Jobless rate hits 9.4 percent in May; layoffs slow
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With
companies in no mood to hire, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in
May, the highest in more than 25 years. But the pace of layoffs eased, with
employers cutting 345,000 jobs, the fewest since September.
The much smaller-than-expected
reduction in payroll jobs, reported by the Labor Department on Friday, adds to
evidence that the recession is loosening its hold on the country.
It marked the fourth
straight month that the pace of layoffs slowed.
Still, the increase in the
nation's unemployment rate from 8.9 percent in April underscores the
difficulties that America's 14.5 million unemployed are having in finding new
jobs.
GM to sell Saturn brand to
Penske dealership chain
NEW YORK (AP) -- General Motors
Corp. has a tentative deal to sell its Saturn brand to auto racing magnate
Roger Penske's dealership group, both companies said Friday.
Penske has signed a
memorandum of understanding that would give his dealership chain, Penske
Automotive Group, Saturn's 350 dealerships, the companies said. Penske said
that he expects to offer all the dealers new franchise agreements and will
retain all 13,000 Saturn employees for now.
Neither Penske nor GM would
say how much Penske is paying for the brand. Initially, GM will continue to
produce on a contract basis the Saturn Aura sedan as well as the Vue and
Outlook crossover vehicles. But Penske said he is in talks with global car
manufacturers about building Saturn cars in the future.
Stocks end flat as
unemployment rate checks gains
NEW YORK (AP) -- With
unemployment still rising, investors are questioning if stocks should be, too.
Stocks ended a volatile day
Friday little changed after the government reported a spike in the unemployment
rate to 9.4 percent in May, the highest level in more than 25 years, even as
the pace of layoffs eased more than expected.
The Dow Jones industrial
average finished up almost 13 points at 8,763.13, just 14 points below where it
started the year. The index had advanced as much as 89 points and moved in and
out of positive territory for 2009 during the day, but the jump in the
unemployment rate proved to be too tough to ignore.
Bank of America names 4
outside directors
BOSTON (AP) -- Bank of
America Corp. on Friday named four outsiders to its embattled and newly
expanded board of directors, after two others resigned from the board over the
past week.
The largest U.S. bank
announced the appointments of Susan S. Bies, a former Federal Reserve System
governor and former chief financial officer of First Tennessee National Corp.;
William P. Boardman, retired executive of Bank One Corp. and Visa International
Inc.; D. Paul Jones, former chairman and CEO of Compass Bancshares Inc.; and
Donald E. Powell, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and
former president and CEO of First National Bank of Amarillo. All are in their
60s.
Appeals court conditionally
OKs Chrysler sale
NEW YORK (AP) -- A U.S.
appeals court conditionally approved Chrysler's sale of most of its assets to
Italy's Fiat Friday, but is keeping the deal on hold until Monday to allow an
appeal to the nation's highest court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 2nd Circuit said it will continue to delay the sale until 4 p.m. EDT
Monday, unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes. The three-judge appeals court
was expected to release a written ruling later Friday.
Thomas Lauria, an attorney
representing the trio of Indiana state pension and construction funds that
appealed the sale, said his clients will keep pressing their objections.
Bonds sell off amid
better-than-expected jobs data
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bond yields
jumped again on Friday as a sell-off in Treasurys continued, an ominous sign
for anyone looking to buy a home or refinance their loans.
Bond traders were caught off
guard by a monthly report from the Labor Department showing that job losses
slowed much more than expected in May.
In late trading, the yield
on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.84 percent from 3.71 percent late
Thursday, as its price fell 1 1/32 to 94 4/32. The yield, which is a widely
used benchmark for mortgages and other kinds of loans, jumped as high as 3.91
Friday. That was it highest level since November.
Wal-Mart: We'll keep
customers gained in recession
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) --
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s new President and CEO Mike Duke pledged to shareholders
Friday that the world's largest retailer will speed efforts to improve its
operations as it aims to hold onto customers when the economy improves.
Wal-Mart has taken customers
from competitors and been a bright light in a bleak recession that has made
shoppers focus on necessities like groceries and pull back on discretionary
items like clothing.
As a testament to recent
success, Wal-Mart announced Friday it would launch a new $15 billion share
buyback. The program replaces a $15 billion program begun in 2007 that $3.4
billion of remaining authorization.
Miner Rio Tinto scraps
Chinalco deal
SYDNEY (AP) --
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto PLC on Friday scrapped its $19.5 billion deal
with China's Chinalco, choosing instead to raise $15.2 billion in a share sale
and setting up a joint production venture with rival BHP Billiton Ltd.
Rio Tinto Chairman Jan du
Plessis said in a letter to shareholders the planned deal with Chinalco was now
dead and his company would pay it a $195 million break fee, thus ending what
would have been China's biggest overseas investment to date.
The move is a blow to
China's aggressive moves to cement access to resources needed to fuel the
country's rapid growth by taking strategic stakes in major producers.
Oil spikes above $70 for
first time this year
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices
broke through the $70 per-barrel barrier Friday and more forecasters are
broadening expectations for an upward swing in crude.
Benchmark crude for July
delivery lost 37 cents to settle at $68.44 on the New York Mercantile Exchange,
finishing the week with a gain of nearly $2 a barrel. Earlier in the day oil
jumped as high as $70.32 per barrel, the highest since October.
Oil prices have been soaring
for months despite a massive surplus of petroleum and natural gas. A large
amount of speculative money has flowed into the markets, according to
government reports, potentially taking advantage of a weak U.S. currency.
Official: Mattel fined $2.3
million for toy hazard
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Toy maker
Mattel Inc. and its Fisher-Price subsidiary have agreed to pay a $2.3 million
civil penalty for importing and selling toys with excessive levels of lead.
The penalty is part of a
settlement the companies reached with the Consumer Product Safety Commission,
which announced Friday that the toymaker had knowingly violated a 30-year-old
federal ban on lead paint in toys.
The companies deny having
willfully violated the ban.
The penalty stems from a series
of recalls by Mattel and Fisher-Price in 2007, when the companies recalled
nearly 2 million popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and other toys because of
excessive levels of lead found in the paint on the toys.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrials
rose 12.89, or 0.2 percent, to 8,763.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 index
fell 2.37, or 0.3 percent, to 940.09, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.60,
or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,849.42.
Benchmark crude for July
delivery lost 37 cents to settle at $68.44 on the New York Mercantile Exchange,
finishing the week with a gain of nearly $2 a barrel. Earlier in the day oil
jumped as high as $70.32 per barrel, the highest since October.
In other Nymex trading,
gasoline for July delivery fell less than a penny to settle at $1.9546 and
heating oil dropped 1.39 cents to settle at $1.7701 a gallon. Natural gas for
July delivery rose 5.8 cents to settle at $3.868 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices
dropped 37 cents to settle at $68.34 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.