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AP Business NewsBrief at 11:48 p.m. EST
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Stocks shake off jobs report to end with big gainsNEW YORK (AP) _ Wall Street put an upbeat spin Friday on the government's report that the nation lost more than half a million jobs last month. Stocks reversed early losses and closed sharply higher as the data raised hopes that Washington will again step in to help the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up nearly 260 points as investors' shock dissipated over the Labor Department's report that employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November compared with the 320,00 that economists forecast. Ultimately, even a terrible reading on employment wasn't surprising to a market that has been drubbed by a stream of bad economic news.
Half-million jobs vanish as economy deterioratesWASHINGTON (AP) _ An alarming half-million American jobs vanished virtually in a flash last month, the worst mass layoffs in over a third of a century, as economic carnage spread ever faster and the nation hurtled toward what could be the hardest hard times since the Great Depression. Underscoring Friday's dismaying signs of a rapidly deteriorating economy, General Motors announced yet more job cuts, and a record number of homeowners were reported behind on mortgage payments or in foreclosure.
Congress, White House talking $15B auto bailoutWASHINGTON (AP) _ Stunned by the loss of 500,000 jobs, congressional Democrats and the White House reached for agreement Friday on about $15 billion in bailout loans for the beleaguered auto industry. President George W. Bush warned that at least one of the Big Three carmakers might not survive the current economic crisis. Several officials in both parties said a key breakthrough on the long-stalled bailout came when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bowed to Bush's demand that the aid come from a fund set aside for the production of environmentally friendlier cars. The California Democrat spoke to White House chief of staff Josh Bolten during the day to signal her change in position, they added.
Automakers look to consolidate dealer ranksNEW YORK (AP) _ General Motors and Ford have been working for years to reduce their ranks of dealers, but with vehicle sales at record lows and the industry seeking a financial bailout, both automakers now have billions of new reasons to renew their pushes to create smaller, more profitable, dealer bases. But while some experts say a thinning of the dealer population could help both dealers and automakers, it doesn't have the same cost-cutting effect as closing plants and cutting jobs.
Home loan troubles break records againWASHINGTON (AP) _ A record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage were either at least a month behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of September as the source of housing market pressure shifted from risky loans to the crumbling U.S. economy. The percentage of loans at least a month overdue or in foreclosure was up from 9.2 percent in the April-June quarter, and up from 7.3 percent a year earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday.
Kashkari: Taxpayers will see return from bailoutWASHINGTON (AP) _ Taxpayers will get money back from the government program providing up to $250 billion in capital to banks around the country, a Treasury Department official said Friday. Neel Kashkari, the director of Treasury's Office of Financial Stability, which oversees the $700 billion financial rescue fund, said the government is investing in "very high quality institutions of all sizes."
Hartford Financial doubles share price on outlookCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. more than doubled Friday as investors cheered the insurer's better-than-expected 2008 forecast and assertion that its balance sheet is sound enough to handle continued market declines. Hartford shares soared $7.38 to close at $14.59, trading as high as $16.08 during the session. That's more than double Thursday's closing price of $7.21 but still well below the 52-week high of $98.07 that the stock reached a year ago. The stock traded around $70 a share as recently as mid-September, but had fallen to around $7 in recent days.
Return to $1 gas? Energy prices evaporateCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Oil prices hit four-year lows Friday as employers cut the highest number of jobs in 34 years. The continuing decline in prices is so dramatic and so sudden that it is raising the prospect that gas prices could soon fall below $1 a gallon. The worst jobs data in 34 years on Friday just added more fuel to the deepening global recession as U.S. employers slashed a far worse-than-expected 533,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate rose to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent.
Merrill, BofA shareholders approve combinationCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ Shareholders of Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bank of America Corp. on Friday approved the investment bank's sale to Bank of America, a move that will create the nation's largest financial-services firm. During a special shareholders meeting at company headquarters in New York, Merrill shareholders approved the sale of the company, bringing to an end the independence of an investment bank founded in 1914.
Gunmen in drag get millions in Paris diamond heistPARIS (AP) _ Armed robbers wearing women's wigs and clothing made off with diamond rings, gem-studded bracelets and other jewelry worth $108 million from a Harry Winston boutique in Paris, in one of the world's largest jewel heists. As Christmas shoppers strolled outside, the gunmen forced store employees to strip rings, necklaces and earrings from window displays and pull more out of safes, Isabelle Montagne, spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor's office, said Friday.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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