Shoppers hand retailers a basket of NEW YORK (AP) -- Better weather and an
earlier The improvement was broad, spanning
discounters, mass merchants, specialty stores and luxury retailers. The gains
offer strong evidence that people are feeling more confident in the economic
recovery and are more willing to spend. Retailers had several factors on their
side. The earlier holiday combined with comparisons to notoriously weak sales
in March 2009 had analysts expecting solid improvements. But it's also clear
that shoppers' mindset is changing. Rubin is challenged on role in WASHINGTON (AP) -- Robert Rubin, the
former financial superstar once lionized for his global crisis-fighting
prowess, was scolded Thursday over the mortgage-securities disaster at Rubin expressed regret. Yet he insisted
he didn't know until late in the game, when the subprime mortgage crisis
erupted in He said Initial jobless claims increase
unexpectedly WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of newly
laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, a sign that jobs
remain scarce even as the economy recovers. The increase also may result from the
difficulty the Labor Department has in seasonally adjusting the claims around
the The Labor Department said Thursday that
first-time claims increased by 18,000 in the week ended April 3, to a
seasonally adjusted 460,000. That's worse than economists' estimates of a drop
to 435,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. Investors look past Greece worries to
retail sales NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market
recovered from an early slide after an increase in retail sales overshadowed
concerns about Greece's debt problems and the job market. The Dow Jones industrial average
finished with a gain of 30 points to 10,927.07, after being down 53 and falling
the prior two days. Broader indexes also rose. The market turned higher around midday
after sales gains at the nation's major retailers raised expectations for the
economy as well as the corporate earnings reports that start to arrive next
week. Geithner China visit likely to spur
currency shift WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner's surprise visit Thursday to China yielded no immediate change
in China's currency policy. But analysts predicted the Obama administration's
efforts to mend frayed relations will result in a currency change, possibly
within weeks. A move to let the yuan rise in value
against the dollar would benefit U.S. exporters. The undervalued Chinese
currency has made Chinese goods cheaper for American consumers. But it's hurt
U.S. companies by making their products costlier in China. Analysts cautioned, though, that any
appreciation of the yuan will likely be gradual. Apple CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) -- The changes, coming this summer to
iPhones and this fall to iPads, mean that users might be able to listen to
music through the Pandora program and check a bank account online
simultaneously. Currently, users must return to Apple's home screen,
effectively quitting the open program, before starting a new task. US Airways-UAL talks cheer Wall Street MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Wall Street sure
would like to see The general thinking among analysts is
that the U.S. has too many big carriers offering too many seats. That drives
down ticket prices and makes it harder for airlines to turn a profit. US
Airways and United lost a combined $856 million last year. Airline investors
like consolidation because they expect it would lead to fewer seats, and thus
higher fares. Which is where travelers start to get
antsy. "Mergers tend to be a net negative
for consumers," said Tim Winship, the editor of FrequentFlier.com. Rates on 30-year home loans rise to
5.21 pct WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rates for 30-year
home loans surged last week, rising to the highest level in eight months due to
the improving economy and the end of a government push to keep rates low. The average rate on a 30-year fixed
rate mortgage was 5.21 percent this week, up from 5.08 percent a week earlier, Rates had dropped to a record low of
4.71 percent in December, pushed down by a campaign by the ECB's Trichet seeks to dampen Greek
default fears LONDON (AP) -- European Central Bank
president Jean-Claude Trichet on Thursday sought to downplay mounting market
fears that Greece could default on its debt, insisting a support framework
outlined by EU leaders last month was "workable" and "a very,
very serious commitment" by fellow eurozone governments in support of the
struggling country. Trichet made the remarks following the
bank's decision to leave the main interest rate at a record low of 1 percent
for the 11th month running. The decision was expected and attention focused
almost entirely on the Greek crisis. The backstop accord for Greece, which
would include bilateral loans from willing eurozone countries and aid from the
International Monetary Fund, does not seem to have worked -- the country's
borrowing costs continued to shoot higher. Fewer on-time flights in February NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. airlines operated
fewer on-time flights in February, the Department of Transportation said
Thursday, as massive snowstorms shut down some of the largest East Coast
airports. Sixty-one flights were delayed for at
least three hours during the month-- triple the number of those delays in
January. It was the highest number of 3-hour tarmac delays since August 2009.
August is one of the busiest months of the year for air travel. Among the top five flights with the
longest tarmac delays in February, four were operated by US Airways. Three were
on the same route: Dallas/Fort Worth to Charlotte, N.C. By The Associated Press The Dow rose 29.55, or 0.3 percent, to
10,927.07. Benchmark crude for May delivery fell
49 cents to settle at $85.39 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In other Nymex trading in May
contracts, heating oil lost 1.57 cents to settle at $2.2281 a gallon, and
gasoline dropped 1.64 cents to settle at $2.2983 a gallon. In London, Brent crude gave up 78 cents
to settle at $84.81 on the ICE futures exchange.