On Thursday June 10, 2010, 5:34 pm EDT
Americans rebuilding
wealth, slowly and unevenly
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
rebuilding of Americans' wealth is proceeding in steps rather than strides.
Households' net worth rose
last quarter -- the fourth straight quarterly gain. Yet tumbling stock prices
have reduced their wealth since then. Some economists say Americans' net worth
may now be down slightly for the year. That helps explain why many say it will
2012 or 2013, at best, before Americans' wealth will return to its
pre-recession levels.
Net worth -- the value of
assets like homes, bank accounts and investments, minus debts like mortgages
and credit cards -- rose 2.1 percent last quarter, the Federal Reserve said
Thursday. It now amounts to $54.6 trillion.
Jobless claims, exports
fall in sluggish recovery
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
picture of a steady but still sluggish recovery emerged from reports Thursday
that showed fewer people are claiming unemployment aid while U.S. exports are
slowing.
The reports echo Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's suggestion this week that the rebound will
remain intact despite high unemployment, a fragile housing market and Europe's
debt crisis. But it will take time to create enough jobs to bring down the 9.7
percent unemployment rate.
Initial unemployment claims
fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 456,000, the Labor Department said
Thursday. That's the third straight drop. However, claims haven't moved below
where they stood in January.
Stocks surge on US jobs
data, China trade growth
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors
have sent the Dow Jones industrials back above 10,000 after a stream of upbeat
economic news convinced them that maybe things aren't so bad after all.
The Dow rose 273 points to
10,172. All the major indexes climbed more than 2.5 percent. Falling Treasury
prices pushed interest rates higher as demand for safe investments eased.
Energy stocks led the
market higher after they slid in Wednesday's late trading on concerns that BP
would be forced to cut its dividend because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP
rose 12.3 percent from a 14-year low, while Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which has
a minority stake in the rig that caused the spill, rose 12.4 percent.
China exports surge but
Europe debt crisis looms
BEIJING (AP) -- China's
exports surged by nearly 50 percent in May but analysts warned Europe's debt
crisis is likely to hurt the recovery in trade.
Exports rose 48.5 percent
in May, while imports were up 48.3 percent, the Chinese customs agency said
Thursday. The figures exceeded most analysts' forecasts and produced a monthly
trade surplus of $19.5 billion.
China's strong trade
figures might rekindle pressure from Washington and other governments for
Beijing to let its currency rise. The yuan has been frozen against the dollar
since late 2008 to help China's exporters compete amid weak global demand, but
its trading partners say that is distorting trade.
SEC puts in new 'circuit
breaker' rules
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
regulators on Thursday put in place new rules aimed at preventing a repeat of
last month's harrowing "flash crash" in the stock market.
Members of the Securities
and Exchange Commission approved the rules, which call for U.S. stock exchanges
to briefly halt trading of some stocks that make big swings.
The exchanges will
gradually start putting the trading breaks early next week, expecting to reach
by Wednesday the full number that will be covered.
Federal budget deficit
grows at slower pace in May
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
budget deficit through the first eight months of the government's budget year
is running slightly below last year's record-setting pace.
In its monthly budget
report, the Treasury Department said Thursday that the deficit in May totaled
$135.9 billion. That's down 28.3 percent from May 2009. Much of that
improvement reflected calendar differences, which boosted receipts and lowered
government benefit payments for the month.
Over the past eight months
of the government's budget year, the deficit totals $935.6 billion. That's down
5.7 percent from the same period in 2009. While that is an improvement, it
still puts the country on track to record another $1 trillion-plus deficit.
Feds: BP agrees to expedite
oil spill payments
GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) -- BP
said Thursday it plans to increase the amount of oil captured from a ruptured
well in the Gulf of Mexico by early next week as the Obama administration
announced that the oil giant agreed to speed up payments to people whose
livelihoods have been washed away by the spill.
Under federal law, BP PLC
is required to pay for a range of losses, including property damage and lost
earnings, and the company has disputed any notion that the claims process is
slow or that it has been dragging its feet.
ECB keeps rates low, offers
extra liquidity
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) --
The European Central Bank on Thursday broadened its efforts to ease market
tensions and minimize damage from the debt crisis by offering short-term loans
to banks on top of existing efforts to boost government debt and keep interest
rates at record lows.
President Jean-Claude
Trichet said unlimited 3-month loans would be offered to banks over the coming
months and said the program to buy bonds, which aims to boost investors'
confidence in government debt and help eurozone countries avoid default, would
continue.
Oil settles above $75 on
improving economic news
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices
topped $75 a barrel Thursday following reports that China's economy is still
booming and U.S. jobless claims fell.
Motorists found pump prices
lower again, as retail gasoline prices continued to slide across much of the
country.
The International Energy
Agency on Thursday raised its forecasts for global oil demand this year, citing
stronger than expected economic activity in developed economies. The IEA, based
in Paris, boosted its estimate by 60,000 barrels to 86.4 million barrels a day.
That's a 2 percent increase from 2009.
Lawmakers consider home tax
credit extension
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Homebuyers may get an extra three months to finish qualifying for federal tax
incentives that boosted home sales this spring.
Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he wants to give buyers until Sept. 30 to
complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. Under the
current terms, buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and
until June 30 to complete the sale.
The proposal would only
allow people who already have signed contracts to finish at the later date. The
National Association of Realtors estimates that about 180,000 homebuyers who
already signed purchase agreements are likely to miss the deadline.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 273.28, or 2.8
percent, to 10,172.53. It was the Dow's first close above 10,000 this week and
its biggest gain since May 27.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index rose 31.15, or 3 percent, to 1,086.84, while the Nasdaq composite
index rose 59.86, or 2.8 percent, to 2,218.71.
Benchmark crude for July
delivery rose $1.10 to settle at $75.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Natural gas lost 3 cents to
settle at $4.647 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In other Nymex trading in
July contracts, heating oil rose 2.32 cents to settle at $2.0328 a gallon, and
gasoline gained 3.08 cents to settle at $2.0582 a gallon.
Brent crude gained $1.02 to
settle at $75.29 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.