Fiat out to create automotive powerhouse
MILAN (AP) -- Fiat is trying
to build a global automaking powerhouse out of parts scavenged from broken-down
General Motors and Chrysler.
The Italian automaker struck
a deal last week that could eventually could give it a controlling interest in
Chrysler, but its ambitions are bigger than that: Now it is negotiating to buy
GM's main European unit, which includes the Opel and Vauxhall brands.
Fiat Group CEO Sergio
Marchionne's grand plan is for Fiat to spin off the resulting automaker, which
he said would be big enough to compete with the mightiest of the car companies,
with capacity to turn out some 5.5 million vehicles a year.
Latest economic data
suggests recession is easing
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Evidence
that housing is poised to improve and optimism about the results of banking
"stress tests" raised hopes Monday that the recession is easing and
helped lift a key stock market measure into the black for the year.
Construction spending and
pending home sales both fared better than expected in March, and private
economists saw the reports as further evidence that the overall economy is
stabilizing after its bleakest stretch in a half-century. If so, the economy
might be able to mount a recovery in the second half of 2009.
Fed says more banks tighten
home loan standards
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A larger
share of banks has made it more difficult for people to obtain home mortgages
over the last three months even as demand has grown, the Federal Reserve
reported Monday.
The Fed's new quarterly
survey found that about 50 percent of U.S. banks tightened their lending
standards on prime mortgages, up from about 45 percent in the survey issued in
early February.
Meanwhile, 65 percent of
banks said they tightened standards on nontraditional mortgages, such as
adjustable-rate loans with multiple payment options. That was up from 50
percent in the last survey.
Obama targets US firms'
overseas tax loopholes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President
Barack Obama promised sternly on Monday to crack down on companies "that
ship jobs overseas" and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens.
It won't be easy. Democrats
have been fighting -- and losing -- this battle since John F. Kennedy made a
similar proposal in 1961.
Obama's proposal to close
tax loopholes was a reliable applause line during the presidential campaign,
but it got a lukewarm response Monday from Capitol Hill. Sen. Max Baucus of
Montana, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the plan
needed further study, even though similar ideas have been around for years.
Stocks surge; S&P 500
turns positive for 2009
NEW YORK (AP) -- Another big
rally on Wall Street has erased the losses suffered by the Standard &
Poor's 500 index this year.
The S&P 500, the market
barometer preferred by professional investors, is now up 0.4 percent for 2009.
Many investments like mutual funds either mirror or are measured against the
index.
Gains in housing, financial
and materials stocks pushed the S&P up 3.4 percent Monday. The Dow Jones
industrial average jumped 214 points but is still down 4 percent for the year.
Oil tops $54 with hints of
new demand from China
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) --
Signs of increasing energy demand in China, the world's second largest
consumer, pushed oil above $54 a barrel Monday, but concerns over the state of
the economic recovery and the spread of the swine flu continue to hold prices
in check.
Benchmark crude for June
delivery gained $1.27 to settle at $54.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange after settling at $53.20 on Friday.
Tyson posts fiscal 2Q loss
on some charges
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Tyson
Foods Inc. said Monday it lost more than expected in its fiscal second quarter
because of declining beef sales and one-time costs, while the world's largest
meat maker noted that it expects a drop in demand for pork amid worries about
swine flu to be short-lived.
The Springdale, Ark.-based
company said it was too soon to assess the impact of the virus, which has
sickened more than 1,000 people globally. Tyson said fears of the virus -- also
called H1N1 -- have kept some shoppers away from pork even though there has
been no evidence that eating it can lead to an infection.
Pepsi Bottling rejects
PepsiCo acquisition offer
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Pepsi
Bottling Group Inc. said it has rejected what it called a "grossly
inadequate" acquisition offer from PepsiCo Inc., but analysts said that
doesn't mean the deal is over, just that Pepsi needs to offer more money.
The Somers, N.Y.-based Pepsi
Bottling Group also looked to shield itself from other bids it deems
unfavorable, saying it had approved a stockholder rights plan. Such plans, also
known as "poison pills," are commonly used as a way to try to hold
off hostile takeover attempts.
The $6 billion proposal for
Pepsi Bottling and PepsiAmericas would have let PepsiCo control about 80 percent
of its total North American beverage volume. The company said last month in
announcing its offer that buying the bottlers would allow the company to be
more nimble.
Despite prepaid lift, Sprint
Nextel loss widens
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --
Despite a widening net loss, Sprint Nextel Corp. finally got some good news in
its long recovery, as a big surge in "prepaid" customers offset
another nightmarish drop in valuable subscribers who sign annual contracts.
The Overland Park,
Kan.-based company lost $594 million, or 21 cents per share, during the three
months ending March 31, versus a loss of $505 million, or 18 cents per share, a
year ago. Revenue declined 12 percent to $8.21 billion, below analysts'
expectation of $8.28 billion.
Sprint said its number of
subscribers fell 182,000, a marked improvement from the company's fourth
quarter, when it lost 1.3 million. However, the company said it lost 1.25
million valuable "postpaid" customers who sign contracts, an increase
from the loss of 1.1 million contract subscribers in the fourth quarter.
Making up most of the
difference for Sprint were net gains of 764,000 prepaid customers on its iDEN
network and 394,000 wholesale and affiliate subscribers.
Court sends Janet Jackson case
back for review
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Supreme Court ordered a federal appeals court to re-examine its ruling in favor
of CBS Corp. in a legal fight over entertainer Janet Jackson's wardrobe
malfunction.
The high court on Monday
directed the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to consider
reinstating the $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission
imposed on CBS over Jackson's breast-baring performance at the 2004 Super Bowl.
The order follows the high
court ruling last week that narrowly upheld the FCC's policy threatening fines
against even one-time uses of curse words on live television.
By The Associated Press
The S&P 500 index rose
29.72 Monday to 907.24, its first close above 900 since Jan. 8. The Dow rose
214.33, or 2.6 percent, to 8,426.74. The Nasdaq composite index rose 44.36, or
2.6 percent, to 1,753.56. The Nasdaq, with a big representation of high-tech
and smaller company stocks, has run ahead of the other indexes, and is up 11.8
percent in 2009.
Benchmark crude for June
delivery gained $1.27 to settle at $54.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange after settling at $53.20 on Friday. Natural gas prices, which have
been plummeting for months as factories cut production and jobs, rose 18 cents
to settle at $3.725 per 1,000 cubic feet, but it has fallen faster than even
crude prices.