Stocks plunge; Dow has record drop,
then recovers NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market had
one of its most turbulent days in history as the Dow Jones industrials fell to
a loss of almost 1,000 points in less than half an hour on fears that Greece's
debt problems could halt the global economic recovery. The market's plunge came less than 90
minutes before the end of trading. The Dow's drop was its largest loss ever
during the course of a trading day, but it recovered to a loss of 347 at the
close. All the major indexes lost more than 3 percent. There were reports that the sudden drop
was caused by a trader who mistyped an order to sell a large block of stock.
The drop in that stock's price was enough to trigger "sell" orders
across the market. Shoppers hand retailers solid spring NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans gave
retailers a respectable spring selling season, resulting in a slew of stores
raising their earnings outlooks. Though April shopping fell off from
March's blistering pace, the full spring picture shows consumers more willing
to buy higher-priced merchandise and pay full price. Those are encouraging
signs for the economy, but the path to recovery is still expected to be rocky. Overall revenue at stores open at least
a year rose 0.8 percent in April, compared with a 2.7 percent decline a year
ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers Index of 30
retailers. That followed a 9 percent gain in March, the largest percentage gain
since March 1999. Productivity growth ebbs; hiring
outlook uncertain WASHINGTON (AP) -- Companies are
reaching a point where they can no longer squeeze more work out of leaner
staffs, normally a sign that a hiring rebound could be near. But the growing
European debt crisis is unsettling the global economy, and may affect
employers' hiring plans. U.S. productivity grew at an annual
rate of 3.6 percent in the first quarter, down sharply from the previous three
quarters. Analysts predict productivity, the amount of output per hour of work,
will slow even further. The job market is showing gradual
improvement, according to a second Labor report. Applications for unemployment
benefits dropped for a third straight week, decreasing by 7,000 to 444,000. Europe faces debt contagion fear LONDON (AP) -- As Europe works to douse
its government debt crisis the flames just keep spreading, with the euro and
U.S. stocks sinking Thursday along with confidence that politicians and central
bankers can act fast enough to save the continent from an economic tailspin. Lawmakers approved drastic austerity
cuts Thursday needed to secure international rescue loans worth 110 billion
euros, or about $140 billion. Europe's top central banker downplayed the risks
of contagion -- but ratings agency Moody's rattled markets by warning that
banks in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Britain could all be hurt by a
widening debt crisis. BP brings in the big box to deal with
oil disaster ON THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) -- Workers
gathered to begin lowering a giant concrete-and-steel box over the blown-out
oil well at the bottom of the sea Thursday in a risky and untested bid to
capture most of the gushing crude and avert a wider environmental disaster. The 100-ton containment vessel is
designed to collect as much as 85 percent of the oil spewing into the Gulf and
funnel it up to a tanker. It could take several hours to lower it into place by
crane, after which a steel pipe will be installed between the top of the box
and the tanker. The whole structure could be operating by Sunday. The technology has been used a few
times in shallow waters, but never at such extreme depths -- 5,000 feet down,
where the water pressure is enough to crush a submarine. Geithner, Paulson make case for
overhaul WASHINGTON (AP) -- The two leading
architects of the financial bailout made the case Thursday that Congress must
give regulators more power to curb risk-taking on Wall Street. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
told a special panel investigating the financial crisis that the government
should have acted more aggressively ahead of the crisis. He used his testimony
to push for the Obama administration's financial regulatory overhaul, which has
reached a critical point in the Senate. His predecessor, Henry Paulson, also
told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that a reworking of the regulatory
system was needed. But Paulson, who led the Bush administration's response to
the crisis in 2008, cautioned that overly stringent regulation could stifle
innovation. DirecTV 1Q profit almost triples as
revenue rises DirecTV Inc., the nation's largest
satellite TV provider, reported Thursday that its net income nearly tripled
after it added new video customers principally at the expense of rival cable
companies. But growth appears to be slowing. The El Segundo, Calif., company added
100,000 net U.S. customers in the quarter, down from last year's 460,000, which
was inflated by long holdouts to subscription TV service finally signing up as
the country switched to digital broadcasting from analog. DirecTV, rival satellite TV company
Dish Network Corp. and phone companies offering video service have been
chipping away at cable's two-thirds share of the subscription TV market. Calif. AG sues former pension officials
for fraud SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California The lawsuit, announced Thursday, is the
product of an investigation into the role of so-called placement agents, the
middlemen hired by money-management firms to help them win business with
investors. The alleged kickback scheme raises
questions about whether CalPERS board members and investment officers had the
best interests of the state's pensioners at heart when they made investment
decisions for the fund. Oil settles near $77 as stock market
plummets NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices on Thursday
dropped to levels not seen since February, as the stock market plummeted. Benchmark crude lost $2.86 to settle at
$77.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil hit $73.71 on Feb. 16
and has lost almost $10 a barrel since Monday. Crude was lower at midday and the price
slide picked up speed as the stock market tanked. Investors flew to safer
havens in gold and bonds. The Treasury prices skyrocket as stocks
plunge CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Interest rates
plummeted in the bond market Thursday as stocks swooned on the latest worries
about Europe's debt crisis. Traders barreled into Treasurys as the
Dow Jones industrial average took a spectacular plunge of nearly 1,000 points
in early afternoon trading. Stocks quickly recovered the worst of their losses
but the Dow still ended the day down 348 points. The losses were made worse by
computer-driven trading, and were driven by worries that Greece's debt crisis
would spread. By The Associated Press The Dow closed down 347.80, or 3.2
percent, at 10,520 after earlier falling almost 1,000 points. That was its
biggest point loss since February 2009. The Standard & Poor's 500 index,
the index most closely watched by market pros, fell 37.75, or 3.2 percent, to
1,128.15. The Benchmark crude lost $2.86 to settle at
$77.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline fell 6.41 cents to settle at
$2.1563 per gallon after losing more than 10 cents on Wednesday and about 11
cents on Tuesday. In other Nymex trading in June contracts,
heating oil fell 7.08 cents to settle at $2.1137 a gallon. In London, Brent crude gave up $2.78 to
settle at $79.83 on the ICE futures exchange.