Summiteers OK big loans, no econ rescue stimulus
LONDON (AP) -- Anxiously
assembled at the most perilous moment for the global economy since the Great
Depression, the world's financial powers pledged hundreds of billions of
dollars for emergency loans to combat spreading chaos. But they rebuffed President
Barack Obama's bid for new stimulus spending and made no guarantees.
Among the initiatives by the
Group of 20 industrial and developing countries: a pledge of $1.1 trillion for
lending to less-well-off countries and promises of tighter regulation over
financial high-flyers in the U.S. and other rich nations.
Signs recession nears
bottom, but layoffs persist
WASHINGTON (AP) -- New signs
that the recession could be nearing a bottom emerged Thursday, as factory
orders were far better than expected.
The Commerce Department said
orders for manufactured goods rose 1.8 percent in February, reversing six
straight monthly declines and easily beating estimates of another drop. Other
economic indicators came in better than expected Wednesday, including construction
spending and pending home sales.
Still, the job situation
remains grim. Traditionally, the labor market doesn't pick up until well after
a recovery has started.
Stocks extend 4-week rally;
Dow breaches 8,000
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors
dove into stocks Thursday, extending a rally that gave the Dow Jones industrial
average its best four weeks since 1933.
Stocks rose across the board
in heavy trading following an accounting rule change that will help banks and
commitments from world leaders to toughen up regulatory oversight of financial
institutions.
The Dow Jones industrials
broke through 8,000 for the first time since Feb. 9 but ended slightly below
that level at 7,977.84 ahead of a closely watched monthly report on employment
Friday morning that could easily upset the market if it comes in below
expectations.
ECB chief: May cut rates
again, use new measures
FRANKFURT (AP) -- The
European Central Bank could cut interest rates further and resort to
alternative measures to fight the economic crisis after trimming the benchmark
rate to its lowest point since World War II, its President Jean-Claude Trichet
said Thursday.
Although the quarter point
cut to 1.25 percent on Thursday was smaller than most analysts had predicted,
Trichet said he did not exclude that "in a very measured way, that we
could go down from the present rate."
FASB relaxes accounting
rules for banks on assets
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The board
that sets U.S. accounting standards on Thursday gave companies more leeway in
valuing assets and reporting losses. The changes should help boost battered
banks' balance sheets and financial stocks rallied on Wall Street, but the
rules may undercut a new financial rescue program.
Some experts and industry
officials said the move will help resuscitate banks, allowing them to increase
earnings and carry less capital as a buffer against potential losses. That
should lead to more lending and help get the economy pumping again.
Delphi, GM and auto task
force to hold talks in DC
NEW YORK (AP) -- Officials
from Delphi Corp. and its former parent General Motors Corp. will meet with
representatives from President Barack Obama's auto task force on Monday for
talks that could get the struggling auto supplier out of bankruptcy protection.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert
Drain on Thursday approved a timetable for the parties to reach some kind of
deal, setting a deadline of April 17 for Troy, Mich.-based Delphi to submit its
plan. The talks will also involve Delphi's lenders and creditors.
Delphi attorney Jack Butler
welcomed the task force's involvement in the supplier's restructuring.
Former AIG CEO criticizes
successors, bailout
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The man
who built insurance giant American International Group Inc. from a startup to a
global behemoth said he didn't mismanage the company -- but the government did.
Following weeks of public
and congressional outrage over largest corporate failure in U.S. history,
Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, AIG's chief executive until March 2005,
said taxpayers got a raw deal in the largest bailout of the financial crisis.
Research in Motion posts
higher 4Q profit, sales
TORONTO (AP) -- Shares of
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. jumped more than 20 percent in
after-hours trading Thursday after the company said its profit jumped in its
fiscal fourth quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations. Solid demand for
smart phones helped boost results despite the recession.
The company said it earned
$518.3 million, or 90 cents per share, for the quarter ended Feb. 28. That was
up 26 percent from the year-earlier period.
Oil jumps above $52 as stock
market surges
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices
surged nearly 9 percent to settle at $52.64 a barrel Thursday as investors
focused on a weaker dollar, rising stock markets and the hope that the U.S.
economy has finally bottomed out.
Natural gas prices also rose
even though a government report said U.S. inventories remain well above
historical levels.
Price changes in both
commodities directly affect the American economy. A jump in crude prices can
influence everything from how much it costs to fill up at the gas pump to the
cost of making golf balls, shampoo and thousands of other petroleum-based
products.
Large writedown almost
doubles Rite Aid 4Q loss
NEW YORK (AP) -- Drugstore
operator Rite Aid Corp. said Thursday its loss more than doubled in the fiscal
fourth quarter and said it plans to close as many as 117 stores over the next
year.
The Camp Hill, Pa., company
took a write-down of $1.81 billion in the fourth quarter, mainly from Rite
Aid's purchase of 1,850 Brooks Eckerd drugstores in 2007. Those stores haven't
done as well as Rite Aid's older stores despite a $2.36 billion price tag.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 216.24, or 2.8
percent, to close at 7,977.84.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index gained 23.30, or 2.9 percent, to 834.38. The Nasdaq composite index
rose 51.03, or 3.3 percent, to 1,602.63.
Benchmark crude for May
delivery rose $4.25 to settle at $52.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. In London, Brent prices gained $4.31 to settle at $52.75 a barrel on
the ICE Futures exchange.
Natural gas for May delivery
added 8.7 cents to settle at $3.782 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In other Nymex trading,
gasoline for May delivery rose 9.81 cents to settle at $1.4698 a gallon and
heating oil gained 9.33 cents to settle at $1.4391 a gallon.