Retail sales dip raises worries about recovery
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Retail
sales fell in April for a second straight month, dashing hopes that consumer
spending was starting to revive and would help end the recession.
Economists said families who
are worried about layoffs and unpaid job furloughs are saving more and spending
less, delaying the start of a sustained recovery.
Retail sales fell 0.4
percent last month, worse than the flat performance many economists had
expected, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
RealtyTrac: April
foreclosures rise 32 percent
MIAMI (AP) -- The number of
U.S. households faced with losing their homes to foreclosure jumped 32 percent
in April compared with the same month last year, with Nevada, Florida and
California showing the highest rates, according to data released Wednesday.
More than 342,000 households
received at least one foreclosure-related notice in April, RealtyTrac Inc.
said. That means one in every 374 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure
filing last month, the highest monthly rate since the Irvine, Calif.-based
foreclosure listing firm began its report in January 2005.
Intel hit with $1.45B fine
in Europe
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Intel
Corp. was fined a record $1.45 billion by the European Union on Wednesday for
using strong-arm sales tactics in the computer chip market -- a penalty that
could turn up the pressure on U.S. regulators to go after the company, too.
The fine against the world's
biggest chip maker represents a huge victory for Intel's Silicon Valley rival,
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., or AMD, the No. 2 supplier of microprocessors to
PC makers.
AMD has sued Intel and
lobbied regulators around the world for the past five years, complaining that
Intel was penalizing PC makers in the U.S. and abroad for doing business with
AMD.
Stocks fall on weak retail
sales, foreclosure jump
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors
are looking at the economy more skeptically.
Stocks retreated more than 2
percent to 8,284.89 on Wednesday and bond prices rose after two reports
suggested the economy is not bouncing back as quickly as investors hoped.
Investors are mindful that
the Dow Jones industrial average spiked 31 percent from its early March lows --
the biggest jump in such a short span since the 1930s. After Wednesday's
decline the index is still up 26.5 percent from March 9, but investors are now
wondering if the market will see a sharper pullback.
Lawmakers question AIG plan,
future
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
government-installed head of AIG told Congress Wednesday the insurance giant is
making progress toward repaying U.S. taxpayers by selling many of its foreign
assets, but lawmakers questioned whether the plan makes sense and demanded
details.
American International Group
Inc. Chief Executive Edward Liddy said the company has reduced, but not
eliminated, the risk its failure could pose to the global economy despite
getting more than $180 billion in federal bailout aid.
Macy's, Liz Claiborne see
wider 1st-quarter losses
NEW YORK (AP) -- Department
store Macy's Inc. and clothing maker Liz Claiborne reported wider losses for
the first quarter on Wednesday because of charges tied to changes they are
making as they try to streamline and respond to how people are shopping in the
recession.
Though both companies said
business isn't getting worse, their CEOs acknowledged that spending will likely
remain weak throughout the year. Terry J. Lundgren, Macy's chairman, president
and chief executive, said that even as the chain cuts inventories to be in line
with weak demand, it may have to keep slashing prices throughout the year to
get nervous shoppers buying again.
MGM Mirage looks to raise
$2.5B in capital
NEW YORK (AP) -- Casino
operator MGM Mirage, majority-owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, said
Wednesday that it plans to raise $2.5 billion through stock and bond offerings
to pay off some of its more than $14 billion in debt and strengthen its balance
sheet.
Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage,
which said it also is modifying an existing loan agreement, plans to raise
approximately $1 billion from a public offering of 81 million shares and $1.5
billion from private placement of senior notes. It will used the proceeds to
pay off $1.05 billion in debt maturing this year that it and its Mandalay
resort issued plus at least $750 million of a credit line.
US prescription drug use
fell in 2008, study says
NEW YORK (AP) --
Prescription drug use in the U.S. fell last year, although total spending on
drugs increased as prices rose sharply on brand-name products, pharmacy
benefits manager Medco Health Solutions said Wednesday.
Medco said the overall
decline in prescriptions was the first in a decade. The company, which handles
drug benefits covering about 60 million people, said total prescription use was
down because few new drugs were launched last year, former blockbuster drugs like
Zyrtec became available without a prescription, and some drugs faced safety
issues that led to decreased use.
Trustee: Madoff firm was
family's piggy bank
NEW YORK (AP) -- The credit
card bill is a 30-page study in conspicuous consumption.
A quick scan shows a
restaurant charge of more than $2,800, $2,000 in spending at a Parisian
boutique and $441 at a gourmet bagel shop. The total amount due: more than
$100,000.
Eye-popping numbers aside,
the American Express statement from January 2008 has taken on broader meaning
because of the notorious name on the corporate account: Bernard L. Madoff. The
vast majority of the charges aren't even his; they belong to his family and
associates.
Frontier to buy rural
Verizon lines for $5.3B
NEW YORK (AP) -- Verizon
Communications Inc. said Wednesday it reached a deal to sell scattered phone
service areas outside its main Northeastern and Californian territories for
$5.3 billion in stock.
The buyer is Frontier
Communications Corp., based in Stamford, Conn. The company focuses on serving
small towns and rural areas and will triple in size with the deal.
The deal continues Verizon's
strategy of focusing on its core areas, where it is upgrading its phone lines
to fiber optics, enabling it to offer TV service and faster Internet access. It
sold off its phone lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont for $2.3 billion
last year to FairPoint Communications Inc.
By The Associated Press
The Dow fell 184.22, or 2.2
percent, to 8,284.89.
Broader stock indicators
sank even more sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 24.43, or 2.7
percent, to 883.92, while the Nasdaq composite index declined 51.73, or 3
percent, to 1,664.19.
Benchmark crude for June
delivery fell 83 cents to settle at $58.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. In London, Brent prices dropped 60 cents to settle at $57.34 a barrel
on the ICE Futures exchange.