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AP Business NewsBrief at 5:47 p.m. EDT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Wall Street mixed on global economic worriesNEW YORK (AP) _ Wall Street finished mixed in fickle trading Wednesday, with investors unsettled about the economy ahead of Friday's employment report and only somewhat relieved about sliding commodities prices. The Commerce Department gave the market just modest comfort when it said orders for manufactured products rose by 1.3 percent in July. The figure was higher than the 0.8 percent predicted by economists polled by Thomson Financial/IFR; the department also upwardly revised its June reading to an increase of 2.1 percent.
August auto sales fall but some say worst is overDETROIT (AP) _ Nearly every major automaker saw its U.S. sales drop in August, but many are seeing signs that the worst slump in recent history may have bottomed out. Most upbeat were executives from General Motors Corp., which posted a 20.3 percent sales decline from a year ago but a 31 percent improvement over July's dismal totals.
Fed: Slow growth, still-high prices hit economyWASHINGTON (AP) _ The country is stuck in a slow-growth rut, the Federal Reserve suggested Wednesday. Higher prices for energy, food and other things are pinching people and businesses _ reasons enough for the economy to be Americans' top concern heading into the presidential elections.
2 Wall St. brokers accused of $1B subprime fraudNEW YORK (AP) _ A former Wall Street broker pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he and a colleague duped investors into purchasing more than $1 billion in high-risk securities by making it look as though the trades were protected by the federal government. An indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn said because the securities actually were tied to subprime mortgages, Eric Butler and Julian Tzolov stood to pocket higher commissions. The scheme was exposed when the subprime market collapsed.
Oil falls on stronger dollar, falling fuel demandNEW YORK (AP) _ Oil prices inched lower Wednesday as a stronger dollar and slowing demand for crude overshadowed an almost total shutdown of energy output in the Gulf of Mexico after the passage of Hurricane Gustav. Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 36 cents to settle at $109.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier dipping as low as $107.22.
Hovnanian reports wider 3Q lossLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. says its third-quarter loss more than doubled from a year ago as the homebuilder suffered steep declines in new home contracts and land values. Hovnanian said Wednesday that after paying preferred stock dividends it lost $202.5 million, or 2.67 a share, for the quarter that ended July 31. That compares with a loss of $80.5 million, or $1.27 a share, in the same period last year.
GMAC slashing work force, reduces mortgage lendingLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Lender GMAC Financial Services said Wednesday it will close all of its 200 retail offices and lay off about 5,000 employees as part of plan to reduce its mortgage lending and servicing because of the housing market downturn. The majority of the layoffs are slated for GMAC's mortgage lending division, Residential Capital LLC, known as ResCap, and will reduce work force at the unit by 60 percent, the company said.
DOJ: Ex-KBR chief pleads guilty to bribery chargesWASHINGTON (AP) _ A former chief executive of construction firm KBR Inc. pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal bribery and kickback charges in connection with the company's work in Nigeria from 1995 to 2004. The Justice Department said Albert "Jack" Stanley entered a guilty plea in federal court in Houston to conspiring in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials in return for engineering and construction contracts.
Commodities bubble burns big investment fundsNEW YORK (AP) _ The deflating commodities bubble is claiming its first casualties as large investment funds absorb staggering losses from bad bets that prices for oil, precious metals and grains would keep going up. Hedge fund operator Ospraie Management LLC notified investors Tuesday that it's closing its flagship fund after it suffered losses in August on positions in energy, mining and other natural resource-related stocks that left the fund down nearly 40 percent year-to-date. It's believed to be the first hedge fund to go bust in this latest commodities boom as prices come crashing down after a historic bull-run earlier this year.
Coca-Cola offers $2.5 bln to buy China juice makerHONG KONG (AP) _ The Coca-Cola Co., the world's biggest beverage company, moved to expand its operations in the fast-growing Chinese market Wednesday with a $2.5 billion bid for major juicemaker China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd. Under the deal, Coca-Cola's wholly-owned subsidiary Atlantic Industries would purchase the Chinese company's shares for 12.20 Hong Kong dollars ($1.56) each, almost triple their last closing price, the companies said in a joint statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. That would value the Beijing-based juice producer at around HK$17.9 billion ($2.3 billion).
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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