increase, while slight, was the first since the week of Sept.
2.
The identities of the financial institutions are not released.
They pay just 0.50 percent in interest for the emergency, overnight loans.
Hyatt Hotels, Ancestry.com jump in market debuts
Shares of Hyatt Hotels Corp. jumped 12 percent in their first day
on the
Meanwhile, investors impressed by Ancestry.com's
large subscriber base and growth story pushed the genealogy Web site's stock up
as much as 21 percent on the Nasdaq
market.
DirecTV shows subscriber gains, as rivals see loss
Satellite TV operator DirecTV Group Inc. was one of the few
pay-TV companies to gain subscribers in the third quarter, though earnings
stayed steady because of the higher costs it incurred attracting and serving
those new customers.
DirecTV said Thursday that a marketing partnership with AT&T
Inc. that began in February accounted for most of the increase in U.S.
subscribers, but it likely also retained subscribers and gained new ones
because of a perennial favorite, the NFL Sunday Ticket package that airs
out-of-market games to football fans.
DirecTV, which is controlled by media mogul John Malone's Liberty
Media Corp., has focused on attracting consumers who don't mind paying more for
quality TV as long as they get football and other packages they want.
CVS Caremark 3Q profit up but loses big contracts
CEO Tom Ryan said CVS, which also runs the nation's
second-biggest drug store chain, won't reach its goals in 2010 because of the
sharp reversal of fortunes at the Caremark unit, which administers drug
benefits for employers. CVS shares plunged 20 percent and took their biggest
one-day loss in eight years.
In total, the company lost about $2 billion in 2010 revenue in
the last three months. It now believes Caremark has lost $4.8 billion in
contracts for next year.
Citi
files plans to spin off Primerica in IPO
Divesting the company is part of Citi's
effort to simplify its operations in the wake of the financial crisis. Citi acquired Primerica, which is focused on the
middle-income market, in the late 1980s.
Citi
will sell all the shares being offered, and receive all proceeds from the IPO.
IMS Health to be bought for $4 billion by TPG, CPP
NORWALK, Conn. (AP) -- Health care data company IMS Health Inc.
said Thursday it is being bought by investment funds TPG Capital and CPP
Investment Board for $4 billion, in a move to help the company restructure its
business amid the shifting health care arena and sluggish economy.
IMS shareholders are getting $22 per share under the deal,
marking a 31 percent premium to the stock's closing price of $16.81 on
Wednesday. Shares were up nearly 24 percent in afternoon trading, having
earlier set a new 52-week high of $21.09 on the news.
The leveraged buyout deal, which has committed debt financing
from the private-equity firms and Goldman Sachs affiliates, is valued at $5.2
billion including assumed debt, according to IMS.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 203.82, or 2.1 percent, to 10,005.96, its first
close above 10,000 since Oct. 22.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 20.13, or 1.9
percent, to 1,066.63, while the Nasdaq
rose 49.80, or 2.4 percent, to 2,105.32.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.03, or 3.2
percent, to 581.15.
Benchmark crude for December delivery gave up 78 cents to settle
at $79.62 a barrel on the
In other Nymex trading, heating oil
fell 3.26 cents to settle at $2.0576 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery lost
2.5 cents to settle at $1.9877 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery rose
5.7 cents to settle at $4.782 per 1,000 cubic feet.