GM rides cost cuts, new model sales to
1Q profit DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Co. rode
expense cuts from its bankruptcy and strong sales of redesigned models to its
first quarterly net income in nearly three years, drawing the company closer to
a stock offering that would repay at least part of its government aid. The Detroit automaker said it made
money because debt and other expenses were slashed by its stay in bankruptcy
court last year, and because of strong new-model sales. It also generated
higher revenue from growth in Asia and South America. GM reported net income of $865 million,
or $1.66 per share, in the first quarter. That compared with a loss of $6
billion loss, or $9.78 per share, a year earlier, as it skidded into bankruptcy
protection. First-quarter revenue soared 40 percent to $31.5 billion. Germany pushes for deficit cuts as euro
slides BRUSSELS (AP) -- Germany is pushing the
other countries that use the euro to swiftly cut budget deficits as the only
way Europe's battered currency union can restore confidence and climb out of a
debt crisis that threatens to wreck it. German Finance Minister Wolfgang
Schaeuble told reporters Monday at a meeting of finance officials from the 16
eurozone countries that getting their deficits down was "the only task
that everyone has to fulfill for himself and for all." Germany, Europe's largest economy, is
providing the largest chunk of a euro110 billion bailout for Greece and a
euro750 billion ($1 trillion) rescue package for other euro nations -- and
voters and politicians there have bridled at bailing out free-spending
governments. Dow recovers from 184-point drop to
edge higher NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks ended an
erratic session little changed Monday after investors spent the day tracking
the euro's moves against the dollar. A drop and subsequent rebound in the
euro steered the Dow Jones industrial average from a loss of 184 points at
midday to a gain of almost 6 by the close. But three stocks fell for every two
that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Investors are looking at the euro as an
indicator of confidence levels in the European economies. The 16-nation currency
has been sliding on concerns that debt problems will undermine Europe's
recovery, and in turn that of the U.S. Oil drops again, now down 20 pct in
just 2 weeks Oil prices on Monday fell to their
lowest point so far this year and are now down about 20 percent in just two
weeks as investors worry about the ripple effects of a debt crisis in Europe. There is fear in both equities and
commodities market that economic weakness in Europe could spread to the U.S.
and hurt the global recovery. A drop in the euro has hurt the case for
investing in oil. The turnaround in oil prices has been
sudden -- crude hit an 18-month high of $87.15 a barrel during trading on May
3. It settled Monday at $70.08 after dipping as low as $69.27. The plunge is
similar to the fall from mid-January to early February when prices fell from
$84.95 to $69.50 per barrel. Lowe's 1Q net income edges up as
spending rises NEW YORK (AP) -- Lowe's Cos. said
shoppers spent more on home improvement projects in the first quarter and opted
to buy new big-ticket items such as riding mowers rather than fix them, pushing
the retailer's net income up 2.7 percent. The nation's No. 2 home-improvement
chain also said government stimulus programs, including tax credits for home
purchases and rebates for energy-efficient products, aided results, as did
warmer weather. The company's results Monday beat
estimates and raised its guidance for the year. But the new expectations fell
short of analyst predictions and shares fell. BP hopes to siphon up to half of oil in
Gulf NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- BP said Monday it
hopes to siphon as much as half of the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico and
is getting ready to shoot mud into a blown-out well later this week to try and
stop all of it. Meanwhile, scientists said they were
concerned about the ooze reaching a major ocean current that could carry it
through the Florida Keys. BP PLC chief operating officer Doug
Suttles said at a press conference that the company will never again try to
produce oil from the well, though BP did not rule out drilling elsewhere in the
reservoir. BP's mile-long tube is funneling a
little more than 42,000 gallons of crude a day from the well into a tanker
ship. US homebuilder sentiment index jumps in
May LOS ANGELES (AP) -- U.S. homebuilders
are growing more optimistic about their fortunes, with many expecting improved
sales and customer traffic in coming months despite the end of homebuyer tax
incentives. The National Association of Home
Builders said Monday its housing market index, which tracks industry
confidence, rose three points this month to 22, the highest reading since
August 2007. Readings below 50 indicate negative
sentiment about the market. The last time the index was above 50 was in April
2006. Builders have seen sales and home
orders improve this year thanks to low mortgage rates and two government tax
credits -- $8,000 for new buyers and $6,500 for current owners who buy and move
into another property. Treasury takes $2.1 billion loss on
Chrysler loan WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury
Department said Monday it will lose $2.1 billion on a loan made to Chrysler in
early 2009. Taxpayer losses from bailing out
Chrysler and General Motors are expected to rise as high as $34 billion,
congressional auditors say. Treasury said Monday that it had
received a $1.9 billion repayment from Chrysler Holding, which emerged from
bankruptcy last year, and that was all it expected to recover. Dropouts rise in gov't loan
modification program WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of
homeowners dropping out of the Obama administration's main mortgage assistance
plan is growing, and is now almost equal to the number who have received
permanent relief. The Treasury Department's report on
Monday was the latest evidence of problems in the administration's $75 billion
program. While officials insist the program is helping the housing market turn
around, critics say it is merely delaying an inevitable surge in foreclosures. More than 299,000 homeowners had
received permanent loan modifications as of last month, Treasury said. That's
about 25 percent of the 1.2 million who started the program since its March
2009 launch. They are paying, on average, $516 less each month. China boosts holdings of US Treasury
debt by 2 percent WASHINGTON (AP) -- China boosted its
holdings of U.S. Treasury debt for the first time in six months. That
development could ease concerns that lagging foreign demand will force the U.S.
government to pay higher interest rates to finance its debt. The Treasury Department reported Monday
that China's holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rose in March 2 percent to
$895.2 billion, the first increase since last September. Total foreign holdings of Treasury
securities rose 3.5 percent to $3.88 trillion. By The Associated Press The Dow rose 5.67, or 0.1 percent, to
10,625.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 index
rose 1.26, or 0.1 percent, to 1,136.94, while the Nasdaq composite index fell
7.38, or 0.3 percent, to 2,354.23. Benchmark crude for June delivery
dropped $1.53, or 2.1 percent, to $70.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. That followed a plunge in the June contract of $2.79, almost 4
percent, to $71.61 on Friday. In other Nymex trading in June
contracts, heating oil fell 7.54 cents to $1.9852 a gallon, and gasoline fell
8.77 cents to $2.0431 a gallon. Natural gas rose 8.6 cents to $4.398 per 1,000
cubic feet. In London, Brent crude advanced 75
cents to $77.93 on the ICE futures exchange.