AIG's Benmosche tells employees he plans to remain
NEW YORK (AP) -- American
International Group Inc.'s CEO Robert Benmosche said Wednesday he plans to stay
in his job at the embattled insurer.
Benmosche announced his
intentions in a letter to employees released by AIG following a report in The
Wall Street Journal saying he was threatening to quit. The Journal said
Benmosche has been frustrated by heavy government scrutiny and cumbersome
restrictions on executive pay.
AIG is in the process of
trying to sell assets, streamline its operations and improve profitability in
an effort to repay the government after being bailed out last fall at the peak
of the credit crisis.
Geithner encouraged by moves
in Japan, China
TOKYO (AP) -- Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday he's encouraged by efforts in Japan
and China to spur domestic demand instead of relying so heavily on American
consumers -- a shift that will contribute to more stable global growth.
Geithner said he sees broad
recognition among governments to create policies that will lead to more
balanced, sustainable growth and avoid the kind of dangerous imbalances that
contributed to the world recession.
Economic cooperation is
expected to be a key agenda item during President Barack Obama's visit to Tokyo
on Friday and Saturday that will also address security and climate change.
Japan is Obama's first stop on an Asian tour that will take him to China and
South Korea next week after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
summit in Singapore this weekend.
Stocks rise as traders bet
on low rates, China
NEW YORK (AP) -- More signs
that interest rates will remain low and upbeat economic news from China gave
investors more reason to keep buying stocks Wednesday.
Federal Reserve officials
signaled in speeches late Tuesday that a recovery in the economy is likely to
be weak. Investors took that as another sign that policymakers will hold
interest rates low to help resuscitate growth. The Dow rose 44.29, or 0.4 percent,
to 10,291.26.
Expectations of low rates
weighed on the dollar and gave a boost to commodities. Oil and gold held their
advances even after the dollar pulled off of a 15-month low.
Hewlett Packard to buy 3Com
for $2.7B
PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) --
Hewlett-Packard Co., looking to expand into a business long dominated by Cisco,
said Wednesday it has agreed to buy networking software and equipment maker
3Com Corp. in a deal the companies valued at $2.7 billion.
HP also issued a preliminary
report Wednesday for the three months that ended in October, saying it earned
99 cents per share, compared with 84 cents in the year-ago period.
After adjusting for
restructuring and other one-time items, HP said it earned $1.14 per share.
Revenue fell 8 percent from the same period a year ago, to $30.8 billion. By
both measures, HP did better than Wall Street was expecting, according to a
Thomson Reuters poll.
Macy's posts smaller 3Q
loss, raises outlook
NEW YORK (AP) -- Macy's
Inc.'s third-quarter loss shrunk as tight inventory controls and a move to
localize merchandise at its department stores by region paid off. The company
also raised its full-year profit and sales outlook.
The profit outlook,
including a tempered forecast for the fourth quarter, didn't go as high as analysts
expected, and shares fell $1.57, or more than 8 percent, to close at $17.86.
Some of Macy's
best-performing districts were the original test beds for the locally tailored
merchandise. Other bright spots were its growing Internet business and
rebounding sales performance at Bloomingdale's, another sign that affluent
shoppers are slowly going back to shopping after a sudden retreat last fall.
Drug industry presses FDA to
allow more online ads
WASHINGTON (AP) -- As
federal regulators take their first tentative steps toward policing the wild
west of medical information online, pharmaceutical companies are pressing their
case to market drugs via Google, Twitter and other Web sites.
The Food and Drug
Administration will convene a two-day meeting beginning Thursday to hear the
drug industry's position on Internet marketing. The agency has agreed to
consider developing rules for online advertising after companies complained
that the current guidelines for traditional media -- which require a detailed
list of possible side effects -- have left them hamstrung on the Web.
An estimated 83 percent of
Internet users search for health information online, according to a recent
survey from the Pew Research Center.
Key China indicators show
economic comeback
BEIJING (AP) -- The slump in
China's exports eased last month and several other key indicators showed
improvement Wednesday, fresh evidence that recovery in the world's
third-largest economy was firmly on track.
Exports fell 13.8 percent in
October to $110.8 billion from the same month last year, the smallest decrease
in 10 months, according to government figures released Wednesday. Imports
dropped by 6.4 percent to $86.8 billion over the same period, a slightly faster
pace than in September.
Industrial output and retail
sales also rose sharply over the previous year, further signs that sluggish
growth might be picking up.
Oil settles near $78 as
China's economy rebounds
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices
ticked higher Wednesday as OPEC said the world would consume more crude in 2010
than previously expected, and China said its economy improved.
Benchmark crude for December
delivery added 23 cents to settle at $79.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. In London, Brent crude for December delivery rose 45 cents to settle
at $77.95 on the ICE Futures exchange.
The Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries revised its previous estimates for global oil
demand growth to 750,000 barrels per day, up 50,000 barrels a day from last
month's estimate.
Report: 10 states face looming
budget disasters
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) --
In Arizona, the budget has grown so gloomy that lawmakers are considering
mortgaging Capitol buildings. In Michigan, state officials dealing with the
nation's highest unemployment rate are slashing spending on schools and health
care.
Drastic financial remedies
are no longer limited to California, where a historic budget crisis earlier
this year grew so bad that state agencies issued IOUs to pay bills.
A study released Wednesday
warned that at least nine other big states are also barreling toward economic
disaster, raising the likelihood of higher taxes, more government layoffs and
deep cuts in services.
Gold keeps on surging, hits
new high of $1,119
NEW YORK (AP) -- The price
of gold surged to a fresh high Wednesday as the dollar fell to a 15-month low.
Gold futures for December
delivery jumped to as high as $1,119.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile
Exchange in morning trading, then slipped back to settle at $1,114.60, up
$12.10 from Tuesday's close.
Commodities including gold
have been rising as the dollar has dropped. Gold's latest advance came as the
dollar fell after Federal Reserve officials reiterated that the central bank
will keep interest rates low for an extended period to support the economic
recovery.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 44.29, or 0.4
percent, to 10,291.26. It rose as high as 10,341.97, its best level since Oct.
3, 2008.
The Dow is up 519 points, or
5.3 percent in six days. That's the longest stretch of gains since an eight-day
advance in late August.
The S&P 500 index rose
5.50, or 0.5 percent, to 1,098.51 and topped 1,100 for the first time since
last year. It hit a 13-month high of 1,105.37 -- also its best level since Oct.
3 last year. The Nasdaq composite index rose 15.82, or 0.7 percent, to
2,166.90.
The Russell 2000 index of
smaller companies rose 5.78, or 1 percent, to 592.71.
Benchmark crude for December
delivery added 23 cents to settle at $79.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
In London, Brent crude for
December delivery rose 45 cents to settle at $77.95 on the ICE Futures
exchange.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil rose by less than a penny to settle at $2.0558 a gallon. Gasoline
for December delivery added 1.53 cents to settle at $1.9927 a gallon. Natural
gas for December delivery increased by 3.6 cents to settle at $4.503 per 1,000
cubic feet.