Reports
show more Americans feel economic recovery WASHINGTON
(AP) -- A flurry of reports out Wednesday suggested that many Americans are
feeling better about the economic rebound. Retail
spending rose sharply and more than expected. Consumer inflation remains all
but invisible. Businesses are boosting their stockpiles in anticipation of
higher shopper demand. Retail
sales surged 1.6 percent, the Commerce Department said, up from February's
revised 0.5 percent gain. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a
gain of 1.2 percent. Fed
survey: Recovery is spreading; jobs still weak WASHINGTON
(AP) -- The economic recovery is spreading to most parts of the country.
Merchants are seeing better sales and factories are boosting production, but
many companies are still wary of ramping up hiring, the The
Fed's new survey is consistent with chairman All
of the Fed's 12 regions -- except for St. Louis -- said "economic activity
increased somewhat." That was an improvement from the last Fed survey,
released in early March, where nine regions reported modest economic advances. Stocks
rise on Intel, JPMorgan; S&P crosses 1,200 NEW
YORK (AP) -- Upbeat forecasts from The
Standard & Poor's 500 index topped the 1,200 mark Wednesday for the first
time in a year and a half. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 104 points and
moved above 11,100. The
good news came from all directions: Corporate earnings numbers and government
reports on retail sales and regional economic conditions indicated that the
recovery is taking hold. NEW
YORK (AP) -- The
company's earnings report Wednesday also had some good news on the economy: The
bank is seeing the clearest signs yet of recovery. The dollar amount of its
loans in or near default fell during the quarter from the final three months of
2009. Bernanke
confident on recovery; warns on deficit WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Bernanke,
testifying before Congress' Joint Economic Committee, also once again called on
lawmakers and the White Even
though sizable deficits right now are "unavoidable" given the damage
wrought by the recession, the persistence of red ink raises risks to the
country's long-term economic health, he said. Simon
Property boosts offer for General Growth LOS
ANGELES (AP) -- Shopping mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. is willing to
settle for a slice of its biggest rival, just two months after it had a buyout
offer rejected as too low. Simon,
the nation's largest mall operator, on Wednesday offered to help finance
General Growth Properties Inc.'s exit from bankruptcy in exchange for a quarter
stake in the No. 2 mall owner. Analysts
suggested Simon may have backed off a bid for a complete takeover because of
antitrust concerns. But a person familiar with the talks between the two companies
said Wednesday General Growth has made clear it prefers a strategy that would
give it the financial means to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,
rather than to be taken over. Geithner:
Banks will bear costs of failure WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the cost of taking down large
failing financial institutions will be borne by big banks, not taxpayers, under
legislation that would overhaul the regulations governing Wall Street. Geithner
defended the legislation against Republican attacks that pending legislation
would perpetuate bank bailouts. Republicans
have argued that the funds would not be sufficient and that taxpayers could
still be on the hook to bankroll large failures. They also argue that emergency
loan authority by the Bank
of America taps ex-Northrop exec for CFO post CHARLOTTE,
N.C. (AP) -- Bank of America said Wednesday it named an outsider, former Bank
of America Corp. was expected to bring in leaders from outside as it tries to
improve relations with regulators, handle investigations into the bank's
purchase of Noski,
57, succeeds Joe Price, who now heads Bank of America's consumer and small
business banking division. That unit includes the lending operations still
struggling to recover from the financial crisis and the recession. Price had
been CFO since January 2007. Clemency
sought for imprisoned UBS whistle-blower MIAMI
(AP) -- An imprisoned ex-Swiss banker credited with exposing widespread tax
evasion at Swiss bank UBS AG is seeking clemency from President Lawyers
at the Washington-based National Whistleblowers Center said they will file a
clemency petition Thursday for Bradley Birkenfeld, timing it to coincide with
the day U.S. income tax returns are due for most people. The petition seeks a
reduction in Birkenfeld's three-year-plus sentence for a fraud conspiracy
conviction to time served since he reported to prison Jan. 8. Yum
Brands says 1Q profit climbs 10 percent CHICAGO
(AP) -- Overseas customers helped boost first-quarter profit more than 10
percent for the owner of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, fast-food chain operator
Yum Brands Inc. said Wednesday. The
increase was biggest in China, where Yum Brands' profit climbed 37 percent. Yum
Brands earned $241 million, or 50 cents per share, for the three-month period
that ended March 20. Excluding one-time items related to franchising, its
profit was 59 cents per share -- much better than Wall Street forecast -- and
the shares rose after hours. By
The Associated Press The
Dow rose 103.69, or 0.9 percent, to 11,123.11. Benchmark
crude for May delivery added $1.79 to settle at $85.84 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude gained $1.43 to settle at $86.15 on
the ICE futures exchange. In
other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil rose 2.79 cents to settle at
$2.2421 a gallon and gasoline added 2.34 cents to settle at $2.3327 a gallon.
Natural gas increased by 3.9 cents to settle at $4.199 per 1,000 cubic feet.