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AP Business NewsBrief at 10:40 a.m. EDT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Evidence of a recession piles higher with new dataWASHINGTON (AP) _ Evidence of a recession piled ever higher Friday, with new figures showing Americans are spending less and gloomy about the economy, while the government signaled it won't buy stock in the financing arms of auto companies to prop them up. The Commerce Department reported consumer spending dropped a sharp 0.3 percent in September while their incomes, the fuel for future spending, managed only a small 0.2 percent gain. That followed a report a day earlier that the U.S. economy shrank by 0.3 percent in the third quarter. The accepted definition of a recession is two straight quarters of a shrinking economy.
Oil notches record monthly drop on US downturnNEW YORK (AP) _ Oil prices ended the week with a modest rally Friday but couldn't erase one ugly October: Crude capped its biggest monthly drop since futures trading began 25 years ago, weighed down as a deflated U.S. economy crushes demand for fuel. Oil's huge collapse _ prices fell 32 percent for the month _ has stunned oil-producing countries while giving cash-strapped U.S. consumers a rare dose of relief. Pump prices have fallen by about 40 percent since their summer peak above $4 a gallon, a drop that's expected to result in staggering annual savings for American households _ well in excess of $100 billion.
Mining for minerals fuels Congo conflictLONDON (AP) _ The conflict in eastern Congo is being fueled and funded by a tussle for mineral resources that end up in cell phones, laptops and other electronics _ deepening the stakes in a war that sprung out of festering hatreds from the Rwandan genocide. Rebel militias and Congolese army troops are fighting each other for control of mineral-rich land. They can then sell the raw materials they mine and use the proceeds to fund their activities and arms _ which prolongs the conflict.
Facts don't get in the way of Web political rumorsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ With just days to go before the election, gossip, hearsay, innuendo and smears are flying through the Internet as gadflies and rumormongers hope to sway voters before they head to the polls. "It's a lot of mud being slung, it's understandable, but I think it's still kind of sad," said Nick DiFonzo, a psychologist and rumor expert at Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York.
Column: Banks using government money for dealsNEW YORK (AP) _ Critics are outraged that the nation's banks are using billions of dollars of federal bailout money to buy other banks instead of boosting their lending. But is that really such a bad thing? The official line from the White House is that the banks should use the $250 billion to make loans. If lending unfreezes, they say, that would help to stabilize the financial system.
Stocks advance to add to week's large gainsNEW YORK (AP) _ The stock market closed out a horrendous October, its worst month in 21 years, with a big advance Friday as more investors took chances on stocks turned into bargains by waves of intense selling. The session's advance _ which gave the market its first back-to-back gains in more than a month _ fed hopes that Wall Street has indeed found a bottom. The Dow Jones industrials rose 144 points on the day but ended the month down 14.1 percent, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 16.9 percent during October as the stock market fell victim to investors' anguish over frozen credit markets and what looked like an inevitable recession.
JPMorgan expanding mortgage-modification programNEW YORK (AP) _ JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Friday became the latest major bank to beef up its mortgage modification efforts as the government also considers a plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. JPMorgan's expanded program aims to help avoid foreclosures on an estimated $70 billion in loans, which could help as many as 400,000 customers. The New York-based banking giant has already modified about $40 billion in mortgages, helping 250,000 customers since early 2007.
Chevron 3Q profit soars, yet caution prevailsHOUSTON (AP) _ Chevron on Friday reported the largest quarterly profit in its 129-year corporate history, joining other oil companies reporting stunning third-quarter earnings gains. Yet like its peers, Chevron also disclosed its crude production waned and said it will keep a close eye on capital spending. The entire industry is now bracing for the fallout of a global economic recession that has already sent oil prices sharply lower.
Stocks end Oct. with worst performance in 21 yearsNEW YORK (AP) _ What is it about October and stocks? The month that brought the 1929 crash, Black Monday in 1987 and other midautumn market crises delivered its worst monthly performance in 21 years.
Boeing ordered to pay ICO $236 million in damagesLOS ANGELES (AP) _ A jury ordered the Boeing Co. to pay $236 million in punitive damages Friday for breaching a contract to build and launch satellites for a company headed by cellular phone pioneer Craig McCaw. Boeing now owes at least $607 million to ICO Global Communications, including $371 million in compensatory damages the jury awarded last week. The total could top $700 million after the court adds interest, ICO said.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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