WASHINGTON (AP) — Retail
sales posted a surprising increase in February as consumers refused to let
snowstorms stop them from stepping up purchases for everything from clothes to
appliances. The improvement provided hope that the recovery from the Great
Recession is gaining momentum.
Some economists cautioned
that spending increases will remain modest as long as wages stay flat and job
creation weak. But others said the fourth gain in retail sales in five months
meant consumers are starting to spend with more confidence.
For February, sales rose
0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said Friday. That surpassed expectations
of a 0.2 percent decline.
___
Official: Obama wants
Yellen as Fed vice chair
WASHINGTON (AP) — President
Barack Obama wants to nominate Janet Yellen, the president of the Federal
Reserve Bank of San Francisco, to take over as vice chairman of the Federal
Reserve, an administration official said Friday.
Yellen, who was a top
economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, is considered a dove on monetary
policy, meaning she is more worried about high unemployment than rising
inflation. She would become the second highest ranking Fed official.
Obama is also considering
filling two other vacancies on the Federal Reserve board with Sarah Raskin, the
Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation, and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology economist Peter Diamond, the official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because the president had yet to make the announcement.
___
Stocks end mixed after
mixed economic reports
NEW YORK (AP) — Mixed
economic reports pinned the stock market to only modest moves Friday but gains
for the week were strong.
Uneven figures on retail
sales and consumer confidence gave investors little new insight into the
economy.
The reports weren't enough
to propel the market higher a day after the Standard & Poor's 500 index
closed at a 17-month high. That index slipped Friday, but the Dow Jones
industrial average tacked on nearly 13 points to 10,624.69.
Major stock indicators
climbed for the week after investors grew more upbeat about the health of
banks. Shares of Citigroup Inc. rose 13.4 percent for the week.
___
Chinese minister insists
Google obey the law
BEIJING (AP) — China's top
Internet regulator insisted Friday that Google must obey its laws or "pay
the consequences," giving no sign of a possible compromise in their
dispute over censorship and hacking.
On the sidelines of China's
annual legislature, Li Yizhong, the minister of Industry and Information
Technology, gave no details of Beijing's talks with Google Inc. over the search
engine's January announcement that it planned to stop complying with Chinese
Internet censorship rules and might close its China-based site.
China has the world's most
populous Internet market, with 384 million people online. Chinese users of
Google and even some of China's state-controlled media have warned that the
loss of a major competitor could slow the industry's development.
___
Regulators shut down Park
Avenue Bank in New York
NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators
have shut down Park Avenue Bank in New York, marking the 28th failure this year
of a federally insured bank.
The Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of Park Avenue Bank. It had $520.1
million in assets and $494.5 million in deposits as of Dec. 31.
The FDIC said Friday the
bank's deposits will be assumed by Valley National Bank, based in Wayne, N.J.
Its four branches will reopen beginning Saturday as offices of Valley National
Bank.
___
WaMu reaches settlement
with JPMorgan, FDIC
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) —
Washington Mutual Inc. has tentatively resolved disputes with JPMorgan Chase
& Co. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over some $4 billion at issue
in the bank holding company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a WaMu attorney said
Friday.
The FDIC seized Washington
Mutual's flagship bank in 2008 and sold its assets to JPMorgan for $1.9
billion. The sale resulted in the two banking companies and the government
agency trading lawsuits over roughly $4 billion in disputed deposit accounts.
___
Borrowers wait for answers
on Obama loan plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds
of thousands of homeowners are in limbo waiting to find out if they will be
accepted for the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program.
Nearly 1.1 million
borrowers have enrolled in the program since it started a year ago, but so far
only about 170,000 have completed the application process, the government said
Friday.
At that rate, just 16
percent, the program will have a minimal effect on the foreclosure crisis. And
many analysts warn that the majority of borrowers will never complete the
process — or fall behind again.
___
FDA warning: some patients
cannot process Plavix
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food
and Drug Administration is adding its strongest warning to the label for
Plavix, cautioning that some patients do not respond to the blockbuster blood
thinner.
The FDA said in a statement
Friday that certain patients with a genetic variation cannot metabolize the
drug, putting them at increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
Patients can determine if
they are "poor metabolizers" by taking a genetic test. The FDA
recommends these patients use other blood thinners, such as aspirin.
___
Apple gives chief operating
officer $5M bonus
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) —
Apple Inc. is giving its chief operating officer a $5 million bonus for
"outstanding performance" running the company while CEO Steve Jobs
was on medical leave.
Timothy Cook will also
receive 75,000 restricted stock units scheduled to vest in 2011 and 2012, Apple
said in a regulatory filing Friday.
Cook, who joined Apple in
1998, is the company's highest-paid executive. In 2009, Cook received an
$800,400 salary; $800,000 in nonstock incentive compensation; and about $40,900
in company matches to his retirement account, life insurance premiums and cash
for unused vacation days.
___
Infant deaths prompt gov't
warning on slings
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
government warned Friday that those chic baby slings that hip moms and dads are
sporting these days can be dangerous, even deadly for their little ones.
The Consumer Product Safety
Commission said it has investigated at least 13 deaths associated with
sling-style infant carriers over the last 20 years, including three deaths last
year. One other case involving a fatality is still being investigated. Twelve
of the deaths involved babies younger than four months of age, the agency said.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 12.85, or 0.1
percent, to 10,624.69.
The broader S&P 500
index fell 0.25, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,149.99. The Nasdaq composite
index fell 0.80, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,367.66. It stands at an
18-month high.
Crude oil fell 87 cents to
settle at $81.24 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
April contracts, heating oil fell 2.1 cents to settle at $2.094 a gallon, and
gasoline lost 1.7 cents to settle at $2.255 a gallon. Natural gas gave up 4
cents to settle at $4.4 per 1,000 cubic feet. Earlier it hit a 52-week low of
$4.412 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude fell
89 cents to settle at $79.39 on the ICE futures exchange.