AP
Business
Highlights
Tuesday
November 11, 7:34 pm ET
Government launches new loan aid effort
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government and the mortgage industry are
launching the most sweeping effort yet to help troubled homeowners by speeding
up the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held
by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which seized control of the
two mortgage finance companies in September, announced the plan Tuesday along
with other government and industry officials, including Hope Now, an alliance
of mortgage companies organized by the Bush administration last year.
Consumer spending worries send stocks lower
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street got another dose of painful reality
Tuesday and sent stocks diving as investors recognized that few industries are
safe from the consumer spending slump -- whether they're building homes, making
cars or selling coffee. The Dow Jones industrial average lifted off its lows of
the day, but still closed down nearly 180 points at 8,693.96.
It became clear to investors that it's going to be hard to rely
on the average consumer to pull the economy out of its downturn. Stocks did
recover from deeper losses after a media report that quoted a BlackRock executive as saying a $30 billion Bear Stearns mortgage
portfolio could be worth more than its market value suggests.
Toll Brothers 4Q revenues decline 41 percent
Blaming the U.S. financial crisis for squelching early signs that
the housing market was beginning to stabilize in recent weeks, homebuilder Toll
Brothers Inc. reported a 41 percent plunge in fourth-quarter sales Tuesday and
called on government intervention to help shore up the housing market.
The Horsham, Pa.-based company's preliminary results for its
fiscal fourth quarter reflected worsening fortunes as the financial crisis took
hold: Cancelations jumped 30 percent, while demand and traffic from prospective
buyers fell last month to a record low, the company said.
Gasoline continues plunge; crude tumbles below $60
HOUSTON (AP) -- Retail gasoline prices dipped for a 17th week
since July 4, falling below $2 a gallon in a number of states and approaching
$1.50 at some service stations. The price of crude fell again too, hitting a
20-month low.
While consumers, worried about a weak job market and slumping
investments, are grateful for the price relief, economic reports increasingly
suggest they're hanging onto whatever savings they see at the pump.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $3.08 to settle at
$59.33 a barrel on the
Stores see surge in applicants for holiday help
Don't think the chances are any better at 7-Eleven. One
From department stores and convenience chains to call centers,
managers who only a year ago had to scramble to fill holiday jobs are seeing a
surge in the number of seasoned applicants -- many of them laid off in other
sectors and desperate for a way to pay the bills.
TJX sees 3Q profit slip 6 percent
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) -- TJX Cos., which operates the T.J. Maxx
and Marshalls stores, reported a 6 percent decline in third-quarter profit as
unfavorable exchange rates and a tough economy crimped results for the discount
fashion retailer.
The company also forecast a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter
profit, and cut its fiscal 2009 outlook.
Profit declined to $235.8 million for the three-month period
ended Oct. 25. That compares with $249.5 million in the year ago period.
Earnings per share remained flat at 54 cents per share as the company had about
5 percent fewer shares outstanding in the most recent quarter.
UNDATED (AP) -- Billionaire Sheldon Adelson
has doubled down on his half-billion dollar bet this fall on Las Vegas Sands
Corp. in a plan intended to keep the company from defaulting on its debt and falling
into bankruptcy.
The plan for infusing $2.14 billion in new capital into the
company dramatically reduces Adelson's controlling
stake even as he agreed to invest another $525 million.
The company will not seek shareholder approval for the emergency
plan it announced Tuesday, even though it more than doubles the number of
outstanding shares, massively diluting their value for current shareholders,
claiming an exception in
Pelosi supports new help for ailing US automakers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for
"emergency and limited financial assistance" for the battered auto
industry on Tuesday, and urged the outgoing Bush administration to join
lawmakers in reaching a quick compromise.
Five days after dismal financial reports from General Motors
Corp. and Ford Motor Co., Pelosi backed legislation to make the automakers
eligible for help under the $700 billion bailout measure that cleared Congress
in October.
Clash of expectations could undermine econ summit
WASHINGTON (AP) -- World leaders are heading for a clash of
expectations at this weekend's summit on the global economic crisis.
Europeans are looking urgently for broad changes and tighter
universal banking regulations. With two months left in office, President Bush
isn't ready to go nearly that far.
And there's a limit to what he could deliver anyway, given his
lame-duck status, since other leaders might be hesitant to make deals with a
departing administration.
President-elect Obama, the leader who soon will assume the job of
trying to keep the
Russia allows ruble to fall, stokes uncertainty
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's Central Bank on Tuesday eased its defense
of the embattled ruble, which fell sharply and triggered a sell-off in stocks
as the country faces its worst financial crisis in a decade.
The Central Bank also raised its refinancing interest rate by a
full percentage point, to 12 percent, in an effort to stem breakneck capital
flight and ease inflation.
The ruble fell 1 percent on Tuesday to 30.70 against a
dollar-euro "basket" as the bank widened the ruble's trading corridor
by 30 kopecks, or .30 ruble, in a move seen as a concession to a weakening
economy and the falling price of oil.
The Central Bank had been using its foreign currency reserves to
buy rubles and keep it from falling below 30.40 in a practice called a managed
float.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average shed 176.58, or 1.99 percent, to
8,693.96.
Broader stock indicators declined as well. The Standard &
Poor's 500 index fell 20.26, or 2.20 percent, to 898.95, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped
35.84, or 2.22 percent, to 1,580.90.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 10.81, or 2.19
percent, to 482.29.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $3.08 to settle at
$59.33 a barrel on the
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures
fell 7.66 cents to settle at $1.9290 a gallon, while gasoline prices dropped
6.2 cents to settle at $1.3059 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery
tumbled 84.3 cents to settle at $6.71 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In