TMCnet News
AP Business NewsBrief at 6:15 p.m. EST(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Stocks jump as retail, tech stocks advanceNEW YORK (AP) _ Wall Street is getting a little daring once again. Investors shook off weak economic readings Thursday and placed bets on retail and technology stocks after several companies posted better-than-expected sales and profit reports. The major indexes gained more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which rose 106 points. Treasury chief to unveil overhaul plan for bailoutWASHINGTON (AP) _ Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other top officials are putting the finishing touches on a plan to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue program. A Treasury official said Geithner will deliver a speech on Monday outlining the new plan. News Corp. loses $6.4 billion in 2QLOS ANGELES (AP) _ News Corp., the global media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said Thursday it lost $6.4 billion in its most recent quarter because of a massive write-down in the value of its assets. The New York-based company, which owns The Wall Street Journal and the Fox broadcast network, also forecast a 30 percent drop in operating profits for the fiscal year to June from a year ago, when it earned $5.13 billion. Senate pushes on stimulus; Obama says time to actWASHINGTON (AP) _ Senate moderates worked to cut tens of billions of dollars from economic stimulus legislation Thursday in hopes of clearing the way for passage as the government spit out grim new jobless figures and President Barack Obama warned of more bad news ahead. With partisan tensions rising, a Republican alternative with higher tax cuts and far less spending than the administration favors was defeated on a pure party-line vote, 57-40. Other GOP attempts to make significant changes in the bill appeared doomed, as well. Stores see January sales fall; Wal-Mart posts riseNEW YORK (AP) _ Shoppers passed by the jewelry counter in January, delayed buying their favorite perfume and even skimped on buying clothes for their growing kids. If they looked at status handbags, they put them back on the shelf and walked away. The dismal January sales that retailers reported Thursday foreshadow a cold spring as consumers worry about massive layoffs and their dwindling retirement funds. Bigger-than-expected declines crossed the spectrum from Gap Inc. to luxury retailer Saks and the Children's Place. Others, like Macy's and Limited Brands Inc., did better than forecast but still saw sales drops. Actors, baseball legends on Madoff client listNEW YORK (AP) _ Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. Broadcaster Larry King. World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein. All three have at least one thing in common: Their names appear on a list of several thousand clients of disgraced financial wizard Bernard Madoff. The list has been made public in a court filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Some TV stations to end analog signal on Feb. 17NEW YORK (AP) _ Television viewers who use antennas and were expecting a few more months to prepare for digital TV may not have much time left before their sets go dark: Many stations still plan to drop analog broadcasts in less than two weeks. When Congress postponed the mandatory transition to digital TV until June, it also gave stations the option to stick to the originally scheduled date of Feb. 17. New jobless claims jump more than expected to 626KWASHINGTON (AP) _ New jobless claims jumped far more than expected last week in an already dismal labor market, and there's no relief in sight for workers as mass layoffs persist. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of newly jobless workers seeking benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 626,000, from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 591,000. The latest total is far more than analysts' expectations of 583,000. Watchdog: Treasury overpaid for bank stocksWASHINGTON (AP) _ The federal government overpaid for stocks and other assets in attempting to help financial institutions last year, a government watchdog said Thursday, taking further issue with the beleaguered $700 billion rescue program. Elizabeth Warren, chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the bailout funds, told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that Treasury in 2008 paid $254 billion and received assets worth about $176 billion. Bank of England cuts, ECB holds steadyLONDON (AP) _ The European Central Bank halted its campaign of interest rate cuts on Thursday, leaving its benchmark at 2 percent while the Bank of England cut by a half-point to a record low 1 percent as it tries to get the ailing British economy back on track. The widely expected decisions by both banks marked their decidedly different approaches to the global economic woes that have sent financial markets plunging and led to thousands of layoffs, reduced worker hours and factory shutdowns across Europe. Copyright ? 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |