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AP Business NewsBrief at 2:34 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The economic recovery turns 2: Feel better yet?WASHINGTON (AP) _ This is one anniversary few feel like celebrating. Two years after economists say the Great Recession ended, the recovery has been the weakest and most lopsided of any since the 1930s. GM, Ford June sales rise as gas prices fallDETROIT (AP) _ Falling gas prices brought truck buyers back to showrooms last month. Still, pump prices remained high enough that shoppers snapped up smaller cars as well. Industry analysts expect overall U.S. sales to rise 13.5 percent from last June, to around 1.1 million cars and trucks. Automakers were reporting June sales throughout the day on Friday. Stocks continue rally after manufacturing reportNEW YORK (AP) _ A rebound in manufacturing prolonged a weeklong rally in the stock market Friday. Major indexes are track for their best week in a year. The increase in the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index in June came after the closely watched measure had its sharpest one-month drop since 1984 in May. Stock indexes started the day mixed but jumped in midmorning trading after the report came out. Exxon Mobil ordered to pay $1.5B for Md. gas leakTOWSON, Md. (AP) _ Exxon Mobil is being ordered to pay more than $1.5 billion in damages to 160 families and businesses affected by a 2006 gasoline leak in Maryland. Jurors awarded more than $1 billion in punitive damages on Thursday, after earlier awarding $495 million in compensatory damages. AP Source: Google among firms looking to buy HuluLOS ANGELES (AP) _ A person familiar with the matter says search giant Google is one of about a dozen companies involved in talks to potentially buy online video site Hulu. The person said presentations to sell the company have started, but it's too early to declare a leading bidder. 'FarmVille' creator Zynga to go publicLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Zynga, the online game maker behind "FarmVille" and other popular Facebook pastimes, is going public, the latest in a crop of high-valued Internet IPOs expected after LinkedIn Corp. showed that the online networking craze is a hot commodity on Wall Street. Zynga Inc. hopes to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering that follows LinkedIn's sizzling stock market debut last month. The amount of money Zynga is seeking in its IPO will likely change as its bankers determine how many shares should be sold and at what price. That process typically takes three to four months. Factories busier in June after spring slumpNEW YORK (AP) _ Factory activity picked up in June after a sluggish May, helped by lower gas prices and some easing of supply disruptions. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Friday that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 55.3. The sector has now grown for 23 straight months. Last month's growth was the slowest in 20 months. Treasury confirms deadline for raising debt limitWASHINGTON (AP) _ Congress has one month to raise the nation's borrowing limit or the government will default on its debt, the Treasury Department said Friday. Treasury officials confirmed the Aug. 2 deadline in a monthly update that assesses the nation's borrowing situation. The United States reached the $14.3 trillion limit in May. Higher revenue and accounting maneuvers have allowed the government to keep paying its bills in the interim. Gas is 24 cents/gallon cheaper than Memorial DayNEW YORK (AP) _ Call it an Independence Day discount. Gasoline prices usually peak in the summer. This year, however, they peaked on May 5. The subsequent slide in pump prices has made gasoline an average 24 cents per gallon cheaper than what it was on Memorial Day. Nortel sells patents to consortium for $4.5BNEW YORK (AP) _ A consortium that includes leading smartphone makers Apple and Research In Motion is paying $4.5 billion in cash for about 6,000 patents and patent applications belonging to bankrupt telecom-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. The group prevailed in an auction this week over Google Inc., which had said it planned to bid $900 million in cash for all of Nortel's remaining patents and patent applications. Phones running Google's Android system compete with Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry devices. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |