On Tuesday December 29, 2009, 5:06 pm
Consumer confidence extends rise in December
NEW YORK (AP) -- A more upbeat outlook on jobs pushed Americans'
confidence in the economy higher in December for the second month in a row, a survey
released Tuesday said.
Consumers' expectations for the job market over the next six
months reached their highest level in two years, but Americans remain gloomy
about their current prospects.
The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index rose to
52.9, up from a revised 50.6 in November, but the reading is still far short of
the 90 that would signify a solid economy. In October, consumer confidence was
48.7. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a reading of 52 for
December.
Home prices rise again in October
NEW YORK (AP) -- Home prices rose for the fifth month in a row
in October, but the recovery is shaky with only 11 of the 20 metro areas
tracked showing gains.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index released
Tuesday edged up 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted reading of 145.36 in
October from September. Without adjusting for seasonal factors the index was
flat.
The index was off 7.3 percent from October last year, nearly
matching expectations of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Many
economists, however, are predicting a double dip in prices this winter as
foreclosures increase and government support wanes.
Stocks slip to break six-day winning streak
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market edged lower Tuesday, breaking
a six-day advance as reports on home prices and consumer confidence did little
to excite buyers.
Major indexes had risen modestly in the early going but slipped
as the dollar strengthened and tugged on commodities prices. A stronger dollar
makes commodities more expensive for foreign buyers. The drop in commodities
weighed on energy and materials stocks.
Trading was quiet, as it has been in recent days, and many
investors left at the end of the day for a long New Year's weekend. The low
volume held the Dow Jones industrial average to a 38-point range, and the
modest losses came after stocks had risen for six straight days. The Dow
slipped 1.67, or less than 0.1 percent, to 10,545.41.
Tylenol Arthritis Caplet voluntary recall expanded
NEW YORK (AP) -- Johnson & Johnson is expanding a voluntary
recall of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets due to consumer reports of a moldy smell
that can cause nausea and sickness.
According to a statement posted to the Food and Drug
Administration Web site late Monday, the New Brunswick, N.J., company is now
recalling all product lots of the Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with
the red EZ-Open Cap.
Johnson & Johnson had recalled five lots of the product last
month after consumers complained of a musty, mildew-like odor that triggered
nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.
Oil near $79 a barrel; pump prices ticking up
NEW YORK (AP) -- Energy prices rose slightly Tuesday with a
majority of futures traders taking the holiday week off, though a stronger
dollar helped keep a barrel of oil below $79.
Benchmark crude for February delivery added a dime to settle at
$78.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, still the highest close
since mid-November. In London, Brent crude for February delivery increased 32
cents to settle at $77.64 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
A rise in the dollar versus other currencies tends to push oil
prices lower. Crude is priced in dollars, and investors holding foreign money
can't buy as much when the dollar rises.
Spectranetics will pay $5M to end federal probe
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- Spectranetics Corp. said Tuesday
it will pay $5 million to end a government investigation into allegations it
imported and marketed medical lasers that had not been cleared by regulators.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Spectranetics illegally
imported the devices and marketed them for purposes that had not been approved
by the Food and Drug Administration, which led to false claims being filed with
Medicare between 2003 and 2008. It also said a Spectranetics clinical trial
called CORAL did not meet federal standards.
The Colorado-based company agreed to pay $4.9 million to resolve
the investigation, which began in 2008, and will forfeit another $100,000 in
cash or property in the near future.
Reinsurer: Catastrophe costs down in '09
FRANKFURT (AP) -- Insurers' losses from natural disasters fell
by more than half in 2009 thanks to fewer hurricanes and earthquakes, although
climate change contributed to a significant increase in damages and losses in
the U.S., a leading reinsurer said Tuesday.
Munich Re AG said in its annual review that insured losses came
in at $22 billion this year, down from $50 billion in 2008. It said total
economic losses, including losses not covered by insurance, fell 75 percent to
$50 billion from last year's $200 billion.
The decrease was largely the result of fewer hurricanes and
severe earthquakes that plagued 2008, though the company said that climate
change was blamed for a significant increase in the amount of damages and
losses in the U.S. because of heavy thunderstorms, hail, tornados and
torrential rains.
Nokia expands patent dispute beyond Apple iPhone
NEW YORK (AP) -- Nokia Corp. is broadening a legal dispute it
already has with Apple Inc. over the iPhone, saying almost all of the company's
other products also violate the Finnish phone maker's patents.
Nokia said Tuesday that it has filed a complaint against Apple
with the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging Apple's iPhone, iPods and
computers all violate Nokia's intellectual property rights.
At issue are key features found in Apple products, including
aspects of user interface, cameras, antenna and power management technologies,
Nokia said. The company claims that the technologies in question help cut
manufacturing costs, reduce gadget size and prolong battery life.
RC2 Corp. to pay $1.25 million for lead in toys
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An Illinois firm agreed to pay a $1.25
million settlement for importing and selling Thomas & Friends children's
toys that contained lead levels above legal limits and risked sickening
children.
In agreeing to the penalty settlement, RC2 Corp. denied that it
knowingly violated federal law as alleged by the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, the agency said in a statement Monday evening.
The commission, which provisionally accepted the settlement,
charged that RC2 Corp. of Oak Brook, Ill., and one of its subsidiaries,
Learning Curve Brands Inc., knowingly imported and sold Thomas & Friends
Wooden Railway toys that had "paints or other surface coatings"
containing lead levels above .06 percent by weight. The toys were imported from
China.
UK mortgagees pay down debt for 6th quarter
LONDON (AP) -- U.K. homeowners paid off 4.9 billion pounds
($7.85 billion) in mortgage debt in the third quarter, the Bank of England said
Tuesday, marking the sixth consecutive quarter in which consumers reined in
spending to bolster their personal finances.
The third-quarter figure was 2 billion pounds less than in the
second quarter. U.K. householders have now injected 33.9 billion pounds of
housing equity since the second quarter of last year.
The equity injection peaked at 7.6 billion pounds in the fourth
quarter of 2008.
By The Associated Press
The Dow slipped 1.67, or less than 0.1 percent, to 10,545.41.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.58, or 0.1 percent, to 1,126.20,
while the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.68, or 0.1 percent, to 2,288.40.
Benchmark crude for February delivery added a dime to settle at
$78.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In London, Brent crude for February delivery increased 32 cents
to settle at $77.64 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose
2.93 cents to settle at $2.1028 gallon while gasoline gave up less than a penny
to settle at $2.0106 a gallon. Natural gas fell 17.6 cents to settle at $5.814
per 1,000 cubic feet.