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AP Business NewsBrief at 10:55 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) S&P downgrades US credit rating from AAAWASHINGTON (AP) _ The United States has lost its sterling credit rating. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's on Friday lowered the nation's AAA rating for the first time since granting it in 1917. The move came less than a week after a gridlocked Congress finally agreed to spending cuts that would reduce the debt by more than $2 trillion _ a tumultuous process that contributed to convulsions in financial markets. The promised cuts were not enough to satisfy S&P. Jobs report is good enough to calm Wall StreetWASHINGTON (AP) _ Better. The job market beat expectations, and the stock market managed a modest gain _ not great, but good enough after a turbulent week. Europe crisis revives '08 fears but risks are lessWild gyrations in the stock market. Big banks holding risky bonds. Fear that toxic assets will contaminate banks and freeze up credit on both sides of the Atlantic. Wall Street is having a flashback to the panicky days of September and October 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed and American International Group needed a bailout that became the biggest on Wall Street _ $182 billion. Investors looking for answers after wild weekA nerve-wracking week punctuated by the biggest stock market plunge in three years has left investors with more questions than answers -- and considerably less money in their portfolios. Is the plummet in the Dow Jones industrial average of 10 percent since late July a short-term blip or a precursor of what's to come? Will investors who didn't flinch, even during Thursday's 513-point drop, be rewarded for their perseverance or punished for not selling before the market gets worse? Most importantly, what should they do now? Stocks end a day of wild swings mostly downNEW YORK (AP) _ If you looked away Friday, you missed a market rally. Or a plunge. A soothing government report on employment in July eased concerns that the U.S. might slide back into a recession, and the Dow Jones industrial average rose as much as 171 points soon after trading began. But fears that Europe's growing debt crisis might threaten U.S. banks and the fragile economy ruled Friday. Italy to balance budget amid financial crisisROME (AP) _ Italy pledged on Friday to work swiftly for a constitutional amendment requiring the government to balance its budget, as Rome feverishly tried to assure domestic and foreign investors its finances are sound and calm nervous markets in Europe. Premier Silvio Berlusconi told a hastily convened evening news conference the government will "speed up measures" in its budget law approved last month by Parliament, "with the possibility of reaching a balanced budget by 2013 instead of 2014" as first planned. Elisabeth Murdoch delays taking seat on News boardLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Elisabeth Murdoch, the daughter of News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, has delayed taking her seat on the News Corp. board, a sign the company is trying to duck criticism that the publicly traded company is run like a family dynasty. Such criticism reached new heights after a phone-hacking scandal in Britain brought the role of top management into question. The scandal has put in doubt the corporate future of Murdoch's son and heir-apparent, James, who had overseen its British papers as head of News Corp.'s European and Asian businesses. Consumer borrowing up in June by most in 4 yearsWASHINGTON (AP) _ Americans borrowed more money in June than during any other month in nearly four years, relying on credit cards and loans to help get through a difficult economic stretch. The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumers increased their borrowing by $15.5 billion in June. That's the largest one-month gain since August 2007. And it is three times the amount that consumers borrowed in May. Buffett's company says 2Q profit up 74 percentOMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Warren Buffett's company said Friday its second-quarter profit jumped 74 percent because the value of its derivative contracts increased and several of its non-insurance businesses improved. Berkshire Hathaway's quarterly results were also aided by a one-time gain of $1.25 billion from Goldman Sachs' repayment of an investment Buffett's company made at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. Video rentals top sales for first time since 2000LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Americans spent more money renting home movies than buying them in the second quarter, marking only the second time that's happened in the DVD era. The big switch in consumer behavior shows the rising popularity of cheap alternatives like Netflix and Redbox and suggests people are pinching pennies in this economy. Rental revenue rose 11 percent from a year ago to $2.06 billion, while sales of discs and digital purchases fell 15 percent to $1.93 billion in the three months through June, according to a report released Friday by The Digital Entertainment Group, an industry consortium of studios and electronics makers. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |